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LEADING OFF: Bumgarner faces former Giants teammates in SF

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Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner throws a pitch against the San Diego Padres in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

A look at what's happening around the majors on today:

HERE COMES MADBUM

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Former Giants ace Madison Bumgarner will face his former club at last when he takes the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks in San Francisco. He might face a few ex-teammates who are still around.

ā€œI feel like Iā€™m pretty good at pushing all that stuff aside,ā€ the 2014 World Series MVP said. ā€œIā€™m pretty good at staying even keel when it comes to all that stuff.ā€

When Arizona visited Oracle Park last month, Bumgarner remained in Phoenix rehabbing a mid-back strain. He will come off the injured list to make his first appearance since Aug. 9.

The star lefty is 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA after he signed an $85 million, five-year contract with the Diamondbacks during the offseason.

ā€œMadison was a tremendous pitcher for a long time for the Giants and arguably one of the top two pitchers over the course of the last 10 years or so,ā€ San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said. ā€œCertainly deserving of all of the accolades.ā€

GLEYBER DAY WEEKEND

The Yankees may get shortstop Gleyber Torres back in the lineup a day earlier than expected. Torres has been out with a left hamstring strain, and manager Aaron Boone said early Friday that Torres could get back in the lineup Sunday. Boone changed course after New York split a doubleheader in Baltimore that night, saying thereā€™s a ā€œgood chanceā€ Torres could go Saturday against the Orioles.

Tough break for Baltimore ā€” Torres is a career .345 hitter with 16 homers in 31 games against the Oā€™s.

SMALL BALL

Braves right-hander Max Fried (6-0, 1.60) is the only qualified starting pitcher in the majors who hasnā€™t given up a home run this season, a run heā€™ll try to extend against the Nationals. NL East-leading Atlanta has won all eight of Friedā€™s starts.

GETTING CLOSE

Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette was set to hit in a simulated game against reliever Ken Giles before Toronto played at Boston. Bichette hasnā€™t played since Aug. 15 because of a sprained right knee and is ā€œa lot better than thought heā€™d be at this time,ā€ manager Charlie Montoyo said.

Bichette is batting .361 with five home runs and 13 RBIs in 14 games. He had a nine-game hitting streak when he was hurt.

Montoyo also said Giles, whoā€™s been sidelined with a strained right forearm, might throw another simulated game or could be activated.

REMEMBER ME?

Reliever Pedro Strop is returning to the Cubs after recently being released by Cincinnati.

The 35-year-old righty has agreed to a minor league deal and will report to the teamā€™s alternate training site in South Bend, Indiana. The Cubs are leading the NL Central, but their bullpen has struggled at times.

Wearing his hat off to the left, Strop became a fan favorite at Wrigley Field after he was acquired along with Jake Arrieta in a 2013 trade with Baltimore. He had a 2.90 ERA in 411 appearances with the Cubs over seven years, mostly in a setup role. He was a key member of the 2016 team that won the franchiseā€™s first World Series title since 1908.

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