Major leagues:
A game scheduled between the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night was postponed because of rain and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader Saturday.
The first game will be played at 2:35 p.m. ET and the nightcap at 7:05 p.m. Both games are scheduled for seven innings under pandemic rules.
Friday’s game was called 1 hour, 5 minutes after the scheduled start time. A heavy thunderstorm swept through the area about an hour before the game was eventually postponed, and the weather forecast called for more rain.
Neither team immediately announced its pitching plans for Saturday. Left-hander Brett Anderson (4-5, 3.54) was scheduled to start for the NL Central-leading Brewers on Friday night against Mitch Keller (3-9, 7.06).
American League
Sale’s return set: Boston left-hander Chris Sale is scheduled to make his first big league appearance in just over two years when he faces the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park.
The seven-time All-Star underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and missed last year’s pandemic-shortened season.
In five combined rehab outings this year between the Red Sox rookie-level affiliate, Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, Sale pitched 20 innings, striking out 35 and allowing three runs.
The 32-year-old ace will pitch in a major league game for the first time since he started Aug. 13, 2019.
Kyle Schwarber joined the Red Sox lineup for the first time Friday night, two weeks after Boston acquired the slugger from the Washington Nationals.
Schwarber has been recovering from a right hamstring strain. He was batting sixth Friday as Boston’s designated hitter to open a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles.
Schwarber was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Thursday night, but the game was rained out. The Red Sox activated him anyway for Friday, hoping his bat could help lift the club out of a recent slide that knocked Boston five games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East.
National League
Giants give Crawford new contract: Brandon Crawford has never imagined playing anywhere else than for his boyhood favorite team the Giants.
The All-Star shortstop is being rewarded for one of his best seasons yet, agreeing to a new two-year contract that takes him through the 2023 season and the probable conclusion of his career with San Francisco.
“This is the only organization we’ve ever known and they’ve always taken such good care of me and my family,” Crawford said in the dugout before having a night off from starting in the second game of a four-game weekend set with the Rockies. “We’re just happy to know that we’re going to be here for a couple more years.”
The Giants announced the $32 million deal Friday that will pay the 34-year-old shortstop $16 million in base salary in both 2022 and ’23.