Jul 28, 2022 4 min read

Daniel Castano was hit on the forehead by a 104 mph line drive off the bat of Donovan Solano in the first inning of the Miami Marlins’ 7-6 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

The ball hit the bill of his cap and ricocheted off the crown, manager Don Mattingly said. The team said Castano showed mild concussion symptoms and was bruised, and a CT scan was normal.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Castano said after the game, wearing a bandage on his forehead where some skin had scraped off. “I was down for a second. I was a little out of it. When I woke up, I asked, ‘What happened?’ I’m much better now. I’m a little bit tired, but I’ll be all right.”

The 27-year-old left-hander fell to the field on his knees and held a hand to his head as Mattingly, catcher Jacob Stallings and athletic trainers went to the mound to check on him. Castano did not appear to lose consciousness, and the door on the outfield fence opened as a cart prepared to enter the field before Castano walked off on his own.

Miami earned a split of the four-game series by overcoming a 5-4, ninth-inning deficit. Pinch-hitter Jesús Sánchez led off the inning with a home run off Hunter Strickland (2-3), who walked Luke Williams and hit Stallings with a pitch.

American League

Baltimore 3, Tampa Bay 0: Trey Mancini hit an inside-the-park home run in what may have been his final plate appearance at Camden Yards as a member of the Orioles, and Baltimore blanked the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-0.

Jordan Lyles pitched impressively into the sixth inning for the Orioles, who took three of four from Tampa Bay and went 4-3 on a big homestand against the Yankees and Rays. They have put together a winning record in consecutive months for the first time since 2016 and trail Tampa Bay by three games for the final wild card in the American League – a much better position than expected as the trade deadline approaches.

Boston 4 2, Cleveland 2: Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 for just their fifth win in 20 games.

Guardians starter Triston McKenzie, who had allowed one run total in four previous July starts, took a one-hit shutout into the sixth before putting two on with one out for Bogaerts. The Red Sox shortstop hit an 0-2 slider out to center field to turn a one-run deficit into a 3-1 lead.

Benintendi won’t commit to vax: Andrew Benintendi wouldn’t say whether he will get vaccinated for COVID-19 now that he’s with the first-place New York Yankees rather than the last-place Kansas City Royals.

A day after New York acquired the 28-year-old All-Star from the Royals for three minor league pitchers, Benintendi was hitting leadoff and playing left field against his former team on Thursday night.

He was among 10 Royals who missed a four-game series at Toronto from July 14-17 because he was not vaccinated and could not enter Canada. He lost $186,813 of the $8.5 million salary.

The Yankees have a three-game series at Toronto from Sept. 26-28.

“Right now, you know, I’m still positioned in the same spot. I’m open-minded about it,” Benintendi said. “I’m not against it, but time will tell as we get closer, but for now I’m just focused on getting here, getting comfortable, getting to know the guys and winning baseball games.”