A look at what’s happening all around the majors Monday:
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AILING ALL OVER
Star pitchers Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals are recovering after getting injured Sunday, as is Cardinals on-base machine Matt Carpenter. Kershaw is headed to the disabled list with another back injury, this time suffering from tightness in the lower right side. Strasburg, meanwhile, says he hasn’t felt right since the All-Star break because of ”achiness” in his forearm – he left after two innings Sunday to hopefully ”nip it in the bud now.” Carpenter is dealing with right quad muscle tightness, and it was unclear if he’d be ready for St. Louis’ game against Colorado.
HERE HE COMES
The Cubs could get another boost with the return of Kyle Hendricks, who has been sidelined by pain in the middle finger of his right hand. Hendricks will make his first start since June 4 when the Cubs host the crosstown White Sox. The right-hander went 16-6 with a major league-best 2.13 ERA last season, but has been limited to just 11 starts this year. ”My finger’s feeling good,” Hendricks said. ”So it took that amount of time and it is what it is. Obviously I would have liked to come back sooner, but yeah, I’m glad we took the course we did and hopefully it can pay out later down the road.”
THE GREAT JAKE
Mets ace Jacob deGrom (11-3, 3.37 ERA) has won seven straight starts. He has a 1.51 ERA in that span, striking out 50 and walking 10. He’ll try to extend the streak when New York begins a 10-game road trip by visiting San Diego.
STRUGGLING CAIN
San Francisco right-hander Matt Cain (3-8, 5.49) will try to avoid matching the longest losing streak of his career at eight games – from July 28, 2015-May 10, 2016 – when he pitches the series opener at home against Pittsburgh.
ACTION PAXTON
Mariners left-hander James Paxton (9-3, 3.06) is 4-0 with 2.05 ERA in four July starts. He’ll make his third career start against Boston, and he’s 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA against the Red Sox. He’ll be opposed by lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 3.66).
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More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
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