Lenyn Sosa hit his first major league home run and Yoan Moncada also connected as the Chicago White Sox, minus injured All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson, beat the Royals, 3-2, to split a doubleheader in Kansas City, Mo.
The Royals won the first game, 4-2. Vinnie Pasquantino homered in both games for Kansas City.
Anderson is expected to miss six weeks with a ligament tear in the middle finger of his left hand. He was put on the 10-day injured list between games of the twinbill.
Anderson was injured on a check swing during his last at-bat on Saturday night at Texas, and will have surgery on Thursday in Chicago.
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The 29-year-old Anderson is hitting .301 for the playoff-contending White Sox. He missed the opener while finishing up a two-game suspension for making contact with an umpire.
Davis Martin (2-3) picked up the victory in the nightcap after being called up as the 27th man for the doubleheader. He allowed one run on three hits in 5⅔ innings.
The Royals got a solid performance from Brady Singer (5-4) in the first game. He allowed one run in 7⅓ innings. Nick Pratto homered, doubled, and singled.
Baltimore keeps coming, beats Jays again
Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Orioles rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays in Baltimore.
The Orioles trailed, 5-3, in the sixth when the game was delayed 78 minutes because of rain. Then Baltimore cut the lead in half on Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double in the seventh. Odor connected off Yimi Garcia (1-4) to give the Orioles the lead an inning later.
Nick Vespi (4-0) struck out his only two hitters in the eighth, preventing the Blue Jays from adding to what was then a one-run lead. Félix Bautista pitched the ninth for his sixth save.
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Santiago Espinal hit an infield single off Bautista with one out and went to second on a throwing error by Odor, the second baseman. After Lourdes Gurriel Jr. struck out, Bautista retired Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a lineout to second.
Bo Bichette hit two home runs for Toronto, including a three-run shot in the sixth. Guerrero extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a sixth-inning single.
Bryce Harper may stick to DH after Phillies return
Phillies slugger Bryce Harper is likely to continue as a designated hitter and might not play the outfield when he returns from a broken left thumb that has sidelined him since late June.
Harper had been periodically doing a throwing program with the hopes of returning to the outfield this season, but interim manager Rob Thomson said the 2021 National League MVP has cut back on that regimen.
“We’re just going to back off a minute and concentrate on the hitting,” Thomson said before Philadelphia faced Miami.
On Aug. 1, Harper had the three pins removed from his left thumb and began hitting off a tee. He said last week that he hopes to return in September, though he didn’t provide a firm timetable.
The Phillies, who entered Tuesday having won 10 of their last 11, are 22-13 since Harper last played. The surge has put them back into playoff contention.
Carlos Carrasco, Mets hammer Cincinnati
Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil both homered and drove in two runs, leading Carlos Carrasco and the streaking Mets past Cincinnati, 6-2. Carrasco (13-4) pitched into the seventh inning and struck out nine to win his fifth straight decision and tie for the National League lead in wins. Lindor became the first Mets shortstop with multiple 20-homer seasons when he opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the third. McNeil led off the fourth with a homer and added an RBI single in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to 12 games. Mets closer Edwin Díaz and his younger brother, Reds rookie reliever Alexis Díaz, exchanged the lineup cards at home plate before the game, which was delayed nearly an hour due to rain . . . Aledmys Díaz hit a grand slam as the Houston Astros roughed up Martín Pérez and rallied past Texas, 7-5. Pérez (9-3), the former Red Sox, tied a season high by allowing seven runs in five-plus innings to snap a nine-game winning streak, the longest active string in the majors. He had gone 19 straight starts without a loss . . . If Matt Carpenter’s season is over after he fractured his foot with a foul ball late Monday in Seattle, he at least joined some elite Yankees company. In 47 games and 154 plate appearances this season, the 36-year-old Carpenter has hit .305 with 15 home runs and 37 runs batted in. He has a 1.138 OPS, which leads all Yankees hitters (including Aaron Judge). The only previous Yankees batters to finish a season with an OPS higher than 1.100 in 150 or more plate appearances? Babe Ruth (12 times), Lou Gehrig (7), Mickey Mantle (3), and Joe DiMaggio. While those Hall of Famers had far more playing time, as has Judge, it still serves to illustrate just how well Carpenter has hit in his short time with the team since signing as a free agent in May. “I have no doubt in my mind that he’s going to still make an impact on this team even while he’s hurt,” Jameson Taillon told reporters after throwing seven solid innings in a 9-4 win over the Mariners. “He’s come in here right away and made an impact on a lot of people.” The Yankees placed Carpenter on the 10-day injured list and recalled Miguel Andújar from Triple A. Though they still have the best record in the American League at 71-39, New York has lost 11 of 18 since the All-Star break, the Astros (70-40) pulling within a game of a team it has beaten in five of seven head-to-head meetings . . . Shane Bieber pitched seven dominant innings, Oscar Gonzalez drove in two runs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Tigers, 5-2, in Detroit for their third straight win. Bieber (7-6) allowed just four singles and a walk while striking out eight. Amed Rosario had three hits, including two doubles, while scoring a run and driving in another. Also for Cleveland, Northeastern product Aaron Civale (right wrist inflammation) will be activated from the 15-day injured list and start Wednesday’s game . . . Pittsburgh second baseman Rodolfo Castro apparently can’t go anywhere without his phone. Called up from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game, Castro slid headfirst into third in the fourth inning against Arizona and had his phone fly out of his back pocket.
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