LEADING OFF: More teams go to 100% capacity, Minor in Texas

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This article was published 24/06/2021 (1607 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:

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FILLING BALLPARKS

The Chicago White Sox, Houston, Milwaukee and San Francisco all move to full capacity Friday for the first time since 2019, raising the total to 24 teams at 100%. Five teams are scheduled to reach full capacity in the next 10 days: Colorado (Monday), Oakland (June 29), Pittsburgh (July 1) and Minnesota and Tampa Bay (July 5). Toronto, forced from home by Canadian government coronavirus restrictions, is playing home games at the field of its Triple-A team in Buffalo, New York.

MINOR RETURNS

Royals left-hander Mike Minor (6-4, 4.48) is set to pitch at Texas for the first time since the Rangers traded him to Oakland late last season.

The 33-year-old Minor was 26-23 with a 4.00 ERA over three seasons with Texas. He made his only All-Star team there in 2019, a career year when he struck out 200 batters and finished eighth in AL Cy Young Award balloting. Minor faced the Rangers in Kansas City in his Royals debut, pitching four-run ball over six innings on April 3 in an 11-4 win.

RHP Dane Dunning (2-6, 4.71) is slated to start for the Rangers.

MINISCULE MANAEA

Oakland Athletics lefty Sean Manaea has a 1.19 ERA over his last six starts, allowing only five runs over 37 2-3 innings. Manaea (6-3, 3.01 ERA overall in 15 starts this season) gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings when the A’s lost 2-1 to th Yankees in New York on Sunday. Before that, he was the first Oakland pitcher since Trevor Cahill 10 years ago with five consecutive starts pitching at least five innings and allowing no more than one run.

Manaea starts Friday night when the A’s end the first of their three 10-game trips this season close to home. They play an interleague game against the Giants in San Francisco, meaning Manaea gets the opportunity to hit for the first time since 2018.

BEANTOWN

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Right-hander Domingo Germán (4-4, 4.17) starts for the New York Yankees in their first game in front of fans at Fenway Park since 2019. Left-hander Martín Pérez (5-4, 4.32) will be on the mound for the Boston Red Sox.

STRUGGLING HARVEY

Matt Harvey is 0-8 with with an 11.49 ERA in his last nine starts for the Baltimore Orioles, leaving him 2-8 with a 7.80 ERA going into his outing Friday against the Blue Jays in Buffalo, New York. Alek Manoah (1-0, 4.18) starts for Toronto while appealing a five-game suspension assessed by Major League Baseball senior vice president Michael Hill, who concluded the rookie intentionally threw at Baltimore’s Maikel Franco last weekend when he hit him on the left shoulder with a 93.8 mph pitch, just after allowing consecutive home runs to Ryan Mountcastle and DJ Stewart.

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