Mets ace Jacob deGrom had to leave his start Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs because of right shoulder soreness after he pitched three scoreless innings, and the team hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll make his next scheduled start. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press
NEW YORK — New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom’s shoulder showed no abnormalities, but the team is not yet ready to commit to him taking his next turn in the rotation on Sunday against Washington.
DeGrom left his second straight start Wednesday, coming out after three perfect innings against the Chicago Cubs because of right shoulder soreness. He had an MRI on Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery that was reviewed by Mets medical director David Altchek and Los Angeles Dodgers head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
“We had an MRI taken on him and ran it through two doctors just to have a second opinion, as well, and both doctors had the same prognosis from the imaging: It just shows as a normal shoulder a pitcher would have and there’s no concern,” Mets Manager Luis Rojas said.
Rojas said deGrom played catch Thursday.
“We’re just going to take it day by day.” Rojas said. “We’re not thinking on an IL stint or do to anything.”
DeGrom left his June 11 outing against San Diego after six innings because of flexor tendinitis in his right arm. The two-time NL Cy Young Award skipped an outing between April 28 and May 9 because of discomfort in his right lat muscle, then did not pitch against until May 25 while spending time on the injured list with what the Mets said was tightness in his right side.
New York’s medical staff concluded the injuries are not related.
“This is not the same thing. It’s been three different things,” Rojas said. “They’re not connected. One thing is not leading to the other.”
DeGrom is 6-2 with a 0.54 ERA and 111 strikeouts and eight walks in 67 innings.
ASTROS: Houston third baseman Alex Bregman was placed on the 10-day injured list because of a strained left quadriceps.
Bregman was injured in the first inning of a win against Texas on Wednesday night while running to first base when he grounded into a double play. He pulled up a few steps before first base and hobbled off the field after the play before heading to the clubhouse.
Astros Manager Dusty Baker said there isn’t currently a timetable for his return.
TRADES: First baseman Mike Ford was traded by the New York Yankees to the Tampa Bay Rays for $100,000 and a player to be named.
Ford was designated for assignment Saturday when reliever Zack Britton was activated from the injured list.
Ford, who turns 29 on July 4, had a strong rookie season in 2019, hitting .259 with 12 homers and 25 RBI in 143 at-bats.
But he slumped to a .135 average with two homers and 11 RBI in 74 at-bats during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. With playing time available this year because of Luke Voit’s injuries, Ford batted .133 with three homers and five RBI in 60 at-bats.
• Texas acquired right-hander Dennis Santana from the Dodgers, sending minor league lefty Kevin Bautista to Los Angeles.
Santana had been designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Saturday. He had a 6.00 ERA in a career-high 16 relief appearances this season.
INDIANS: Cleveland placed catcher Austin Hedges on the 7-day concussion list prior to Thursday’s game against Baltimore.
Hedges was hit on the mask by a foul tip Tuesday night and remained in the game. He was removed from Wednesday’s lineup about an hour before first pitch.
CARDINALS: St. Louis signed left-hander Wade LeBlanc to a one-year contract.
Manager Mike Shildt said LeBlanc will pitch in relief.
LeBlanc, 36, went 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in one start and five relief appearances for Baltimore this season.
THURSDAY’S GAMES
GIANTS 10, DIAMONDBACKS 3: Arizona set a major league record with its 23rd straight road loss, making dubious history in getting trounced by San Francisco.
Held to just a lone single by pitcher Zac Gallen through six innings, Arizona fell behind 6-0. Diamondbacks players periodically glanced at the center-field scoreboard throughout this blowout, helpless to stop this runaway train of despair that began nearly two months ago.
The Diamondbacks’ only consolation coming off this four-game sweep: They don’t play again on the road until June 25 at San Diego, exactly two months to the day since their last road victory.
Arizona’s last road win came April 25 at Atlanta, when Madison Bumgarner allowed no hits in a seven-inning game to complete a doubleheader sweep. At that point, the Diamonbacks were 9-8 away from Chase Field.
Since then, they’ve been swept on the road by the Marlins, Mets, Dodgers, Rockies, Brewers, Athletics and Giants.
INDIANS 10, ORIOLES 3: José Ramírez and Bobby Bradley homered during a three-run first inning and Cleveland extended Baltimore’s road losing streak to 19 games.
The win gave Cleveland a four-game sweep and sent Baltimore to its eighth straight loss overall.
Yu Chang had four RBI with a two-run single in the sixth and a two-run homer in the eighth. Trevor Stephan (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his first major league win.
Austin Hays and Maikel Franco homered for the Orioles, who return to Camden Yards to open a series with Toronto on Friday night.
CUBS 2, METS 0: Kyle Hendricks flummoxed the Mets for six innings to win his career-best seventh straight start, Javier Baez hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Marcus Stroman and visiting Chicago avoided a four-game series sweep.
BRAVES 4, CARDINALS 0: Charlie Morton didn’t allow a hit until the seventh inning and took a shutout into the eighth, lifting Atlanta to a win at home.
ASTROS 10, WHITE SOX 2: Jose Altuve homered for the fourth time in three games, Michael Brantley and Abraham Toro also connected, and Houston won at home.
YANKEES 8, BLUE JAYS 4: Giancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead homer in a four-run seventh inning and New York pulled off a triple play in a win at Buffalo, New York.
Stanton broke a 3-all tie with his 13th homer, an opposite-field, two-run shot off Anthony Castro (1-2). The triple play in the first inning marked the first time the storied Yankees franchise has turned two in one year.
The Yankees’ second triple play of the season was a 1-3-6-2-5-6 sequence, the first time that combination was used in any of the 726 triple plays in major league history, according to a list maintained by Baseball Almanac.
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