Aug 17, 2020 4 min read

Brad Miller hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Monday in the opener of an unusual five-game series between the NL Central rivals.

The game was tied at 1 when St. Louis loaded the bases with none out in the seventh against Kyle Hendricks. After Dylan Carlson bounced into a forceout at home, Hendricks (3-2) was replaced by Rowan Wick.

Miller then hit a liner toward the gap in left-center. Center fielder Albert Almora Jr. made a leaping try, but it landed out of his reach on the warning track. Tyler O’Neill and Matt Carpenter scored before Carlson was thrown out at the plate.

Giovanny Gallegos pitched a scoreless inning for the win in the doubleheader opener. Andrew Miller got three outs for his second save.

Garcia 1st player born in 2000s to homer:

Luis Garcia of the Washington Nationals became the first player born in the 2000s to hit a homer in the major leagues.

The 20-year-old second baseman made history with a two-run shot into the right-field seats off Atlanta’s Touki Toussaint in the second inning.

The youngest player in the majors, Garcia was born on May 16, 2000. He was called up by the Nationals on Friday after Starlin Castro went on the injured list with a broken right wrist.

Reds prepare to play: The Reds scheduled a flight to Kansas City early Tuesday for a two-game series against the Royals that was put in doubt after a Cincinnati player tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend.

Players, coaches and other organization members were retested for the novel coronavirus on Saturday and Sunday after one player was sidelined because of a positive result. The final two games of a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park were postponed.

Monday was a scheduled day off, with Major League Baseball awaiting test results.

The Reds made travel plans for Kansas City and expected to start Luis Castillo (0-2) in the series opener Tuesday night, assuming it’s played. After two games in Kansas City, the Reds are scheduled to fly to St. Louis for four games and to Milwaukee for four more.

American League

Mariners’ Graveman has benign tumor: Seattle Mariners pitcher Kendall Graveman said Monday he has a benign bone tumor in his cervical spine but intends to continue pitching.

Graveman, who spoke after making a rehab outing, started this season in Seattle’s rotation and made two starts before going on the injured list with a neck spasm.

He said the symptoms first developed in 2018 and a diagnosis of the tumor came last season while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery in the Chicago Cubs organization. He said the location of the tumor makes it difficult to do a surgical procedure.

“It has been lingering for about close to two years now. It helps with medicine, but still the whole process has been trial and error. So that’s what we’re dealing with,” Graveman said. “I’ve seen plenty of specialists. I’ve seen numerous doctors. There is a procedure that is a possibility, maybe something that later on down the road we’ll check into. But I’m just going out there competing with it is the only thing right now that we can do, and continue to work through it.”

Tigers’ Mize to make debut: The Detroit Tigers are calling up three prospects, including right-hander Casey Mize, this week to make their major league debuts against the Chicago White Sox.

Tigers general manager Al Avila said Mize is scheduled to start Wednesday night at Chicago after left-hander Tarik Skubal goes Tuesday night against the White Sox. Mize, 23, was the No. 1 pick overall in the 2018 amateur draft.