Hamels set back by shoulder
Braves’ veteran likely will need more time to prepare
Cole Hamels rejoined the Braves just in time for their spring training opener. The injured left-hander is still a ways off from using the mound at the club’s new spring home, though.
Hamels signed a one-year, $18 million deal with the Braves during the offseason but informed the team just before camp started that he was experiencing shoulder discomfort during training. The 36-year-old was sent to Dallas to get treatment from surgeon Keith Meister.
Now he’s back but says he’s waiting for inflammation in the shoulder “to calm down.” He expects to remain in North Port, Fla., after the Braves break camp for opening day.
“I know I’m behind the eight ball,” he said. “But once I knock (the inflammation) out right away, I know I’ll be able to be the best pitcher I can and put up good numbers.”
The 14-year-veteran went 7-7 with a 3.81 ERA last season with the Cubs. The Braves were certainly hoping he might top last year’s output of 141 2⁄3 innings, but that may be in question after his shoulder flared up doing weighted ball drills.
“It hit a point where I couldn’t get past (the pain),” Hamels said. “Soreness is good but you have to know what’s good and what’s bad. I wasn’t feeling as good as I thought I should and I couldn’t overcome it without asking the right questions.”
In its Grapefruit League opener, the Braves got two shutout innings from Felix Hernandez in a 5-0 victory over the Orioles.
Hernandez, who spent his first 15 seasons with the Mariners before signing a minor league deal with the Braves in the offseason, allowed only a walk and struck out two.
Boos rain down on Astros: Fans hoping to heckle the sign-stealing Astros at their spring opener were met with quite the coincidence.
They got their signs stolen.
In the Astros’ first spring training game since their sign-stealing scandal rocked baseball, some fans brought signs jeering the Astros, and ballpark personnel confiscated them before the exhibition opener against the World Series champion Nationals in Palm Beach, Fla.
In a Series rematch, the Nats got hearty cheers, while everyone in an Astros jersey — including the mascot, Orbit — was booed. The Astros did not use any players implicated in MLB’s probe.
Porcello gets taste of NL: Mets pitcher Rick Porcello made his first pitch to be part of the club’s starting rotation, but the Marlins stole a bit of his thunder.
Porcello pitched one inning and allowed two hits in the Mets’ spring training opener, allowing one run when the Marlins’ Monte Harrison swiped a pair of bases and scored on a bloop single.
The Mets lost 5-3, dropping their first game in newly-renovated Clover Park, which has undergone a $57 million facelift that began last year.
Porcello pitched 11 seasons in the American League for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox before inking a $10 million, one-year deal with the Mets. He’s never pitched in the National League and expects a learning curve — something the Marlins gave him with aggressive baserunning during his 17pitch outing.
“Get out there first pitch with a runner on first (base), and he’s gone,” Porcello said. “I’ll start paying attention to that more and be prepared more for a change in style of play.”
Good day for Flaherty: Jack Flaherty was named the Cardinals’ opening day starter, then tossed two shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out three, in a 2-0 victory over a Mets split squad. Tyler O’Neill hit a solo home run off Mets starter Marcus Stroman in the second inning.
Stroman gave up one run, three hits and a walk, striking out two while retiring four batters. J.D. Davis had a double for the Mets.
The Mets’ Rick Porcello throws one of his 17 pitches Saturday against the Marlins.