Media by Associated Press – Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday, May 18, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Atlanta Braves have awoken from their usual beginning of the season slumber and seemed poised to once again challenge the New York Mets for the National League East crown. Thanks to three RBIs for Travis d’Arnaud, Atlanta beat up Washington 10-4 Tuesday night to win their 13th straight game.
The Braves, who are the defending World Series champion, have improved their record to 36-27 and are now five games behind New York for first place. This isn’t a new trend for the Braves, as Atlanta was below .500 for much of last season before it heated up in August and September on its way to a World Series crown.
Play nice, or else
What goes on down on the farm in Major League Baseball will now impact the big league club. Any team that gets in a fight in the lower levels will have to fork over a fine. For the first fight, parent clubs will be fined $500. For each successive fight, the fine will double.
Anyone who would make it up to as many as nine fights would end up paying $128,000 for that bench-clearing incident, on top of the fines it would have paid for the first eight fights.
Buehler… Buehler
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler, who has a right elbow injury, had a bone spur removed. Doctors are saying the surgery won’t change the timetable for his return, which was set at 10 to 12 weeks.
Buehler is 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 starts this season. Los Angeles should be able to weather the storm as the Dodgers are a half-game behind the San Diego Padres and should be able to stay in a strong playoff position.
Miles closer
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas took advantage of a struggling Pittsburgh Pirates lineup during the nightcap of a doubleheader Tuesday night.
Mikolas was one strike away from finishing of a no-hitter when Pittsburgh rookie outfielder Cal Mitchell hit a home run in the top of the ninth inning during a 9-1 Cardinals’ win at Busch Stadium.
Mikolas threw a career-high 129 pitches. He struck out six batters and only issued one walk. The Pirates scored their only run when Bryan Reynolds came home on a groundout by Daniel Vogelbach.
St. Louis also won the first game of the doubleheader 3-1 to hand Pittsburgh its ninth straight loss. The Pirates haven’t put up many runs this season and have a run differential of -103.
Donaldson sees his fine cut
Major League Baseball cut Josh Donaldson’s fine for his remark to White Sox’s Tim Anderson from $10,000 to $5,000. Donaldson had gotten in trouble after referring to Anderson, who is black, as “Jackie.”
While the financial penalty was cut, Donaldson, who plays for the Yankees, must still serve a one-game suspension for the remark.
Milwaukee continues its slide
The Mets continued the Brewers’ recent struggles by handing them a 4-1 loss Tuesday night. Milwaukee, which had been solidly entrenched in first place in the weak National League Central early in the season, has now lost nine of its past ten games. The Brewers are now 2.5 games back of St. Louis for first place.
Milwaukee has been just average at home thus far this season, compiling a 15-12 record.
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