Major league roundup: Blue Jays drop Nationals to 1-4
The reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals dropped to 1-4 in the pandemic-shortened season with a 5-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Tuesday night that included two outfielders colliding on a homer by Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., two errors by Starlin Castro that led to three unearned runs, and just one hit for Washington after the third inning.
Washington has lost three consecutive games – scoring a grand total of four runs – which looms larger when there are only 60 games to play. Its offense clearly misses slugger Juan Soto, out since opening day because of a positive COVID-19 test.
Former Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark (1-0) got a win in his Blue Jays debut, allowing one run and three hits in five innings.
American League
Cleveland 4, Chicago White Sox 3: Francisco Lindor and Bradley Zimmer each homered and drove in two runs, propelling the Cleveland Indians to a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.
Aaron Civale (1-0) struck out a career-high nine and allowed two runs over six innings in his first start of the season. Brad Hand gave up an RBI single to Yasmani Grandal in the ninth before picking up his second save for the Indians, who never trailed.
National League
Braves release Foltynewicz: Call it a sign of the times.
Facing a sprint of a season rather than a marathon because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Atlanta Braves didn’t have time to let Mike Foltynewicz sort out his perplexing problems.
So, after a dismal showing in his first outing of an abbreviated campaign, the Braves cut ties with a 28-year-old pitcher who was an All-Star in 2018 and started two games in the NL Division Series last season.
It was a stunning turn for a right-hander just entering what should be the prime of his career, who has no apparent injury issues and isn’t eligible for free agency until 2022.
The Braves designated Foltynewicz for assignment after a 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay Monday night, a move that effectively ended his tenure with a team that once viewed him as its staff ace.
The move came after Foltynewicz surrendered six runs, three homers and four walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Atlanta now has 10 days to try to work out a trade, though any return would surely be far less than what might’ve been expected for a pitcher with Foltynewicz’s resume. If the Braves can’t make a deal, the pitcher would be placed on waivers and any team making a claim would assume his prorated $6.43 million contract.
Cards’ Mikolas out for season: St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas will have season-ending surgery to repair a tendon in his strained right forearm, creating an opening in the rotation.
The Cardinals placed Mikolas on the 10-day injured list before their game Tuesday at Minnesota. Mikolas was supposed to start on Wednesday. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak said right-hander Daniel Ponce de Leon will take the mound against the Twins instead.