Major leagues:
Oakland Athletics right-hander Chris Bassitt was carted off the field Tuesday night after he was struck on the side of the head by a comebacker.
With two on and no outs in the second inning against the Chicago White Sox, Bassitt threw an 89.5 mph cut fastball that Brian Goodwin lined right back up the middle. Bassitt went down on the mound right after he was hit, holding his head, and his teammates quickly waved to the dugout for assistance.
As players on each side looked on, Bassitt was attended to by an Oakland trainer and other personnel before he was helped into the back of a cart and driven off the field. A’s center fielder Starling Marte had his hands on his head as Bassitt passed by him.
The 32-year-old Bassitt, who broke into the majors with the White Sox in 2014, is in the midst of a breakout season for Oakland. He was 12-3 with a 3.06 ERA in 24 starts heading into the game, leading the AL in victories.
American League
N.Y. Yankees 5-2, Boston 3-0: Luis Gil posted his third straight scoreless start to begin his career, Luke Voit and Giancarlo Stanton homered, and the New York Yankees beat Boston 2-0 Tuesday night to sweep a doubleheader and move percentage points ahead of the Red Sox for an AL wild-card spot.
In the opener, Jonathan Loaisiga stranded the bases loaded in Boston’s final at-bat for a gutsy two-inning save after New York capitalized on a wild outing by Red Sox relievers for a 5-3 victory.
The Yankees have won five straight and 12 of 15 to narrowly overtake Boston for second in the AL East – New York is 68-52 and the Red Sox 69-53, a difference of .001 percentage points. The Yankees were 10 1/2 games behind first-place Boston on July 5 but have gone 26-11 since.
The Red Sox had seemingly snapped out of a 3-11 slump when they swept last-place Baltimore for three games over the weekend. Now, Boston is suddenly out of postseason position after leading the division for much of the season.
Gil (2-0) allowed three hits and four walks and struck out four over 4 2/3 innings. He has yet to allow a run in 15 2/3 big league innings, the longest stretch to start a career by a Yankees pitcher since at least 1961, according to Elias. The previous best was Joba Chamberlain at 15 1/3 innings in 2007.
Gil is the only major league pitcher since at least 1901 with no runs allowed and 15 or more strikeouts through his first three games, according to YES Network.
National League
Atlanta 2, Miami 0: Jorge Soler snapped a scoreless tie with a two-out RBI single in the eighth inning, and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 2-0.
Pinch-hitter Abraham Almonte drew a one-out walk against Miami starter Sandy Alcantara, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Soler hit an opposite-field line drive to right that scored Almonte.
Austin Riley hit his 26th homer, a solo blast off Marlins reliever Anthony Bender in the ninth. Freddie Freeman had two hits for the NL East-leading Braves, who won their fifth straight and 12th in 14 games. Atlanta also has won nine straight road games
Hamels on DL without pitching: The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Cole Hamels on the 60-day injured list, effectively ending his season before he ever pitched for the defending World Series champions.
The 37-year-old left-hander signed a $3.05 million, one-year deal with the Dodgers on Aug. 4. The four-time All-Star was expected to add depth to a pitching staff that’s been ravaged by injuries and is minus reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Trevor Bauer, who is on paid administrative leave as authorities investigate allegations of sexual misconduct.
Hamels will earn about $1 million from the deal.
Manager Dave Roberts said Hamels was building up in Arizona when his arm “didn’t respond well,” although he wasn’t sure whether it occurred during a bullpen session or throwing to hitters. Roberts didn’t elaborate on the specific injury.
Hamels held a showcase for teams last month, and the Dodgers emerged the winner. Now, they’re on the losing end of the deal.