National League notes
Arizona:
RHP Merrill Kelly, the club’s No. 2 starter, was scratched April 21 due to a right shoulder injury, yet another blow to a Diamondbacks team already overwhelmed by injuries. Kelly said the initial diagnosis is a “mild teres major strain.” After a second MRI on April 22, it seemed at press time he would land on the injured list, though there is hope he won’t be down for long. “We feel like this is going to be something he’s going to work through rather quickly,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed.” Kelly, who has been one of the better starters in baseball over the past few seasons, was off to a strong start to his year, posting a 2.19 ERA in 242⁄3 innings across four starts.
Atlanta: Marcell Ozuna hit a threerun homer April 21 and leads the major leagues with nine homers and 27 RBI. But first baseman Matt Olson continues to struggle. He struck out four times April 21 and was mired in a 0-for-18 slump. Olson hadn’t homered since April 7.
Chicago: Mark and Al Leiter not only pitched in the major leagues, but now their sons have made it, too, with Jack Leiter, Al’s son, making his big-league debut this past week. They are the first MLB siblings to also have their sons play in the big leagues. “Pretty cool,” said Cubs reliever Mark Leiter. “Everyone in the family is pretty proud.”
Cincinnati: For weeks, three different bugs were going around the Reds clubhouse. Some of the players had bad allergies, some of them had a cold and a few had flu-like symptoms. Still, the Reds wrapped up last weekend with a series sweep over the Angels and a 12-9 record for the season. Despite everything that’s gone against them, they’ve avoided a slow start for the first time in over a decade. “I feel like we haven’t played our best yet,” manager David Bell said. “It’s good to see some results and feel like we’re getting something shown for the work we’ve put in. We’re continuing to try to get better.” With the 12-9 start, the Reds have their best record through 21 games since 2013.
Colorado: The Federal Aviation Administration is conducting an investigation after hitting coach Hensley Meulens posted a video from inside the cockpit during a team charter flight, according to KUSA in Denver. United Airlines, operator of the flight, told KUSA that the airline is “deeply disturbed by what we see in that video” in “a clear violation of our safety and operational policies,” referring to Meulens as “an unauthorized person in the flight deck” en route to Toronto. According to the airline, Meulens’ cockpit visit happened at cruising altitude when the autopilot was engaged. In the now-deleted video Meulens shared on Instagram, he is sitting in one of the pilots’ seats and jokes about how he’s going to land the plane that night – while another flight officer looks on from the cockpit’s other seat. Meulens, 56, played from 1989 to 2000 in Major League Baseball, Japan and Korea. He has also coached for the Giants, Mets and Yankees.
Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani set the major league home run record for players born in Japan when he went deep in the third inning of an April 21 10-0 win against the visiting New York Mets. Ohtani’s fifth home run of the season, well into the seats beyond right field, was the 176th of his career to break a tie with countryman Hideki Matsui. The blast off Mets starter Adrian Houser came in Ohtani’s 725th game over seven major league seasons, the first six of which were with the Angels. Matsui hit his 175 home runs over 1,236 games and 10 seasons, the first seven of which were with the Yankees.
Miami: OF Bryan De La Cruz had hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and had hits in 19 of the Marlins’ 23 games entering the week. He had an eight-game hitting streak end in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs.
Milwaukee: OF Blake Perkins made his first opening-day roster and Garrett Mitchell’s injury opened the door. Now, Christian Yelich’s balky back has sent him to the injured list and Perkins is making the most of his opportunity. Playing every day since, Perkins was hitting .354 with two homers and six RBI with an OPS of .968 this season entering the week. “You kind of categorize guys – it’s very dangerous,” manager Pat Murphy says. “As young coaches, we come through and we think we kind of get a feel for our type of player. And I saw Blake Perkins and I’m like, ‘He’s not like into it,’ and I just didn’t have this feel that he was going to be the type of guy I love. Dead wrong. And I love it. I love being wrong about it. This guy has emerged.”
