Worldwide Sports News

TORONTO — Atlanta Braves right-hander Spencer Strider will return to the mound against the Blue Jays, his first big league start since an April 2024 surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

The Braves activated Strider off the injured list and optioned right-handed reliever Zach Thompson to Triple-A.

The Braves are off to a slow start, and the return of Strider could provide a big lift. He went 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 2023, finishing with a major league-best 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings and placing fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting.

Strider struck out 13 in 5 1/3 innings in a dominant rehab start at Triple-A, allowing one run and three hits. He threw 90 pitches, 62 for strikes, and reached 97 mph with his fastball.

Strider, 26, last appeared in the majors on April 5, 2024, against the Diamondbacks in Atlanta.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt starts for the Blue Jays in the rubber match against the Braves.

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers recalled Logan Henderson from Triple-A Nashville, bolstering a pitching staff dealing with multiple injuries.

Before its 5-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee owned a 4.93 ERA that ranked 28th in the majors, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies (4.99) and Washington Nationals (5.50).

“We need help,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We need all the help we can. All hands on deck. Whether or not he ends up staying for an extended period of time or not will depend on him and other people’s health and that type of thing. We’re excited to have him.”

The Brewers made room for Henderson by sending right-hander Elvin Rodríguez to Nashville. Rodríguez had an 0-2 record and a 7.53 ERA in four appearances, though he had allowed only one run over five innings of relief in a 9-1 loss to the Tigers.

Henderson was 2-1 with a 3.21 ERA in three games with Nashville this season while striking out 24 and walking 10 over 14 innings.

He gave up five runs in his first start of the season but has thrown 10 shutout innings since. In his last appearance, he struck out eight while allowing no hits and two walks in five innings.

“The first couple of starts, I had a hard time filling up the strike zone,” Henderson said. “The last start was really good for me, heading into the right direction. I like where I’m at right now.”

Henderson went a combined 7-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 81 1/3 innings for four different minor league teams last season. The Brewers selected him out of McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, in the fourth round of the 2021 amateur draft.

Murphy said he likes the variety in Henderson’s arsenal.

“In today’s game, there’s more chuckers and heavers than there are pitchers,” Murphy said. “I think this is a time when you’ve got to have kind of a combination of both in your repertoire. He’s starting to throw the ball really well, command it and have a variety, so we’re excited to have him.”

Henderson will try to boost a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries. The list of Brewers pitchers on the injured list includes Aaron Ashby (right oblique), Aaron Civale (left hamstring), Nestor Cortes (left elbow), Robert Gasser (left elbow), DL Hall (left lat), Tobias Myers (left oblique), Connor Thomas (left elbow) and Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder).

Milwaukee would love for Henderson to make the same kind of impact that Quinn Priester has produced since he was acquired in a trade with Boston. Priester carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and combined with four relievers on a one-hitter.

In two starts with the Brewers, Priester has allowed one run over 10 innings. He was pitching with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate before joining the Brewers.

It was the Brewers’ fourth shutout win of the season. But they also have allowed at least nine runs in four different games already.

Part of the problem is that all those injuries have taxed a bullpen that was one of Milwaukee’s greatest strengths last year, when the Brewers won a second straight NL Central title.

The Brewers have a bullpen ERA of 5.94 that ranked 28th in the majors, ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels (6.29) and Washington (6.91). Last year, Milwaukee’s 3.11 bullpen ERA ranked second, behind only the Cleveland Guardians’ 2.57.

That bullpen has shown signs of life lately, though. In the Brewers’ last two games, their relievers have allowed just one run over nine innings.

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Orioles and general manager Mike Elias could have used a fast start this year.

Instead, most of their biggest offseason questions are still pertinent.

The Orioles are 6-10 after a 6-3 loss to Cleveland. That’s after some second-half struggles in 2024 and a first-round loss to Kansas City in the playoffs. Baltimore still has plenty of talent, but also some real issues — perhaps more than seemed likely after the Orioles won 101 games in 2023 and had a farm system still churning out standout prospects.

