OF Brandon Guyer is getting a couple days off after getting

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The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals will play a doubleheader Tuesday — as long as the field at Citizens Bank Park is dried out by then.The teams saw their series opener postponed Monday night due to a soggy field that was deemed unplayable. The first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader is set for a 3:05 p.m. ET start.The damage to the infield at Citizens Bank Park happened Friday when the field was left uncovered overnight and the area got more rain than was anticipated Ronald Acuna Jr. Jersey , according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. The grounds crew worked to dry out the field Monday afternoon and even brought in blowtorches in an effort to make the field playable.Article continues below ...“In retrospect, had I known that it was going to be this much rain, we would have tarped it,” Phillies vice president of business affairs Howard Smith told MLB.com. “We didn’t. Damage was done, and now we’re just playing catch-up.”The Phillies, meanwhile, have been cold on the field in the last month. The team has not won a series since sweeping the Miami Marlins in early August and is 11-20 in its last 31 games.The Phillies (74-6 are five games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and five games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card spot.“I believe in the talent in that room,” first-year Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told reporters after a 6-4 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday. “I’ve said that from Day 1. That doesn’t change when we don’t perform at our best, and we didn’t on this road trip.”The Phillies dropped four of their six games against the Mets and Marlins last week, and they’re 28-32 against NL East foes this year (including an 8-8 mark against the Nationals). However, the Phillies are returning home to Citizens Bank Park, where they are 43-26 in 2018.The Nationals (71-72), who are eight games back of the Braves, have not played since Saturday. Their Sunday series finale against the Chicago Cubs was rained out at Nationals Park. Washington’s Erick Fedde (1-3, 6.00 ERA) and Philadelphia’s Jake Arrieta (10-9, 3.61) were set to face each other on Monday night, while Tanner Roark (8-15, 4.23) and Nick Pivetta (7-11 http://www.bravesfanproshop.com/authentic-sean-newcomb-jersey , 4.66) were the scheduled starters for Tuesday’s game.Fedde has made seven starts this season, and he returned to the Nationals last week after missing two months with a shoulder injury. He gave up four runs (all in the second inning) on four hits and had seven strikeouts in five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals last Tuesday.“I think just that second inning got away from me a little bit,” Fedde told mlb.com after the game. “I started getting a little slider happy with some of the guys that came up, and I think I just let it take over.”Fedde, 25, is 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in two career starts against the Phillies.Arrieta was strong in his last outing, notching 11 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings against the Marlins. The veteran right-hander has allowed two homers in each of his last three starts, including in a three-inning performance against the Nationals on Aug. 29.Arrieta is 1-2 with a 5.25 ERA in 12 career starts against Washington. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jason Kipnis had been mired in such a batting slump that the Indians second baseman had resorted to watching old film of himself, trying to discover what had changed in the past couple years.He finally noticed a subtle, almost imperceptible difference in his hand position, so he rolled up a magazine and began mimicking his old swing in his hotel room. And while it felt a bit odd, and looked just as goofy, Kipnis nevertheless went to sleep feeling as if something had finally clicked.Did it ever.Kipnis proceeded to club four hits and drive in four runs Sunday, the big shot an inside-the-park homer in the ninth inning, to lead Cleveland’s 12-5 rout of the Kansas City Royals.“Obviously every day I’ve been working to snap out of it. It’s been ugly to watch and worse to go out there,” said Kipnis, who is still hitting just .223 this season. “I came in with better spirits and said Preston Tucker Jersey , ‘Let’s see where it goes from here.'”Kipnis nearly went 5 for 5, but a baserunning mix-up by Melky Cabrera on his flyball in the second resulted in a fielder’s choice. Kipnis later had a pair of singles and a double before the homer.“He swung the bat very well,” Indians manager Terry Francona said, “and I’ll tell you what, what a lift that would give us. He’s showed flashes, but if he could get hot, what a lift it would be.”Shane Bieber (8-2) allowed four runs for Cleveland — on homers by Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez and Lucas Duda. He departed after allowing six hits and striking out seven in 5 1/3 innings, but it was still enough for the AL Central-leading Indians to improve to 10-1 when facing a series sweep.Right-hander Jorge Lopez (0-4) allowed five runs, all in the fourth inning, on five hits and three walks for Kansas City. He was lifted after throwing 79 pitches in just four innings.“You give a chance to your guys when you go deep in a game and I couldn’t do it today. I need to get better for sure,” Lopez said. “We’ll see about going forward from this start.”The Royals, who had snapped their own five-game skid Friday night, looked as if they’d keep their momentum going when Merrifield took Bieber deep to left field leading off the game.It was his fifth career leadoff homer and second this year.But the Indians answered with their big fourth inning, when six consecutive batters reached on four hits and a pair of walks. And after Perez went deep in the bottom half, the Indians added two more runs on Francisco Lindor’s two-out single in the sixth to add to their cushion.Edwin Encarnacion continued the offensive outburst — which came after the Indians were held to one run on five hits on Saturday night — when he took Royals reliever Jake Newberry deep in the eighth.“It’s been a tough trip for a lot of guys, but they’re going to be OK,” Francona said. “We needed to find a way today http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-j.j.-hardy-jersey , whether it was ugly or whatever, and we did that.”O’HEARN IN LFRoyals 1B/DH Ryan O’Hearn got the start in left field, the first time he’s played the outfield in the big leagues. O’Hearn played 13 games there at Triple-A Omaha this season, and manager Ned Yost said the move was designed to “find a way to keep his bat in there.”TRAINER’S ROOMIndians: RHP Cody Anderson (Tommy John surgery) struck out two in a scoreless inning Saturday night for the club’s Arizona League team. It was his first game since September 2016. “No red flags or anything,” Francona said. … OF Brandon Guyer is getting a couple days off after getting hit where the foot meets the ankle, or as Francona called it, the “fankle.”Royals: RHP Ian Kennedy (left oblique strain) threw 60 pitches last Friday without any problems and expects to make a rehab start Wednesday, Yost said. … OF Jorge Soler (fractured left toe) will begin a rehab assignment in the next couple of days, but even then he is unlikely to play in the outfield. “I don’t think so,” Yost said. “DH him some, give him some at-bats, make sure he’s ready to go for spring training, which he will be.”UP NEXTThe Indians and Royals will both take Monday off before beginning their next series. Cleveland is back home to face Minnesota with Carlos Carrasco (15-7, 3.55 ERA) on the mound, and Kansas City begins a five-game trip to Detroit and Baltimore with Jakob Junis (6-12, 4.70 ERA) getting the first start.
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