Community Picks: Atlanta Braves 0% vs San Francisco Giants 0%

SAN FRANCISCO — Over in Cleveland earlier Friday, Brandon Moss hit a three-run homer for the visiting team and five other players chipped in a pair of hits. The Royals had six runs, which meant that when Jim Johnson closed the Giants out a few hours later, what has seemed true all season became officially true. The Giants have the lowest-scoring lineup in the majors. At 3.32 runs per game, they have dipped below the equally-disappointing Royals (3.38). They are capable at the moment of making any pitching staff look dominant. A 2-0 shutout was the first of the year for the Braves, who previously had just two games this season where they allowed fewer than two runs.  “Six runs in (the last) four Continue to Article

May 27, 2017 1:34:am EST

SAN FRANCISCO -- After Wednesday's game in Chicago, Bruce Bochy talked of the bullpen and said "we've got to get our lefties going." One of them is no longer in the big leagues. The Giants optioned Steven Okert back to Triple-A Sacramento before Friday's game to clear a roster spot for Aaron Hill. Hill hasn't played since April 22. He was batting .120 in 12 games before feeling discomfort in his throwing arm, and the recovery was slower than the Giants first expected. Okert took on a big role in the bullpen upon being recalled, and he had a couple of huge multi-inning outings in wins. But the ERA is up to 6.23 and Bochy felt Okert had lost some confidence on the mound. The Giants are again back Continue to Article

May 26, 2017 7:29:pm EST

Jim Callis thinks the Luis Robert signing is going to have a gigantic impact on the organization well beyond adding another elite talent. When Robert officially joins the White Sox sometime next week, Callis projects the Cuban outfielder will initially be ranked the No. 27 prospect in baseball on MLBPipeline.com. Its not going to be about money any more, Callis said. Continue to Article

May 26, 2017 5:56:pm EST

LOS ANGELES – Your rose bushes might not be doing that well. But Alex Wood has really blossomed in May. A capable starter at times in the past (mostly with the Atlanta Braves), the 26-year-old Wood has cleared that bar by a wide margin recently. He held the Chicago Cubs scoreless for five innings Friday night and combined with relievers Pedro Baez and Chris Hatcher on a two-hitter in a 4-0 Dodgers win. Wood has not allowed a run in his past 25-1/3 innings, the longest scoreless streak by a pitcher in the major leagues this season, or five of his past six starts. Over that time, he has a 1.05 ERA and 0.96 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a .189 batting average with 46 strikeouts in 34 1/3 Continue to Article

May 26, 2017 4:00:am EST

ATLANTA - Taking your glove to a baseball game is a tradition as old as singing, “Take Me out to the Ballgame.” But after an encounter at Wednesday night’s Atlanta Braves-Pittsburgh Pirates game at SunTrust Park, one fan might rethink bringing the leather to the ballpark. It was the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Braves were leading 4-3. Rio Ruiz hit a ball down the right field line. It was close, but it was a fair ball. That’s when a fan reached over the outfield wall with his glove and snagged the ball. The fan immediately turned around and handed the ball to a young kid who looked to be no older than 4 or 5 years old. At that moment, a security guard jumped over the fence and aggressively Continue to Article

May 25, 2017 8:13:pm EST