Aug 12, 2021 6 min read

As the bus carried the New York Yankees through the cornfields blanketing this serene, rolling farmland of northeast Iowa, Aaron Judge noticed a difference from the usual arrival in the next city.

The ride to the Field of Dreams site to play the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night had everyone’s attention, like a bunch of kids who couldn’t believe what they were getting to do.

“It was the first time people had their headphones out, and they were just glued to the windows, checking out the scenery,” said Judge, the three-time All-Star right fielder.

“We have a lot of guys from different countries who really haven’t seen the country like this, or guys from big cities who really haven’t seen open fields and stuff like this, so it was pretty cool driving in and seeing everybody in town kind of standing on the side of the roads with signs and cheering us on,” he said.

The made-for-TV event, delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had the billing as the first Major League Baseball game in this state that’s usually focused on college and community sports, spotlighted by presidential campaigns and fueled by the hog and grain industry.

It won’t be a one-time visit, either. Commissioner Rob Manfred confirmed that the Field of Dreams game will return in August 2022, with the teams to be determined.

The made-from-scratch stadium – built to hold about 8,000 fans watch the White Sox and Yankees play in one of the most anticipated mid-August games in history – was placed next to the actual diamond where the 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner was shot outside the town of Dyersville, population 4,000.

There are rows upon rows of corn between the two outfields. Yes, it’s the same spot where Shoeless Joe Jackson and his pals appeared – and disappeared – throughout the Academy Award-nominated film about fathers, children, culture, self-discovery, ghosts and, oh, yeah, baseball.

National League

Milwaukee 17, Chicago Cubs 4: Luis Urías tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Piña drove in six runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 17-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs.

Urías homered in the seventh and ninth innings. He also hit three doubles, drove in five runs and scored five. He became the 16th player with five extra-base hits in a game, and the first since San Francisco’s Alex Dickerson last year.

Piña had a grand slam and a two-run homer. Jace Peterson added five hits, including a home run, as the NL Central leaders completed a four-game sweep even though All-Star starter Brandon Woodruff made an early exit.

N.Y. Mets 5, Washington 4: Pete Alonso hit a game-ending homer with one out in the seventh inning and the New York Mets quickly bounced back from blowing the lead, beating the Washington Nationals 5-4 for a doubleheader sweep.

The Mets won the opener 4-1 as Brandon Nimmo homered and drove in four runs and Marcus Stroman took a shutout into the sixth.

New York took a 4-1 lead, too, into the seventh of the second game before the Nationals rallied against Trevor May and Jeurys Familia (6-2). A run-scoring wild pitch by Familia and Andrew Stevenson’s two-out, two-run single tied it.

Alonso capped a long, humid day with his 25th homer, lifting a 2-0 sinker against Kyle Finnegan (4-4) for a high-arcing drive to left field beyond the leaping try of Stevenson.

Cincinnati 12, Atlanta 3: Jesse Winker hit a grand slam in the second inning, the Reds added four more homers, and Cincinnati snapped a three-game skid with an 12-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Cubs release Arrieta: Jake Arrieta won a Cy Young Award and helped the Chicago Cubs capture a drought-busting World Series championship in his first stint with the club. His second go-round was nowhere near as successful.

It ended with his release Thursday.

Arrieta was informed of the decision a day earlier, after getting tagged for eight runs in a 10-0 loss to Milwaukee, Cubs president Jed Hoyer said. The 35-year-old right-hander was 5-11 with a 6.88 ERA in 20 starts.

American League

Oakland 17, Cleveland 0: Mitch Moreland homered twice, Chris Bassitt posted his AL-leading 12th win and the Oakland Athletics routed the Cleveland Indians 17-0 for their seventh straight victory.

By the end, the only drama involved Matt Chapman, who walked in his first five plate appearances for Oakland. The remaining fans from the crowd of 16,559 on a sweltering afternoon were cheering for a record-tying sixth walk when he batted in the ninth inning, and expressed their disappointment after he struck out swinging against Blake Parker on a 1-2 pitch.

Seattle 3, Texas 1: Marco Gonzales pitched a two-hitter, J.P. Crawford and Jake Fraley homered and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 3-1.

Tampa Bay 8, Boston 1: Wander Franco hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, Drew Rasmussen threw four strong innings in a spot start for Tampa Bay and the Rays added to their lead in the AL East with an 8-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

Mike Zunino added a three-run homer in the eighth, driving the ball well over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park, as the Rays took two of three games at second-place Boston and extended their lead in the AL East to five games.

Detroit 6, Baltimore 4: One homer shy of 500, Miguel Cabrera sat out the last game of Detroit’s trip, and the Tigers did fine without him, beating Baltimore 6-4 to complete a three-game sweep.

O’s Davis retires: Slugger Chris Davis announced his retirement, ending a career in which he became one of baseball’s most prodigious home run hitters before his production declined amid injury problems during his final seasons with the Baltimore Orioles.

Davis, 35, was going to miss the entire 2021 season after surgery in May to repair the labrum in his left hip.