News and notes for the Braves and the rest of Major League Baseball
Sunday’s win over the New York Yankees gave the Atlanta Braves a third straight series win. Atlanta is now 12-14 on the season against teams with a better than .500 record. Not the greatest mark, but the series win over the AL East leading Yankees helps validate their recent streak.
The Braves have won eight of their last 10 games and are 11-9 in June. They are seven games behind the Phillies in the NL East but only six back in the loss column. The Braves also currently hold a healthy 5.5 game lead over the Cardinals for the first wild card spot. Atlanta still has 10 more games against the Phillies which will go a long way in deciding the division race.
Braves News
- Jarred Kelenic homered and drove in two of Atlanta’s three runs in a 3-1 win over the Yankees.
- Max Fried strengthened his All-Star candidacy again Sunday with a strong performance against the Yankees.
- Next up for the Braves is a three-game series in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Spencer Schwellenbach, Reynaldo López and Chris Sale are Atlanta’s scheduled starters for the series.
MLB News
- Blue Jays infield prospect Orelvis Martinez received an 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s performance-enhancing drub policy. The suspension comes just two days after he made his major league debut. Martinez was promoted to the majors last week when Bo Bichette was placed on the injured list.
- The Kansas City Royals have been one of the surprise teams in the American League Central and are planning to be aggressive at the deadline according to general manager J.J. Piccolo.
- Max Scherzer made his season debut for the Rangers Sunday firing five scoreless innings on just 57 pitches against the Royals. Scherzer finished with four strikeouts which tied him with Greg Maddux for 11th on the all-time list with 3,371.
- The Yankees placed Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game against the Braves. Stanton suffered a hamstring strain while running the bases in Saturday’s game. He is expected to miss several weeks of action.
- The Yankees also added some infield depth Sunday by acquiring J.D. Davis and cash from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for infielder Jordan Groshans. Davis was hitting .236 with four homers before he was designated for assignment earlier this week.
- The Phillies placed Taijuan Walker on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to right index finger inflammation. Walker is dealing with a blister on the inside of his finger according to manager Rob Thomson. Walker is in the second year of a four-year, $72 million deal.
- The Marlins placed starter Braxton Garrett on the 15-day injured list with a strained flexor in his forearm. Garrett was scratched from his scheduled start due to elbow soreness and will likely be sidelined for a significant amount of time.
- The Pirates placed closer David Bednar on the 15-day injured list with a strained oblique. Aroldis Chapman closed out Saturday’s win over the Rays in place of Bednar.
- The Cubs placed Mark Leiter Jr. on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain. The team recalled lefty Luke Little to take Leiter’s spot on the active roster.
- The Reds designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment Sunday. Infielder Livan Soto was recalled to fill the open spot on the active roster.