Peralta back at pitching
UNDATED (AP) — Freddy Peralta will be pitching for the first time in more than two weeks when he starts for Milwaukee in Game 3 of the NL Division Series at Atlanta this afternoon.
Peralta (10-5, 2.81) was on the 10-day injured list from Aug. 19 to Sept. 2 with right shoulder inflammation. He was 1-2 with a 4.70 ERA in five September starts and hasn’t pitched since his last start on Sept. 26.
Also in MLB:
— Dodgers ace Max Scherzer is riding a pair of long streaks going into his start in Game 3 of the NL Division Series against the Giants tonight. He wouldn’t mind ending one of them. On the mound, the three-time Cy Young Award winner is 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA in 12 starts since being traded from Washington to Los Angeles in late July. That includes a no-decision in the NL wild-card game Wednesday against St. Louis when he allowed one run in 4 1/3 innings.
— In the AL, Houston is at Chicago this afternoon. And this evening, Tampa Bay is at Boston.
— The Astros are facing renewed suspicions over sign stealing two years after being punished by the league for a scandal during their 2017 World Series run. White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera implied Sunday night that Houston may have been stealing signs in Games 1 and 2 of their AL Division Series after Chicago won the third game. Houston was going for a sweep after it rolled to a pair of impressive victories at home. The AL West champions went down in order in each of the last five innings in a 12-6 loss. Tepera, who worked two perfect innings, noted the difference between the Astros at home and on the road.
— Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been getting encouragement from someone else in New England who’s done a lot of winning — Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Cora says Belichick reached out before Tuesday’s wild-card victory over the New York Yankees, and sent another note after that. Before Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Rays, Cora said, “That’s like the highlight of the year.” Cora said, “I got the text from this random area code. That’s cool, to be honest with you, for somebody of his status to wish us luck.”