Mookie Betts ties record with eight RBI out of leadoff spot - MLB

Mookie Betts went 4-for-6 with two home runs and eight RBI out of the leadoff spot in Sunday afternoon’s 15-1 drubbing of the Blue Jays. His eight RBI ties a record for a leadoff batter. Four other players have accomplished the feat, according to MLB’s Stat of the Day Twitter account.

Betts hit an RBI single in the second inning to push his team’s lead to 2-0. He smacked a three-run home run in the fourth inning to make it 5-1, added a two-run home run in the sixth to up the lead to 7-1, and brought in two more runs with another single in the seventh to make it 11-1.

Betts has the third game of eight-plus RBI this season. Scooter Gennett had 10 RBI in his record-tying four-homer game last month and Anthony Rendon knocked in 10 himself at the end of April. Coincidentally, Betts was also the last member of the Red Sox to knock in eight-plus runs when he brought eight home on August 14 last year against the Diamondbacks.

After Sunday’s performance, Betts is hitting .286/.364/.509 with 15 home runs, 51 RBI, 56 runs scored, and 15 stolen bases in 366 plate appearances. He’s having a pretty good follow-up after finishing as a runner-up in AL MVP Award voting in 2016.

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LOS ANGELES — Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, and Tommy Kahnle were activated by the New York Yankees ahead of their weekend series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

New York cleared three roster spots after a 1-0 loss at Seattle, optioning infielder-outfielders Oswaldo Cabrera and Franchy Cordero to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre along with left-hander Matt Krook.

Stanton, Donaldson and Kahnle all played in a rehab game for Double-A Somerset. Stanton was hitless in three at-bats in his first appearance since injuring his left hamstring on April 15.

Donaldson went 1 for 4 in his fourth rehab game as he comes back from a strained right hamstring originally sustained on April 5.

Kahnle pitched one inning, giving up one run and one hit and walking two. He has been out since spring training with right biceps tendinitis.

Aaron Boone said he wasn’t concerned about Stanton returning after playing in just one rehab game. He did say that Stanton likely will be a designated hitter for a couple of weeks after rejoining the Yankees.

New York is missing centerfielder Harrison Bader, who strained his right hamstring against the Mariners and went on the injured list the next day.

Left-hander Carlos Rodón, sidelined since spring training by a sore left forearm and an ailing back, was transferred to the 60-day injured list.