Blue Jays closer Osuna suspended
Toronto Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna has agreed to a suspension through Aug. 4 under baseball’s domestic violence policy, discipline that will cause him to miss about half of the season.
Osuna has not pitched since May 6, two days before he was put on administrative leave when he was charged with one count of assault in Toronto.
Major League Baseball said Friday the suspension is retroactive to May 8 and covers 75 games. Osuna will wind up missing 89 days, which would cost him about $2.54 million of his $5.3 million salary.
Osuna will participate in a confidential and comprehensive evaluation and treatment program supervised by the joint policy board of MLB and the players’ association.
The 23-year-old Osuna is 0-0 with nine saves and a 2.93 ERA in 15 games this season. The righty was an All-Star last year, when he went 3-4 with 39 saves and a 3.38 ERA.
Kershaw to pitch: Clayton Kershaw is set to make a surprise return from the disabled list Saturday night, starting for the Los Angeles Dodgers in a marquee matchup against New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom.
Kershaw has been sidelined since June 1 with a lower back strain. The three-time Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP originally was scheduled to make a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City at Omaha, but rain in the forecast caused the Dodgers to change plans.
Oakland 11, Chicago White Sox 2: Franklin Barreto hit a pair of three-run homers and the Oakland Athletics won their season-high fifth in a row, pounding the Chicago White Sox 11-2 in the first game of a doubleheader.
Barreto connected against James Shields to cap a four-run second inning, then went deep off Luis Avilan in the eighth. Barreto’s first career multihomer game gave him a personal-best six RBI.
Sean Manaea (7-6) went seven innings, allowing one run and five hits. The 26-year-old left-hander struck out seven without a walk in winning his second straight start.
The White Sox have lost eight in a row.
Cincinnati 6, Chicago Cubs 3: Eugenio Suarez hit a go-ahead homer off Jose Quintana in the fifth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds held on for their fifth straight victory night, 6-3 over the Chicago Cubs.
Suarez’s two-run shot in the fifth inning off Quintana (6-6) gave him a team-high 16 homers and put the Reds ahead 4-3. Billy Hamilton and Joey Votto also singled home runs off Quintana, who had allowed only six earned runs in his last four starts combined.
Suarez also singled twice and extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games, the longest by a Reds third baseman since Todd Frazier hit in 14 straight in 2014.
Raisel Iglesias retired the side in the ninth for his 12th save in 14 chances.
Los Angeles Dodgers 5, New York Mets 2: Cody Bellinger hit a grand slam to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the sinking New York Mets 5-2 on night behind Alex Wood’s effective pitching.
Yasiel Puig added a solo home run in the ninth, and the defending NL champions won their 10th straight against the Mets dating to May 2016. Los Angeles has outscored New York 75-20 in those games, winning each of the past eight by at least three runs – a first in Dodgers history against any opponent, according to STATS.
Wood (3-5) outdueled Zack Wheeler, allowing two runs and six hits in six innings to win his second consecutive start. The left-hander with the funky delivery struck out seven and walked one.