Jul 15, 2022 4 min read

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Teoscar Hernández and Matt Chapman hit three-run home runs, Alek Manoah snapped a three-start winless streak with seven strong innings and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the depleted Kansas City Royals 8-1 on Friday night.

Kansas City, in last place in the AL Central, was without 10 unvaccinated players and bolstered its roster with Triple-A and Double-A prospects. The Royals lost for the second time in seven games.

Foreign nationals who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 are not allowed to enter Canada, save for limited exceptions that require a 14-day quarantine. Unvaccinated baseball players are placed on the restricted list, which means they are not paid and do not accrue major league service time.

Among the 10 players on Kansas City’s 26-man roster who stayed home were All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi, two-time All-Star Whit Merrifield, future cornerstones Kyle Isbel and MJ Melendez and outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Also barred were first baseman Hunter Dozier, right-handed starters Brad Keller and Brady Singer, reliever Dylan Coleman and backup catcher Cam Gallagher.

A second-year right-hander, Manoah (10-4) came in having lost consecutive starts for the first time in his brief career. He turned that around by giving up one run and four hits, walking none and striking out six.

National League

N.Y. Mets-Chicago Cubs postponed: The second game of the New York Mets’ four-game series at the Chicago Cubs has been postponed by rain.

Steady rain fell in Chicago on Friday morning, and it was expected to continue for much of the afternoon. The game was rescheduled for a split-doubleheader on Saturday.

The NL East-leading Mets rolled to an 8-0 victory over the lowly Cubs on Thursday night. Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo homered, and Carlos Carrasco pitched six effective innings in New York’s third win in four games.

Chicago has dropped seven in a row. Marcus Stroman (2-5, 4.91 ERA) is slated to start the doubleheader opener against his former team, and Drew Smyly (2-5, 4.43 ERA) is lined up for Game 2 for the Cubs.

New York plans to send Taijuan Walker (7-2, 2.63 ERA) to the mound for the opener, and Max Scherzer (6-1, 2.15 ERA) starts the second game.

Season over for Nats’ Doolittle: Washington Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle will undergo an internal brace procedure on his left elbow, ending his season.

The left-hander, who has been on the injured list since April 20 with an elbow sprain, is expected to be out between five and six months. Doolittle underwent platelet-rich plasma and stem cell injections, but began feeling the same soreness in the last week as he did when he was first injured.

“There’s still too much instability in the elbow, there’s too much instability being caused by that UCL not being healed enough and not being strong enough,” Doolittle said Friday. “At this point, I just want to go in and get it fixed. I want to get to the root cause of it.”

The internal brace procedure repairs an existing ulnar collateral ligament instead of the full reconstruction involved in Tommy John surgery. It is a less invasive option, which also allows for a quicker recovery.

Interleague

Derby matchups set: The matchups are set for baseball’s Home Run Derby.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber will be the top seed next Monday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles thanks to his 28 home runs through Wednesday – most among the eight players in the field.

Schwarber will face eighth-seeded Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round.

New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, trying to become the first player to win three times in a row, is the No. 2 seed and will take on Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., the seventh seed.

Third-seeded Corey Seager of the Texas Rangers, added to the American League roster Thursday as an injury replacement for the All-Star Game next Tuesday, will square off against 21-year-old Seattle rookie Julio Rodríguez, the No. 6 seed.

Seager spent his first seven major league seasons with the Dodgers before signing with the Rangers last offseason.

No. 4 seed Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals opposes fifth-seeded José Ramírez of the Cleveland Guardians.