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DETROIT — New York Mets ace Max Scherzer struggled in his return from a suspension Wednesday night, allowing six runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers during the second game of a doubleheader.

“I was spraying the ball, especially out of the stretch, and that’s what you expect coming off a long layoff,” Scherzer said. “The number one thing was getting through this start healthy, and we did that. Now we can move forward.”

Detroit won 8-1 to sweep the twinbill.

Scherzer was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on April 20 after getting ejected for having a foreign substance on his pitching hand during his April 19 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner was facing the Tigers for the third time since leaving the team after the 2014 season. In the first of those starts, he matched a major league record for a nine-inning game with 20 strikeouts during a May 2016 win in Washington. Then he fanned 14 more over eight innings in his return to Comerica Park.

Scherzer walked Zach McKinstry to start the first inning — the first walk the Tigers had drawn from him since he left town. The right-hander allowed two runs in a 22-pitch inning.

In the second, Scherzer retired Matt Vierling on the first pitch, but Eric Haase followed with his second homer of the doubleheader to make it 3-0. Andy Ibanez followed with a base hit, but Scherzer escaped the inning without further damage.

He then received a drama-free check for sticky substances by first base umpire Adam Beck.

“It was just a normal check,” Scherzer said.

After the Tigers went down in order in the third, Akil Baddoo singled to start the fourth and Vierling followed with a long homer to left-center field. Scherzer struck out Haase, but Ibanez and McKinstry singled, bringing Mets manager Buck Showalter out of the dugout and reliever Zach Muckenhirn into the game.

“Obviously, we were hoping for a little better results, but I think his command was just off,” Showalter said. “That happens with pitchers. I’m sure he’ll be better the next time out.”

Scherzer was given a loud ovation by Tigers fans as he walked off the field, but kept his head down.

“It is hard to enjoy something like that when you pitch badly, but I have always appreciated the support from the fans here,” he said.

Ibanez scored on Riley Greene’s single, adding another run to Scherzer’s pitching line.

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

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Pirates ball-crusher Cruz accepts HR Derby invite

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz accepted an invitation on Tuesday to compete in Monday’s Home Run Derby in Atlanta.

Cruz is the fifth player to commit to the competition, held one day before the All-Star Game. The others are Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves, Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.

Cruz, 26, is known for having a powerful bat and regularly delivers some of the hardest-hit homers in the sport. His home run May 25 at home against the Milwaukee Brewers had an exit velocity of 122.9 mph and was the hardest hit homer in the 10-year Statcast era.

But Cruz has never hit more than 21 in a season, and that was in 2024. He’s on track to set a new high this year and has 15 in 80 games.

Cruz has 55 career homers in 324 games with the Pirates.

Cruz will be the first Pittsburgh player to participate in the Derby since Josh Bell in 2019. Other Pirates to be part of the event were Bobby Bonilla (1990), Barry Bonds (1992), Jason Bay (2005), Andrew McCutchen (2012) and Pedro Alvarez (2013).

Overall, Cruz is batting just .203 this season but leads the National League with 28 steals.

Among the players to turn down an invite to the eight-player field are two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies and 2024 runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

Defending champion Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers recently turned down a spot as a consideration to nagging injuries.

Top power threats Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers also are expected to skip the event.

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

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Yanks moving Chisholm back to 2B after 3B stint

New York Yankees All-Star Jazz Chisholm Jr., after making 28 starts in a row at third base, is moving back to second base starting with Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, manager Aaron Boone said.

Boone confirmed the change on the “Talkin’ Yanks” podcast on Tuesday.

Chisholm, who is batting .245 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and 10 steals in 59 games, has recently been bothered by soreness in his right shoulder, which he said is an issue only on throws.

He said he prefers to play second base and prepared in the offseason to exclusively play in that spot before injuries played havoc with Boone’s lineup card, starting with Chisholm’s oblique injury in May.

Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera went down with a season-ending ankle injury on May 12.

DJ LeMahieu manned second base while Chisholm was at third, but Boone has a better glove option in Oswald Peraza, a utility man with a stronger arm plus defensive skills across the infield.

LeMahieu, 36, is batting .266 with two home runs and 12 RBIs this season.

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

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White Sox reinstate OF Robert (hamstring) from IL

The Chicago White Sox reinstated outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Robert, 27, has struggled this season through career lows in batting average (.185), on-base percentage (.270) and slugging percentage (.313). Through 73 games, he has amassed just 16 extra-base hits (eight doubles, eight home runs) in 285 plate appearances.

He does have 22 stolen bases in 28 attempts and is just one shy of his career- high in steals.

In a corresponding move, the White Sox optioned infielder Tristan Gray to Triple-A Charlotte. Gray was just recalled before Monday night’s game but did not play.

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