“I certainly haven’t seen any signs of panic, and we’re continuing to retain the same approach on a night-to-night basis. I try not to get too high when things are going great, and try not to get down when we’re losing,” Elias said. “That’s how you have to approach baseball.”

The Orioles lost Corbin Burnes in free agency, and the three main starters they added were all older players on one-year contracts. So there was some skepticism about whether the rotation would hold up.

And that was before the injury bug went to work. Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t pitched at all this season, Zach Eflin went on the injured list, and Albert Suárez will miss significant time. Plus, neither Kyle Bradish nor Tyler Wells has returned from elbow surgery.

So the new arrivals — Tomoyuki Sugano and Charlie Morton — have needed to perform, and it hasn’t gone great. They were a combined 1-5 with a 6.68 ERA following Morton’s start against Cleveland.

“I feel like we’ve already tapped into, basically, the depth,” Elias said. “To say that on April 15 was not the plan. Obviously, we knew Bradish was going to be out. But to have Grayson and Eflin on the shelf simultaneously this quickly into the season, at no point were we forecasting that, or expecting that. And that’s just the truth.”

Kyle Gibson, the third significant starter added, signed in late March and is in the minors. He’s expected back with the Orioles by May. As for Baltimore’s brigade of injured pitchers, Elias said Eflin will start playing catch in a few days, Rodriguez has thrown a couple bullpens, and Bradish threw a bullpen recently. Wells is expected to start his mound progression in the next two weeks.

SAN DIEGO — The Chicago Cubs have optioned top prospect Matt Shaw to Triple-A Iowa after a disappointing start to the rookie third baseman’s career.

Shaw, the No. 13 pick in the 2023 amateur draft, is just 10 for 58 with one homer and three RBIs. He has 18 strikeouts in 68 plate appearances.

“We want to get a productive player back,” manager Craig Counsell said before the Cubs played the San Diego Padres. “Sometimes you have to take a step back to do that. At this level it’s production and the point we’re at, obviously you give guys time to work through it but we just thought we saw enough where we kind of needed to take a break from this level and get some at-bats at Triple-A.”

Counsell, a former major league infielder, said it’s normal for young hitters to struggle.

“He’s just been up against it a little bit to start the year,” he said. “Sometimes it is just some success that kind of reframes it some and gets you good feelings back and good vibes back and gets you back to being that offensive threat.”

The Cubs also placed right-hander Eli Morgan on the 15-day injured list because of an elbow impingement. Infielder Vidal Bruján was reinstated from the 10-day IL, and right-hander Nate Pearson was optioned to Iowa.

Left-hander Luke Little and right-hander Daniel Palencia were recalled from Triple-A before the Cubs’ game at San Diego.

Counsell said Morgan felt something in his elbow when he got two outs in a 10-4 loss. The team will figure out what’s next when it returns to Chicago..

Morgan, acquired from Cleveland in November, has a 12.27 ERA in seven appearances. He went 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 32 appearances last season for the AL Central champion Guardians, who had the best bullpen in the majors in 2024.

The Cubs were leading the NL Central at 11-8 entering their game against the Padres. They lost ace Justin Steele to a season-ending left elbow injury.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher/first baseman Endy Rodriguez on the 10-injured list with a lacerated right index finger.

Rodriguez was catching when he got hurt during a 10-3 victory over Washington. He was hit on the hand by a pitch in the dirt by Paul Skenes, and the injury required five stitches.

The Pirates recalled right-hander Chase Shugart from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Rodriguez has made nine starts at first base and five at catcher this season, hitting .178 with two RBIs.

The injury leaves the Pirates thin at two positions.

Henry Davis is their only healthy catcher, with Joey Bart missing his fourth straight game because of lower back soreness. Catcher Abrahan Gutierrez joined the team from Indianapolis but was not immediately added to the active roster.

Primarily a catcher, Rodriguez had been playing first base while Spencer Horwitz recovers from right hand surgery. Utility player Enmanuel Valdez started at first base for a second straight night.