National League notes
NL EAST Atlanta Braves
The return of RHP Mike Foltynewicz hasn’t provided the hoped-for boost. The Braves lost both of the first two starts their ace made after coming off the disabled list, and, worse yet, his velocity was down and his slider wasn’t sharp.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of Folty ammo to work with,” C Tyler Flowers said after Foltynewicz allowed six runs (two earned) in 42⁄3 innings May 2 against the San Diego Padres. He gave up four runs in six innings in his first outing.
Foltynewicz missed most of April because of a right elbow bone spur, but the Braves said they believe he is now healthy.
❚ The Braves clearly haven’t forgotten that Marlins RHP Jose Urena threw at OF Ronald Acuna Jr. last August. Urena faced them May 3 for the first time since the incident, and Braves RHP Kevin Gausman threw behind him and was ejected. Major League Baseball slapped Gausman with a five-game suspension, which he appealed.
Miami Marlins
Many people questioned RHP Jose Urena’s actions when he threw at Braves OF Ronald Acuna Jr. last August, but it was Urena who criticized the Braves after RHP Kevin Gausman threw a pitch behind him in apparent retaliation May 3.
“From the beginning, (the Braves) were saying I did it on purpose, but look at how they did it,” Urena said. “That’s the way they claim they are professional?”
❚ CEO Derek Jeter cited “overall business strategy” and not the team’s MLB-low attendance in explaining why he fired president of business operations Chip Bowers, just 14 months after hiring him away from the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. Through 20 home dates, the Marlins averaged just 9,557 a game.
New York Mets
The Mets felt good about the back of their bullpen after acquiring closer Edwin Diaz from the Seattle Mariners and signing RHP Jeurys Familia to be his setup man. But the same week Diaz lost two games on ninth-inning home runs, Familia (6.28 ERA) went on the injured list because of right shoulder soreness.
“I don’t have real long-term concern,” general manager Brodie Van Wagenen said. Concern about RHP Noah
Syndergaard might have been eased May 2 when he became the first Mets pitcher ever to win a 1-0 complete game on his own home run. Syndergaard, who had a 6.35 ERA before the win over the Cincinnati Reds, was just the seventh pitcher in history to have a game like that. ❚ Mets broadcaster Ron Darling was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and released this statement: “After the removal of the mass on my chest along with further tests ... my doctors have said they are optimistic that the cancer is treatable and that I would be back on air talking baseball in the next month or so.”
Philadelphia Phillies
OF Bryce Harper has been struggling, to the point where he heard some boos at Citizens Bank Park. But manager Gabe
Kapler said he has no plans to give his team’s new star a day off.
“There’s a very real chance that Bryce will play 162 games this year,” Kapler said. “I think that great hitters need to hit, great hitters need to be in the batter’s box.”
❚ OF Andrew McCutchen found himself back in center field for the first time since 2017 after the Phillies lost both Odubel Herrera and Roman Quinn to injuries. “I’m always going to view myself as a center fielder,” McCutchen said. Herrera was expected back in the lineup this week.
Washington Nationals
Saying they expected more out of both their rotation and their bullpen, the Nationals fired pitching coach Derek Lilliquist just 30 games into the season. Paul Menhart, the team’s minor league pitching coordinator, was promoted to replace him.
“We thought that there were preparation issues there, and we thought we wanted to get a new message and a new voice,” general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Rizzo also said he wanted someone who was “hands-on” and “analytical.” The Nationals had hoped to see improvement from their pitching staff this season after adding LHP Patrick Corbin to the rotation and
RHPs Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough and LHP Tony Sipp to the bullpen. ❚ RHP Stephen Strasburg recorded his 1,500th career strikeout May 2 against the St. Louis Cardinals, in Lilliquist’s final game. Strasburg needed just 1,2721⁄3 innings to get there, the fewest of any pitcher in history.
NL CENTRAL Chicago Cubs
SS Addison Russell was getting more time in the minor leagues after serving his 40game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy.
The Cubs decided to option Russell to Class AAA (Des Moines) Iowa on May 3 rather than put him on the active roster for the opener of a threegame series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The club provided no timetable for when Russell could be back in the majors, but manager Joe Maddon said, “I don’t think it will be long.”
2B Javier Baez has played shortstop during Russell’s absence and will stay there. IF
Daniel Descalso has taken over as the starting second baseman.
❚ Maddon has taken a new approach to making his lineups this season. He is doing it series-by-series rather than game-by-game to give the players more advance notice on when they will be playing.
Cincinnati Reds
CF Nick Senzel, the organization’s top prospect, made an immediate impact after being called up from Class AAA Louisville (Kentucky).
The 23-year-old hit three home runs in his first four games, including two May 6. He would have had a fourth homer, but San Francisco Giants CF Kevin Pillar climbed the fence to rob Senzel.
The Reds drafted Senzel second overall in 2016 from the University of Tennessee. He batted .312 with 28 homers in 239 minor league games and was converted to the outfield from the infield this year during spring training.
❚ The club took a big financial