Apr 26, 2022 5 min read

Notice: Undefined offset: 0 in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412

Notice: Trying to get property 'term_id' of non-object in /usr/web/cs-washington.ogdennews.com/wp-content/themes/News_Core_2023_WashCluster/includes/single/strategically_placed_photos_article.php on line 412

Travis Demeritte hit his first big league homer in nearly three years and made an impressive catch to back another strong outing by Max Fried, giving the Atlanta Braves a much-needed 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.

The World Series champions won for only the third time in their last eight games. The Cubs have lost six of seven.

Following up his best showing of the season in a win at the Dodgers, Fried (2-2) pitched four-hit ball over six innings. His only big mistake was a changeup that Ian Happ launched into the left-field seats leading off the third to tie the game at 1.

Fried got some defensive help from Demeritte, who raced over from his position in right field to make a nice sliding catch in foul territory to end the fourth.

Braves’ Rosario out with eye injury: The Atlanta Braves placed slumping outfielder Eddie Rosario on the 10-day injured list with blurred vision and swelling in his right eye and expect him to miss eight to 12 weeks.

The Braves made the move before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Cubs.

Right-hander William Woods was recalled to take Rosario’s spot, giving the Braves 16 pitchers on their 28-man roster.

A star of the 2021 postseason, when he was the MVP of the NL Championship Series and helped the Braves win their first World Series title in 26 years, Rosario was off to a miserable start with just three hits in his first 44 at-bats for an .068 average, with no homers or RBIs.

Rosario has been dealing with swelling in his right retina. He was examined by a retinal specialist Monday and will undergo a laser procedure to correct the blurred vision.

The blow of losing Rosario will be softened by the impending return of Ronald Acuna Jr.

American League

Seattle 8, Tampa Bay 4:

Logan Gilbert pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings, Adam Frazier hit a three-run double and the Seattle Mariners won their fourth straight, 8-4 over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Frazier’s double off Josh Fleming (2-2) came during a seven-run fourth inning for the Mariners that was made possible by back-to-back errors from shortstop Wander Franco and first baseman Ji-Man Choi.

The game was scoreless when Franco’s errant throw on a potential inning-ending double play ball left the bases loaded with one out. Tom Murphy then hit a bouncer to Choi, whose low throw got past catcher Mike Zunino, allowing two runs to score. Doubles by Julio Rodriguez and Frazier and Ty France’s two-out single drove in the rest of the runs in the frame.

Gilbert (3-0) gave up two hits and three walks while striking out seven and left the game with the Mariners up 8-0. The 24-year-old right-hander has given up one earned run in four starts.

Jimenez has surgery: The Chicago White Sox are sticking with a six-to-eight week timeline for Eloy Jiménez after the outfielder had surgery Tuesday morning to repair a torn hamstring tendon behind his right knee.

Jiménez got hurt during Saturday’s 9-2 loss at Minnesota when he stretched for first base while running out a grounder to third. The 25-year-old slugger stumbled after the play and his right knee appeared to lock up.

Jiménez’s injury is similar to the one that sidelined White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal for almost two months last season. Right-hander Lance Lynn also is on the injured list with a similar issue after he was pulled from his final start of spring training with right knee discomfort.

Yankees fined $100,000: The New York Yankees were fined $100,000 by baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred for using their dugout phone to relay information about opposing teams’ signs during the 2015 season and part of 2016.

The fine was disclosed in a Sept. 14, 2017, letter from Manfred to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman that is set to be unsealed in U.S. District Court in New York this week as part of a dismissed lawsuit by a fan. The letter’s contents were first reported Tuesday by SNY and the letter was obtained by The Associated Press.

MLB has said the fine was for violating rules on the use of the dugout phone but made the distinction that the Yankees did not use electronics to steal signs, a greater violation that led in January 2020 to the Houston Astros getting fined $5 million and resulted in one-year suspensions for Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow, who were both fired for the team’s conduct during the 2017 season.

Manfred announced on Sept. 15, 2017, that he had fined the Yankees for violating a rule about the use of a dugout phone but did not publicly detail the violation and did not announce the fine amount. He announced the penalty at the same time he fined the Boston Red Sox for sending electronic communications from their video replay room to an athletic trainer in the dugout.

Interleague

More pitchers: Major League Baseball and the players’ association are allowing teams to have an additional pitcher for most of May.

MLB and the union said Tuesday that teams may carry as many as 14 pitchers from May 2-29, a change the league said was “for player health purposes.”

The sides had said March 31 that a 13-pitcher limit would be enforced starting May 2. Teams and the union announced then that the active roster limit would be 28 from opening day on April 7 through May 1, then revert to 26 on May 2. The larger size during the initial weeks was in response to the shortened spring training that followed the lockout.

The active roster size increases to 28 on Sept. 1.