New York: The Mets placed starting C Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list with a left thumb sprain. They selected the contract of Tomas Nido from Class AAA Syracuse (N.Y.) to fill in the void. Manager Carlos Mendoza said Alvarez would require surgery to repair a torn ligament. Alvarez was in clear pain after
putting his left hand down awkwardly after stumbling around first base in the second inning of the Mets’ 9-4 seriesopening victory over the Dodgers last week at Dodger Stadium. A timetable had not been revealed for Alvarez’s return.
Philadelphia: Winners of 14 of their first 22 games and six in a row, the Phillies were off to their best start since 2018. In an 8-2 April 21 win over the White Sox, Philadelphia starter Aaron Nola allowed two earned runs in the first inning, snapping a streak of 311⁄3 innings without a Phillies starter allowing an earned run, their longest streak since a 37-inning run in 1969. On April 19, Spencer Turnbull took a no-hit bid into the seventh against the White Sox. On April 20, Wheeler took a no-hit bid into the eighth. “It’s a friendly competition,” Wheeler said. “Spencer had a good night. I try to go out there and top that. We try to one-up each other, and that’s what makes us good. You’re just trying to beat the guy that goes before you.”
Pittsburgh: The Pirates pulled 22year-old rookie Jared Jones after only 57 pitches in five innings last week against the Mets. He was virtually unhittable, yielding one bloop hit without a walk, striking out seven. (He threw 91 pitches in six innings April 22.) Meanwhile, Paul Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, had yet to pitch longer than 3 innings in the minor leagues this season despite absolutely dominating hitters with 27 strikeouts in 12 innings.
St. Louis: The Cardinals entered the week following a three-game sweep by the Brewers. St. Louis had lost four games in a row overall. “I know this team is going to be able to turn it around, and hopefully it won’t be too late,” catcher Willson Contreras said. “Some players just need to let loose and have fun with the game.” St. Louis demoted rookie OF Victor Scott II, who was batting just .085 in a starting role, and promoted C Pedro Pages.
San Diego: Second baseman and leadoff hitter Xander Bogaerts is feeling the wrath of fans with his .204 batting average and .275 on-base percentage this season. “It’s tough to see me hitting first right now,” Bogaerts told reporters, “I ain’t gonna lie. I come to the ballpark every day, and I’m not doing my job. It sucks. It sucks for me more than anyone else. The amount that I care for this game and the amount that I care to succeed, it really sucks. But I’ll keep my chin up and keep going.” Bogaerts, a five-time Silver Slugger winner with the Red Sox, is in the second year of an 11-year, $280 million contract . ... You want to know why the Padres slashed their payroll by $95 million this season? The Padres will receive only $17 million from the Diamond Sports Group network instead of the $360 million they were scheduled to receive from 2024 to 2032.
San Francisco: LHP Blake Snell, who signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the Giants on March 18, didn’t pitch a single inning in the minors before making his Giants debut on April 8. “It was definitely an option, but I don’t think I needed it,” Snell told reporters. “I still don’t think I need it. I’ve just got to get better with sequencing. The stuff is there, so it’s all sequencing and pitching like I know I can. Once I start doing that, then the what ifs and all that will fade.” Snell was 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA, failing to last even five innings in any outing . ... OF Mike Yastrzemski, batting.182 in a slow start to the season, hit his first homer and first extra-base hit of 2024 on April 21 against the Diamondbacks.
Washington: Mitchell Parker threw seven scoreless innings in his second career major league appearance as the Nationals beat the Astros 6-0 to take two of three in a 2019 World Series rematch last weekend. It’s a positive step considering the Nationals have undergone a drastic rebuild since then. The Nationals rallied for a 5-4, 10-inning victory the day before. They scored two runs in the ninth and one run in the extra inning. “We’re in it until we’re not,” manager Dave Martinez said. “They believe that at any given moment they can score two, three runs.” Designated hitter Joey Meneses, who played in Japan and Mexico in 2019, provided the game-winning single. He had two more RBI Sunday.