APRIL’S K’S KO HITS, MARKING A FIRST

Baseball had a whiff of offense in the air during a cold and wet April.

Strikeouts exceeded hits during a full calendar month for the first time in the sport’s nearly century-and-a-half history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Nearly one-third of plate appearances this season have ended without the ball being put in play.

“One month is a rather small sample, and we are hoping that the phenomenon of strikeouts exceeding hits is an anomaly that will not persist over the course of the season,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in an email to The Associated Press.

Major League Baseball has increasingly become a game of long balls and long walks — back to the dugout.

There were 6,656 strikeouts and 6,360 hits in April, according to Elias. The previous low differential was in April 2017, when there were 138 more hits than strikeouts.

“It’s what’s sexy now,” Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart said. “Home runs are sexy. Strikeouts are sexy. Early ground balls with one strike are not sexy.”

Braves keep phenoms coming up.

NEW YORK

The Braves called up another of their top prospects, pitcher Mike Soroka, who pitched Tuesday against the New York Mets.

The 20-year-old right-hander gives the Braves the three youngest players in the major leagues. He joins outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., who is about four months younger than Soroka, and 21year-old second baseman Ozzie Albies.

Soroka was a first-round pick by Atlanta in 2015 and quickly rose through the ranks. Last year, he went 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA for Mississippi in the Double-A Southern League.

Moving up this year to Triple-A Gwinnett, he was 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in his four starts, earning a promotion.

Bound for Tokyo.

The Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners will play an opening two-game series in Tokyo on March 20 and 21, the fifth time Major League Baseball will start its season in Japan.

Both the Athletics and Mariners will play Japanese teams in exhibitions on March 17 and 18.

The A’s and Mariners also faced each other in the last opening series at the Tokyo Dome, splitting two games in 2012.

Footnotes.

Angels closer Keynan Middleton has been placed on the 10-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation. … The Twins placed third baseman Miguel Sano on the 10-day DL with a strained left hamstring. … Miguel Cabrera was out of the starting lineup for the Tigers for a second straight night. … Right-hander Johnny Cueto was put on the 10-day DL by San Francisco because of inflammation in his pitching elbow, and the Giants said left-hander Madison Bumgarner has been cleared to resume throwing. Cueto leads the major leagues with a 0.84 ERA. — The Associated Press