National League notes
Arizona:
After a 1-hour, 55-minute delay on April 30 because of a bee colony that formed on top of the protective netting above home plate, the Dodgers and Diamondbacks played a game that lasted 10 innings. While Christian Walker hit a walk-off homer, the teams knew the real hero was the beekeeper, Matt Hilton, branch manager of the Blue Sky Pest Control office in Phoenix, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. When the Dbacks tracked down Hilton, he was watching his 6-year-old-son, Levi, play in a T-ball game 45 minutes away in Surprise, Arizona. Hilton put on his beekeeper suit, received thunderous cheers, and ascended on a hydraulic scissor lift. He sprayed the beehive, vacuumed the bees into sealed containers, and the bees were gone. He got a standing ovation, and as he descended he pumped his fist into the air, hands up, to encourage even louder cheers. The loudspeakers blared Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.’’
Atlanta: After getting swept by the Dodgers, the Braves finished a six-game road trip to Seattle and Los Angeles with a 1-5 record. Atlanta was 2-6 entering the week going back to April 27. On May 5 against the Dodgers, LHP Max Fried gave up four runs over seven innings after delivering a complete-game shutout and six no-hit innings in his previous two starts. “Any time you put your team in a hole in the first inning – especially against a club like this – it’s a tough one,” Fried said, via MLB.com. He allowed two first-inning runs. “It’s frustrating. We wanted to come out and win this one to avoid the sweep. We’re ready to get back home and get this thing going.”
Chicago: There has been no bigger surprise among scouts this year than Cubs pitcher Shota Imanaga. Scouts who watched Imanaga pitch in Japan say he never looked this dominant. His 0.78 ERA in his first six career starts is the lowest since Dodgers sensation Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 . ... The Cubs, one of baseball’s most surprising teams, also are expected to have some valuable reinforcements this week with outfielders Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki set to return from injuries.
Cincinnati: LH reliever Sam Moll, who hasn’t allowed a run in five appearances this season, was optioned to Class AAA Louisville after a May 5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, presumably to make room on the 26-man roster for starter Frankie Montas’ return from the injured list. The Reds said at press time they would make a corresponding move before a May 7 series opener against the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Montas already had been announced as the starter for that game, necessitating the roster spot. Montas missed the last two weeks on the IL with a bruised forearm after getting hit by a line drive.
Colorado: There was no bigger victory last week than the Rockies’ 3-2 win over the Pirates. It was the first time this season, after 31 games, they had not trailed in a game. They broke the record of the 1910 St. Louis Browns for the longest streak to begin a season. “Yeah, it was like since the 1916 ‘somebodies,’ ” Rockies manager Bud Black joked.
Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani has many more records to break over the course of his baseball career, but he may not have any more fun breaking one than he did May 4. Ever since finding out that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is the team’s all-time leader in homers by a Japanese-born player, Ohtani and his skipper have enjoyed a running joke as he approached Roberts’ grand total of seven. (Roberts was born on a U.S. military base in Okinawa.) In their backand-forth with reporters since then, Ohtani and Roberts were both asked about the possibility of the slugger giving his manager a gift to commemorate the historic occasion. Roberts suggested a new car might be appropriate. Before the game against the Atlanta Braves – with the pair tied at seven homers apiece – Roberts got the car. It was a miniature Porsche . ... Pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have signed with the Yankees or Mets, persons familiar with his thinking say, if Shohei Ohtani had not signed with the Dodgers and helped recruit him.
Miami: The fire sale has begun in Miami with the Marlins sending two-time batting champion Luis Arraé z to the San Diego Padres, even paying all but $592,796 of his remaining salary. Next up? Center fielder Jazz Chisholm, their best all-around player who has the most trade value. Several baseball executives insist that Chisholm, who is under team control until 2027, will be dealt in the months to come. While Marlins President Peter Bendix publicly said that they won’t be contending, manager Skip Schumaker certainly will be departing of his own volition once the season mercifully concludes – perhaps opening the door for Miami assistant GM Gabe Kapler to become manager in 2025.
Milwaukee: IF Brice Turang has one of the best streaks in baseball: At press time, he had stolen 31 consecutive bases since July 4, 2023. The major league record is 50 set by Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson
in 1987.
New York: Christian Scott’s cool demeanor was one of the qualities that endeared the 24-year-old right-hander to Mets leadership. It was on full display for Scott as he made his major league debut for the Mets on May 4. After a challenging opening inning, Scott settled in and turned in one of the best starts of any Mets starting pitcher this season. He allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk across 62⁄3 innings while striking out six Rays batters in front of 18,968 fans at Tropicana Field. “I know my stuff plays here, so I mean just going out there to compete at a high level and pound the strike zone,” Scott said. “I didn’t really want to give them any free bases today. I gave them one but other than that I thought I threw the ball pretty well and got out there and really competed with four pitches today, which was awesome.” The Mets could not back up Scott, the team’s No. 5 prospect, losing 3-1.
Philadelphia: The Phillies placed star shortstop Trea Turner on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Turner said he expects to be sidelined at least six weeks. Turner, 30, had started all 33 games this season and is slashing .343/.392/.460 with two homers, nine RBI and 10 stolen bases. He went on the IL ranked second in the National League in hits (47) and tied for fourth in runs (27) and doubles (10). Infielder Kody Clemens was recalled from Class AAA Lehigh Valley (Pa.). The son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens was a lifetime .195 hitter with 10 homers and 33 RBI in 105 games with the Detroit Tigers (2022) and Phillies.
Pittsburgh: Prospect Paul Skenes, considered the best collegiate pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg, is expected to be soon called up to the big leagues in May. He has a 0.37 ERA in six starts in the minors.
St. Louis: Manager Oliver Marmol knows there is no magic solution to end his team’s season-long offensive slump. “You’ve got to keep working,” Marmol said after St. Louis dropped two of three games to the struggling White Sox last weekend. “May not want to hear it, but that’s all we can do, continue to pay attention to the details pregame.” St. Louis has scored two runs or fewer 11 times this season, and it has scored more than three runs just twice in its past seven games. “We’ve had months like this before where it doesn’t look very good and then we come out of it,” Marmol said.
San Diego: Padres manager Mike Shildt is incensed that pitchers continue throwing high and inside to outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., saying he no longer will stand for it. “We’re seeing way too many pitches up and in on Tati,” Shildt said. “It’s enough. It really is enough. If you want to throw in, that’s fine. But I don’t know what people are trying to accomplish by throwing up and in. All you’re doing is pissing the guy off, and it’s uncalled for . ... It’s happening way too frequently, and it’s not something that we’re going to tolerate much longer.” Certainly, the Astros and leadoff hitter Jose Altuve can relate. Altuve has had a major league-leading 125 pitches thrown upand-in toward him since 2020, according to Codify Baseball.
San Francisco: Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski, 84, visited his grandson, Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski on May 2 before the Giants played the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mike then homered in the game. “There’s some cool days in baseball, and I’ve had a lot of them,” Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters. “This is one of them.”
Washington: There may be no one in the business better than handling a rebuild than Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo. Rizzo built the Nats from the ground up to make them a World Series champion, tore it down, and now they’re hovering around .500 these days with an awfully promising future. Their haul for outfielder Juan Soto was a stroke of genius, several executives said this past week, with shortstop C.J. Abrams turning into one of the best young players in the game.