BALTIMORE — The Toronto Blue Jays signed veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to a one-year contract before Tuesday night’s game at Baltimore.
The 32-year-old Bradley was released by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. He is batting .210 with three homers and 29 RBI in 92 games this season.
“Every year is a challenging year. You go through a lot of different things,” Bradley said. “Obviously haven’t had the offensive year that I’ve wanted.”
Bradley agreed to a $24 million, two-year contract with Milwaukee in March 2021 and played one season for the Brewers. Then he was traded to Boston in December and played a second stint with the Red Sox.
Bradley was the MVP of the 2018 AL Championship Series.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Bradley said his family often comes to Camden Yards – and Tuesday would be no different.
“My mom was on it,” he said.
The Blue Jays designated right-hander Matt Peacock for assignment and optioned infielder Otto Lopez to Triple-A Buffalo.
YANKEES: Designated hitter Matt Carpenter broke his left foot Monday night when he fouled off a pitch against the Seattle Mariners and will be out indefinitely.
Carpenter, wearing a protective boot in the Yankees’ clubhouse after their 9-4 win, said he’s hopeful he might only miss a month. But a timeline won’t be determined until he sees a foot specialist.
“I don’t want to say a number because I just don’t know, but I’m holding out hope that it’ll be a situation where I could come back in the middle of September and can contribute towards a stretch run,” Carpenter said. “So we’ll see. I mean, that’s my mindset is that I’ll be back.”
Carpenter fouled a slider from starter Logan Gilbert off the foot in the first inning. The left-handed hitter was briefly checked by Manager Aaron Boone, but finished the at-bat and struck out swinging on the next pitch.
“I knew something was wrong when I did it, but I thought that I could finish the at-bat, get that run in,” Carpenter said. “But then when I went to swing on the next pitch, I mean as soon as I started to plant and rotate on that back foot, my lower body gave out and I wasn’t able to.”
Boone said he was immediately aware something was wrong and he knew a change was needed when he checked on Carpenter in the clubhouse between innings. Tim Locastro replaced Carpenter in the third.
“I knew he got it good. That’s why I went out there initially,” Boone said. “And I was just like, the way he was moving, I’m like, this isn’t good.”
The three-time All-Star was one of the feel-good stories in baseball this year while enjoying a comeback season at age 36. Carpenter was toiling at Triple-A when the Texas Rangers released him in May. He signed with the Yankees and became a big surprise, earning regular playing time in a powerful lineup.
Carpenter began the night hitting .307 with 15 home runs and 37 RBI in just 127 at-bats. He batted below .200 in each of the previous two seasons with St. Louis.
“He’s definitely going to be missed for however long it’s going to be, but we’re hoping that we get some good news and that it’s not going to be season ending,” Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson said.
PHILLIES: Bryce Harper will continue as the team’s designated hitter and not play the outfield when he returns from a broken left thumb that has sidelined him since late June.
Harper had been periodically doing a throwing program with the hopes of returning to the outfield this season, but interim manager Rob Thomson said that is unlikely.
“We’re just going to back off a minute and concentrate on the hitting,” Thomson said before Philadelphia faced Miami.
On Aug. 1, Harper had the three pins removed from his left thumb and began hitting off a tee. He said last week that he hopes to return in September, though he didn’t provide a firm timetable.
The 2021 NL MVP has been out of the lineup since June 25 when a 97 mph fastball from San Diego left-hander Blake Snell hit him on the left thumb. He had been serving as the DH since April after first injuring his right elbow on April 11.
Harper tried to continue playing the outfield, but had been used exclusively as a DH since his last appearance in the field on April 16.
The 29-year-old Harper, who signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies in 2019, is batting .318 with 21 doubles, 15 homers and 48 RBI in 64 games.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
ROYALS-WHITE SOX SPLIT: Lenyn Sosa hit his first major league home run and Yoan Moncada also connected as visiting Chicago, minus injured All-Star shortstop Tim Anderson, beat Kansas City 3-2 to split a doubleheader.
The Royals won the first game 4-2. Vinnie Pasquantino homered in both games for Kansas City.
Anderson is expected to miss six weeks with a tear in the middle finger of his left hand. He was put on the 10-day injured list between games of the twinbill.
Anderson was injured on a check swing during his last at-bat on Saturday night at Texas. He will have surgery on Thursday in Chicago.
The 29-year-old Anderson is hitting .301 for the playoff-contending White Sox. He missed the opener while finishing up a two-game suspension for making contact with an umpire.
GUARDIANS 5, TIGERS 2: Shane Bieber pitched seven dominant innings, Oscar Gonzalez drove in two runs and visiting Cleveland won its third straight.
Bieber (7-6) allowed four singles and a walk, striking out eight. Amed Rosario had three hits, including two doubles, scoring a run and driving in another.
BREWERS 5, RAYS 3: Andrew McCutchen and Kolten Wong each drove in two runs and Milwaukee broke out of its slump to beat visiting Tampa Bay.
The Brewers won for just the second time in eight games. They’re 2-5 and have fallen out of first place in the NL Central since trading four-time All-Star closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres last week.
Yandy Diaz hit a two-run homer for the Rays. Brewers center fielder Tyrone Taylor made a leaping catch to rob Tampa Bay’s David Peralta of a homer in the second inning.
PHILLIES 4, MARLINS 1: J.T. Realmuto homered, doubled and drove in two runs, Zack Wheeler allowed one run in six sharp innings and streaking Philadelphia beat visiting Miami for its sixth straight victory.
Jean Segura also went deep for the Phillies, who have won 11 of 12 while improving to 40-19 since June 1. .
JJ Bleday homered for the Marlins, who have lost 8 of 10.
The game was delayed 32 minutes at the start by rain and again for 28 minutes with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
ASTROS 7, RANGERS 5: Aledmys Diaz hit a grand slam as Houston roughed up Martin Perez and rallied past visiting Texas .
Perez (9-3) tied a season high by allowing seven runs in five-plus innings to snap a nine-game winning streak, the longest active string in the majors and the best of his career. He had gone 19 straight starts without a loss, with his last one coming on April 17.
The Astros snapped a two-game skid playing without Manager Dusty Baker who remained out after testing positive for COVID-19 Thursday. Baker isolated in a Cleveland hotel room all weekend before taking a private jet back to Houston on Monday.
NATIONALS 6, CUBS 5: Joey Meneses hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, Keibert Ruiz went deep twice and visiting Washington regrouped after blowing a three-run lead to beat Chicago, snapping a six-game losing streak.
ORIOLES 6, BLUE JAYS 5: Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, and host Baltimore rallied for a victory over Toronto.
The Orioles trailed 5-3 in the sixth when the game was delayed 78 minutes because of rain. Then Baltimore cut the lead in half on Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI double in the seventh. Odor connected off Yimi Garcia (1-4) to give the Orioles the lead an inning later.
METS 6, REDS 2: Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil both homered and drove in two runs, leading Carlos Carrasco and streaking New York past visiting Cincinnati.
Carrasco (13-4) pitched into the seventh inning and struck out nine to win his fifth straight decision and tie for the National League lead in wins.
Lindor became the first Mets shortstop with multiple 20-homer seasons when he opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the third. He has scored at least one run in 12 straight games, the longest streak of his career and tied with Mookie Betts for the longest in the majors this season.
McNeil led off the fourth with a homer and added an RBI single in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.
Darin Ruf laced a two-run single in the seventh for the Mets, who have won 14 of 16.
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