The Tampa Bay Rays called up the top prospect in Major League Baseball this week, bringing up Wander Franco on Tuesday. Against Boston on Tuesday, he was a single short of the cycle, driving in three runs on Tuesday night, even coming out for a curtain call after his fifth-inning three-run home run. It was not enough for the Rays, though, as they lost to the Red Sox, 9-5, in 11 innings. That made seven losses in a row for the Rays, and the Red Sox were able to move past them into first place in the American League East. Before coming up, Franco had hit .315 with seven home runs and 35 RBI in 39 games for AAA Durham. He hasn’t made his last splash for Tampa Bay, by any means, but the Rays have more problems to solve if they want to continue to contend.
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MLB News: The Rumor Mill
Indians’ Civale heads to the injured list
Cleveland righty Aaron Civale has lingering soreness in his pitching hand’s middle finger, just the latest in a long line of injuries for the Tribe’s pitching staff. He leads Major League Baseball with 10 wins, but he had to come out during the fifth inning against the Cubs on Monday. He had a 3-2 count against Eric Sogard with two out in the fifth, but manager Terry Francona and the trainer came out to check Civale’s hand, and he left then. The Indians already are missing ace Shane Bieber and righty Zach Plesac with injuries. So far this season, Civale has a 10-2 record with a 3.32 ERA over 15 starts.
Mets’ Stroman elevated to day-to-day
New York righty Marcus Stroman had an MRI on his left hip, and the imaging did not show any significant issues. He has returned to day-to-day status, and manager Luis Rojas reported that Stroman feels that he can go at his next scheduled start, but Rojas has not committed to putting Stroman back into the rotation yet. He had to leave his start on Tuesday against Atlanta with soreness in that hip in the second inning; the Mets have also lost fifth starter Joey Lucchesi for the season with a torn ligament in his left elbow. Lucchesi’s injury means that the only other starter behind Stroman, Taijuan Walker and Jacob deGrom is David Peterson, as Noah Syndergaard (elbow) and Carlos Carrasco (hamstring) remain out for several weeks. The Mets will call up Tylor Megill to start on Wednesday. If Stroman can return to the rotation, that would be relief for the NL East leaders.
Blue Jays’ Manoah faces five-game suspension for throwing at Franco
Toronto rookie righty Alek Manoah has been given a fine and a five-game suspension for throwing at Baltimore Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco in Saturday’s game, sparking a bench-clearing brawl. Manoah is appealing his suspension. He was ejected from Saturday’s contest; he had permitted consecutive home runs in the fourth inning before hitting Franco on the left shoulder with his first pitch. The bullpens and benches emptied, but no one threw any punches. After a conference, the umpires decided to eject Manoah. Manoah has pitched well in limited work for Toronto, posting a 1-0 record and a 4.18 ERA over five starts.
“Mattress Mack” puts down $3.5 million on the Astros
Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, a furniture stowner owner in Houston known for wild bets and promotions, has a $2 million bet for the Astros to win the World Series at +1000 odds with Caesars Sportsbook. If he wins, he would get $20 million, which would be an historic win in terms of betting size in the history of U.S. sports betting. McIngvale also has put down $1 million at +1000 odds with FanDuel, along with $250,000 on DraftKings and $100,000 with The Score, a Colorado sportsbook, which was offering +1600 odds at the time. To hedge his risk, he has a promotional giveaway at his stores: any customer who spends over $3,000 in his stores over the next few months will get it al back if the Astros win it all and his bet pays off.
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