Guardians right-hander Ben Lively departs with right thigh contusion

CHICAGO (AP) — Guardians right-hander Ben Lively left Tuesday night's game at the Chicago White Sox after he was struck by a comebacker.

The 32-year-old Lively was hit on the outside of his right leg by Dominic Fletcher's liner in the second inning. The ball caromed off Lively to first baseman Josh Naylor, who stepped on the bag for the final out.

The 6-foot-4 Lively was helped off the field, but he made the final few steps into the Guardians' dugout on his own. The team said he had a right thigh contusion.

Lively struck out two in two scoreless innings for the AL Central leaders. He is 11-9 with a 4.01 ERA in a career-high 26 starts and 137 innings.

Pedro Avila replaced Lively on the mound.

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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s monthslong festival season began on Tuesday with tens of thousands of devotees pulling a wooden chariot with a young girl revered as a living goddess.

Families gathered for feasts and lit incense for the dead at shrines. Men and boys in colorful masks and gowns representing Hindu deities danced to traditional music and drums, drawing throngs of spectators to Kathmandu's old streets.

The Indra Jatra festival marks the end of the monsoon and rice farming season and signals the dawn of fall. It's celebrated mostly by the Newar community, the native residents of Kathmandu. It is also known as the festival of deities and demons and especially honors Indra, the Hindu god of rain.

The masked dancers, one of the highlights of the ceremony, can be fearsome, entertaining and awe-inspiring, depending on the performers’ movements.

Kumari, a young girl who is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal as a living goddess, left her temple palace and was driven around the center of the capital in a wooden chariot pulled by devotees, who lined up to receive her blessing. Among the spectators were President Ram Chandra Poudel, officials and diplomats.

The weeklong Indra Jatra precedes months of other festivals in the predominantly Hindu nation. They include Dasain, the main festival, and Tihar, or Diwali, the festival of lights, in November.