An overview of what’s happening around baseball today:
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10 DOWN FOR TORONTO
The Royals will be without 10 of the 26 players on their active roster for the upcoming trip to Toronto due to Canadian restrictions on travelers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19.
Manager Mike Matheny said Wednesday that hitters Andrew Benintendi, Hunter Dozier, Cam Gallagher, Kyle Isbell, MJ Melendez, Whit Merrifield and Michael A. Taylor, and pitchers Dylan Coleman, Brad Keller and Brady Singer will remain with the club.
The team will play four games in Toronto. Those 10 players will be placed on the restricted list and forfeit four days of pay and major league time under the terms of the MLB collective bargaining agreement.
“It’s an individual choice,” Matheny said. “The organization has done a really good job of bringing in professionals and experts to talk the guys through the tough conversations and then put it in their hands to make the decisions they think are best for them and their families.”
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Kansas City will face the Blue Jays a day after fourth-place Toronto fired manager Charlie Montoya and named bullpen coach John Schneider as interim manager until the end of the season.
MOTHER OF STARS
Brewers right-hander Corbin Burns (7-4, 2.20 ERA) will face Giants left-hander Carlos Rodon (8-5, 2.70) in San Francisco before the pair combine on the NL All-Star roster next week.
This will be the last start for both pitchers before the Midsummer Classic. Burns leads the NL with 134 strikeouts, while Radon is third with 124. Both are making their second straight All-Star appearance.
Giants third baseman Evan Longoria is expected to start his rehab as early as Thursday as he works from a strained left oblique. There’s a chance he could be back before the All-Star break.
“I think there’s an opportunity for the weekend,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think we want to make sure that door stays open.”
FOR EVERYONE TO SEE
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Reds right-hander Luis Castillo (3-4, 2.92 ERA) is in for a potentially important audition for contending teams when he faces fellow All-Star Nestor Cortez (7-3, 2.74) at Yankee Stadium.
Cincinnati figures to be a seller before the trade deadline, and Castillo is a top target for teams in need of starting pitching. He is coming off seven innings of one-run ball against Tampa Bay.
ELEVENTH HEAVEN
Marco Gonzalez (5-9, 3.24 ERA) and the Seattle Mariners look for their 11th straight win when they face All-Star lefty Martin Perez (7-2, 2.72) and the Rangers in the first of a four-game series in Texas.
Entering Wednesday’s doubleheader at Washington, the Mariners have won 10 straight for the first time since April 2002. Their only longer hitting streak was a 15-game streak from May 23 to June 8, 2001 – the last year they made the playoffs.
Jesse Winker scored twice for Seattle in his first game since serving a six-game suspension for his role in a June 26 fight with the Angels. Paul Sewald saved both games.
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ANNIBAL RETURNS
Nationals right-hander Anibal Sanchez will make his season debut against Atlanta and right-hander Kyle Wright (10-4, 2.97 ERA).
Wright hopes to reverse his luck against Washington in the first of a four-game series between the NL East rivals. Wright is 2-1 with a 6.27 ERA in five career games, including three starts, against the Nats.
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