CLEVELAND — Michael Chavis played through the pain for as long as he could.
On Monday, the Red Sox rookie finally gave in.
Boston placed the versatile Chavis on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left shoulder he sustained recently while trying to make a diving catch.
One of the AL’s top first-year players, Chavis has 18 homers and 58 RBIs, second-most to Mets slugger Pete Alonso among rookies. But he’s been in a slump, batting .156 (5-for-32) in his last 11 games, and the shoulder injury explains Chavis’ recent slide.
“It stinks,” said Chavis, adding the pain is most severe when the swings a bat. “I want to be out there and help the team, but if I can’t do my part, it’s tough.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t want to put a timetable on when Chavis will return. He won’t swing a bat for five or six days.
“It makes sense for him to get healthy,” Cora said. “He tried to play through it. It’s one of those things we have to manage now.”
The Red Sox also recalled right-hander Travis Lakins and infielder Marco Hernández from Triple-A Pawtucket.
The moves were announced before the Red Sox opened a three-game series at Progressive Field. The defending World Series champions have lost 11 of 14 and are 16½ games behind first-place New York in the AL East and 7½ back for a wild-card spot.
Chavis’ home run and RBI totals are the most by a Red Sox rookie since Ellis Burks hit 20 home runs with 59 RBIs in 1987. Chavis played first base (49 games), second (45) and third (five).
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball will open its 2020 season on March 26, its earliest start other than international games. The schedule also features a late April series in Puerto Rico between the New York Mets and Miami Marlins.
Globe Life Field, the new home of the Texas Rangers, opens March 31. This is the first new ballpark since the Atlanta Braves’ SunTrust Park opened in 2017. Globe Life will be the seventh big league stadium with a retractable roof after those in Toronto, Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, Milwaukee and Miami. Tampa Bay has a fixed roof.
The commissioner’s office also said on Monday all 30 teams could play on opening day for the first time since 1968. A full slate was scheduled in 2018 but two games were postponed. The 2020 regular season is to end Sept. 27, putting the World Series on track for Oct. 20-28.
NEW YORK — Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres, Gio Urshela and Cameron Maybin kept up a record home run barrage against Baltimore, powering New York in the opener of a day-night doubleheader that extended the Yankees’ winning streak against the Orioles to 13.
New York has 56 home runs against the Orioles this year, eight more than the previous big league record for long balls against a team in a season. The AL East-leading Yankees are 14-2 against Baltimore with three games left.
Gregorius’ four RBIs raised his total to 35 in 47 games since returning from Tommy John surgery. Urshela was a triple shy of the cycle, lifting his average to .328.
Baltimore has allowed 245 homers, 13 from tying the season record set by Cincinnati pitchers in 2016. The Orioles have lost six of seven and are on pace for 108 defeats.
James Paxton (8-6) won a third straight start for the first time in two years despite allowing yet another first-inning run and home runs to Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander, both on 0-2 pitches.
Gabriel Ynoa (1-7) gave up seven runs — including all four homers — in six innings and dropped to 0-6 with a 7.01 ERA as a starter this year.
Ty Blach (0-0) was to be brought up to start the second game in his debut for the Orioles, who claimed him off waivers from San Francisco on Aug. 3. The Yankees planned to use a reliever as an opener, trying for their fifth sweep in six doubleheaders this season to go along with a split.
Paxton allowed three runs and five hits in six innings, winning three starts in a row for the first time since he won seven straight for Seattle from July 2 to Aug. 4, 2017. Hanser Alberto led off with an infield single and scored on Renato Núñez’s sacrifice fly.
Paxton has a 10.71 ERA in the first inning, when he has allowed 25 of his 50 earned runs, and a 2.58 ERA over the rest of his outings. He relied more on offspeed pitches with nine changeups — he threw seven total in his first 19 starts
Gregorius hit a three-run homer in the first and Torres went deep two batters later — 11 of his 24 home runs this year have come against Baltimore. Urshela hit an RBI double in the second and had a 461-foot drive in the fifth over the visitor’s bullpen in left. Maybin homered in the sixth on a drive that ricocheted off a fan and into the glove of a boy.
Baltimore scored twice off Luis Cessa in the eighth, when Zack Britton retired Stevie Wilkerson on a bases-loaded, inning-ending grounder, and Aroldis Chapman finished for his 32nd save in 37 chances.
STREAKS
New York had not beaten an opponent 13 straight times in a season since 1957 against the Kansas City Athletics. Baltimore had not lost 13 in a row to one team in a season since 1955 against Cleveland.
SAVAGES AT THE CASH REGISTER
“Savages in the Box,” manager Aaron Boone’s infamous comment on his batters during his July 18 ejection, is now on signage at the Yankee Stadium store and T-shirts for sale at $29.99.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Orioles: OF Dwight Smith Jr. (strained left calf) could start a minor league injury rehab assignment by the end of the week. … OF DJ Stewart (concussion) could be activated Wednesday or Friday.
Yankees: 1B Luke Voit (out since July 30 with a core injury) sprinted and said he felt the best he has since May. He plans to hit off a tee Tuesday. Voit also said offseason surgery was a possibility. … LHP CC Sabathia (inflamed right knee) is to throw a second bullpen Tuesday and is on pace to start against Cleveland this weekend. … RHP Dellin Betances (lat) threw off a mound for the first time since June 5, a 20-pitch bullpen that included 17 fastballs and three breaking balls. He plans to throw another bullpen Thursday. … RHP Luis Severino (lat) threw his second bullpen, three days after his first since spring training. He is to throw another bullpen Thursday, then may face batters on Sunday. “I thought he looked really good,” Boone said. … OF Aaron Hicks (strained right flexor) was to be evaluated Monday and could resume throwing and hitting this week.
UP NEXT
Yankees RHP Domingo Germán (15-2), tied for the big league lead in wins, starts Tuesday night against Baltimore LHP John Means (8-7).
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Greinke’s 2nd start with Astros postponed by rain
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CHICAGO (AP) — Zack Greinke’s second start with the Houston Astros has been postponed by rain.
The Astros were scheduled to begin a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, but the rain started to pick up in the afternoon and the game was quickly called.
The teams will play a traditional doubleheader Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Greinke was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Arizona on July 31, giving Houston another ace for its rotation. The six-time All-Star got the win in his Astros debut, pitching six innings of five-run ball in an 11-6 victory over Colorado on Tuesday.
Houston has won 12 of 15 to open a 10-game lead in the AL West. It looked as if it was headed for its ninth straight win Sunday in Baltimore, but Roberto Osuna surrendered a two-run homer to Rio Ruiz with two out in the ninth inning of the Orioles’ 8-7 victory.
Chicago dropped two of three against Oakland over the weekend. Lucas Giolito struck out a career-high 13 in six innings Sunday, but Matt Olson homered for the Athletics and the White Sox were shut down by Chris Bassitt in a 2-0 loss.
Rookie right-hander Dylan Cease was scheduled to pitch for Chicago on Monday night. Cease had dropped four consecutive starts before he pitched five effective innings in a 5-3 win at Detroit last week.
“What we’ve seen with Dylan is trying to get him to be more efficient, be more confident early, attack early, trust the stuff that he has,” manager Rick Renteria said. “I think his command is one of the things we’ve been trying to work on. It was still something that we were dealing with before we brought him up. … He’s got a chance to be really good.”
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Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap
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