News
Braves optioned RHP AJ Smith-Shawver to Triple-A Gwinnett.
There’s still some runway for Atlanta to reverse course, but it appears they’re choosing to keep Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes in the rotation over Smith-Shawver with ace Spencer Strider set to make his highly-anticipated season debut later next week. The 22-year-old prospect has recorded a strong 26.2 percent strikeout rate along with a respectable 4.61 ERA across 13 2/3 innings (three starts) this season in the majors. He’s a bit underrated from a fantasy standpoint since he hasn’t put together a sustained breakthrough at the highest level, but he’s still extremely young and talented.
Heliot Ramos went 3-for-4 in a loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday.
Ramos was one of the few hitters who had any offensive success against Merrill Kelly in a game where the GIants were held to just one run by Kelly and the D-Backs’ bullpen. The three knocks ups his average to .290, and he’s been on fire in the month of May with a .400/.472/,800 slash over his 30 at-bats in that timeframe.
Corbin Carroll hit a pair of solo homers to help the Diamondbacks to a 2-1 win over the Giants on Monday.
Shelby Miller picked up a save with a scoreless ninth inning against the Giants on Monday.
Justin Verlander allowed just two runs over six innings but still took a loss Monday against the Diamondbacks.
Merrill Kelly struck out eight while working seven strong innings of one-run baseball to get a win over the Giants on Monday.
Austin Wells hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs Monday in a victory over the Mariners.