LEADING OFF: Voth hurt, Nats manager worries about more

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Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, right, comes over to talk with starting pitcher Vince Velasquez, center, after Velasquez hit Washington Nationals' Austin Voth in the face with a pitch during the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, June 6, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

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STICKY SITUATION

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Nationals reliever Austin Voth was sent to a Philadelphia hospital to get his nose reset after it was broken when he was hit by a pitch while squaring around to bunt.

Voth was hurt Sunday in a 12-6 loss to the Phillies. Hit by a pitch from Vince Velasquez, Voth exited with a towel covering a gash across his nose after the ball appeared to deflect off the bill of his batting helmet.

Washington manager Dave Martinez warned such injuries might become more frequent if Major League Baseball follows through on plans to crack down on pitchers using foreign substances to maintain a better grip on the baseball.

“I hate to bring it up, but you will see more of that if we keep messing around with the stuff about the balls,” Martinez said. “I mean, really. They’ve been trying to clean some stuff up. But it’s hot, it’s slippery, guys are sweaty.

“I know that Velasquez didn’t throw intentionally. But I’m afraid that if we don’t come up with something unified for that, you see a lot more of that,” he said. “Hopefully they will come up with some kind of happy medium to resolve the whole baseball issue with the sticky stuff.”

BACK AND FORTH

The Marlins close a nine-game road trip in the same place it started -- at Fenway Park.

Miami makes up a May 30 postponement in Boston with a quick detour back to face the Red Sox. Jesus Aguilar and the Marlins played twice at Fenway, twice in Buffalo against the Blue Jays and four times in Pittsburgh -- Miami lost the first eight before beating the Pirates on Sunday.

After Pablo López (1-3, 2.82 ERA) takes on Boston’s Nick Pivetta (6-1, 3.77 ERA), the Marlins head home to host Colorado on Tuesday.

WELCOME

Highly regarded Royals prospect Jackson Kowar is set to make his major league debut, going on the road to face big-hitting Shohei Ohtani and the Angels.

The 24-year-old Kowar was 5-0 with an 0.85 ERA at Triple-A Omaha. The right-hander struck out 41 in 31 2/3 innings.

Angels righty Dylan Bundy (0-6, 6.49 ERA) aims for his first win in his 11th start of the season.

TAKE A BREAK

Manager Torey Lovullo and the Arizona Diamondbacks get a day off before trying again to end their 17-game road losing streak.

Arizona’s skid continued Sunday with a 2-0 loss at Milwaukee. The Diamondbacks have lost 28 of 33 overall and haven’t won away from Phoenix since Madison Bumgarner threw seven no-hit innings on April 25 to finish a doubleheader sweep in Atlanta.

On Tuesday, right-hander Jon Duplantier (0-1, 9.35 ERA) starts at Oakland.

LONG GONE

The NL West-leading Giants expect to be without third baseman Evan Longoria for at least six weeks because of a sprained left shoulder.

The 35-year-old Longoria was injured Saturday night when he collided with shortstop Brandon Crawford in the ninth inning as both players tried to field a grounder against the Cubs.

Longoria is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs.

San Francisco called up infielder Thairo Estrada from Triple-A Sacramento to take Longoria’s place on the roster.

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