Aug 16, 2021 3 min read

Jake Arrieta caught on with a playoff contender after getting released by the Chicago Cubs, signing a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres on Monday.

The former NL Cy Young Award winner is expected to make his first start for San Diego on Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies.

The Padres signed Arrieta to add depth to their injury-plagued rotation. Chris Paddack (left oblique strain) and Yu Darvish (back tightness) are on the 10-day injured list.

San Diego manager Jayce Tingler said Arrieta was put on the team’s taxi squad after joining the team in Denver for the start of a three-game series.

The Cubs released Arrieta on Thursday, a day after he allowed eight runs in four innings against Milwaukee and mocked a reporter for wearing a mask during his postgame interview.

Arrieta went 5-11 with a 6.88 ERA in 20 starts for Chicago, a disappointing return to the team for which he had his greatest success. He is 115-90 with a 3.93 ERA over 12 seasons with Baltimore, Chicago and Philadelphia.

National League

Bauer hearing begins: An attorney for Trevor Bauer told a judge Monday that the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher had every reason to believe that a woman wanted the choking and other rough treatment he gave her in two sexual encounters that led to her seeking a five-year restraining order against him.

Shawn Holley said in opening statements at a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court that the 27-year-old San Diego woman told Bauer in private Instagram messages that she had “never been more turned on in my life” than when he choked her to unconsciousness during their first encounter in April and wanted more of the same when they got together again in May. Holley said the woman told Bauer in the messages to give her “all the pain.”

The woman alleges that without her consent, Bauer punched her, choked her with her own hair until she lost consciousness, and had anal sex with her against her will.

Bauer was put on paid administrative leave on July 2 by Major League Baseball.

American league

Tampa Bay 9, Baltimore 2: Brett Phillips had an inside-the-park homer, Brandon Lowe went deep twice, and the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays handed the Baltimore Orioles their 12th consecutive loss, 9-2 on Monday night.

Baltimore has been outscored 113-36 during the skid. The Orioles dropped 14 in a row from May 18-31.

Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Brosseau also homered for the Rays, who are 12-1 against the Orioles this season. Tampa Bay has outscored Baltimore 103-51, and has had nine runs or more in eight of the games.

N.Y. Yankees 2, L.A. Angels 1: Gerrit Cole pitched two-hit ball into the sixth inning and struck out nine in his return from the COVID-19 injured list, Joey Gallo hit a two-run homer and the New York Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1.

New York has won 10 of 13 and pulled within two games of Boston for an AL wild-card spot. The Yankees open a three-game series against the Red Sox with a day-night doubleheader Tuesday.

Cole (11-6) went 5 2/3 innings, the only damage against him coming on Justin Upton’s homer in the first. The Yankees’ ace walked just one batter and threw 90 pitches, reaching 100 mph in his first appearance since allowing eight runs to Tampa Bay on July 29.