Aug 28, 2020 4 min read

The Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics jointly walked off the field following a moment of silence, draping a Black Lives Matter T-shirt across home plate as they chose not to play on Friday night.

The postponement came on Jackie Robinson Day across the majors, and in the wake of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, a Black man, being shot by police in Wisconsin over the weekend.

All players, managers and coaches at Minute Maid Park were wearing No. 42, the jersey number Robinson wore when he broke the major league color barrier in 1947.

The Athletics and Astros placed a No. 42 jersey in each batter’s box. Houston starters took their positions, with other players on both sides lining up in front of their dugouts.

Interleague

N.Y. Mets 6, N.Y. Yankees 4: Dominic Smith hit the go-ahead home run in his first game since tearfully pleading for help combating racial inequality, Pete Alonso also connected and the New York Mets beat the crosstown Yankees 6-4 in the opener of a doubleheader Friday.

Smith, a 25-year-old Black man, wept Wednesday night reflecting on a recent shooting by police of a Black man in Wisconsin. Smith and his teammates were all smiles after his decisive solo shot against Chad Green in the sixth inning on what was Jackie Robinson Day around the majors.

Alonso pounded on the dugout railing and the Mets bench went wild while Smith rounded the bases at Yankee Stadium. Inspired by the emotional comments from the usually upbeat Smith, the Mets staged a walkout protest against racial injustice with the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.

Smith’s drive followed a tying three-run shot by the struggling Alonso, and Jake Marisnick also connected in the inning against Green (2-2).

Tampa Bay 2, Miami 0: Ryan Yarbrough and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and AL East leader Tampa Bay won its third game in a row by beating the Miami Marlins, 2-0.

Top Marlins prospect Sixto Sanchez struck out 10 in seven scoreless innings in his second major league start, but the Rays broke through against Miami’s bullpen when Yandy Diaz delivered a two-out RBI single in the eighth.

Michael Perez, a late addition to the Rays lineup, added a two-out RBI single in the ninth.

American League

Toronto 5, Baltimore 4: Randal Grichuk hit a two-run homer with two outs in the 10th inning, lifting the Toronto Blue Jays to a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

With Reese McGuire standing on second base, Joe Panik popped out on a bunt attempt and Cavan Biggio lined out. But Grichuk followed with his ninth homer, a drive to straightaway center on a 1-0 pitch by Cole Sulser (1-3).

Baltimore had taken a 4-3 lead on Hanser Alberto’s bloop RBI single against Rafael Dolis (1-1) in the top of the 10th. Alberto had four hits and Renato Núñez homered for the Orioles in their third straight loss.

Minnesota-Detroit ppd: Friday’s doubleheader between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins was postponed because of bad weather.

The teams now have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday that allows them to make up one of Friday’s two games. The other is being made up as part of a doubleheader at Minnesota on Sept. 4 – the Tigers will be the designated home team for that makeup game.

The Tigers and Twins had two games scheduled Friday after both teams decided not to play the series opener Thursday night amid athlete protests for racial justice. A doubleheader was scheduled for Friday, but the weather wouldn’t cooperate. There was a delay of over an hour before the postponement was announced.