National League notebook -- Monday, May 7, 2012
Arizona: CF Chris Young (shoulder ligament) took 50 swings in the batting cage and threw 120 feet, working out with teammates at Chase Field for the first time since April 26. "A few days ago, I didn't know I'd be able to do all that," he said. "But you get around teammates and your coaches, it motivates you in the right way. You get the GM (Kevin Towers) behind you when you are taking batting practice, it kind of fires you up." The D-backs expect Young to go on a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend. ... RHP Daniel Hudson (shoulder) is expected to throw a bullpen session today, his first time pitching off a rubber since an April 18 start against Pittsburgh. Hudson has thrown off flat ground in the interim.
Atlanta: 1B Freddie Freeman went into Monday with 14 extra-base hits and 25 RBI in his last 23 games. He had only one of each in his first nine games. ... IF-OF Eric Hinske wasn't in the lineup Monday, as usual, but he sure has been successful when he does start a game this season: He is 10-for-13 (.769) in three starts. His run of success didn't stop there: He said he had I'll Have Another in a Kentucky Derby pool.
Chicago: IF Adrian Cardenas was recalled from Class AAA (Des Moines) Iowa, where the 24-year-old left-handed batter was hitting .319 with two home runs and 18 RBI. He fills the spot of IF Blake DeWitt, who was designated for assignment Sunday. LHP Travis Wood was optioned to Iowa to make room on the roster for Cardenas. ... SS Starlin Castro made his major league debut two years ago Monday, homering in his first big league at-bat and driving in six runs in a game at Cincinnati. Entering Monday, Castro had 385 hits since his debut. That was fourth in the big leagues behind Michael Young, Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Gonzalez.
Cincinnati: IF Miguel Cairo (left hamstring) was activated from the disabled list, and IF-OF Willie Harris was sent outright to Class AAA Louisville. Harris, who signed a minor league deal in January, was batting .086. ... Manager Dusty Baker said 2B Brandon Phillips' recent slump is not completely caused by the strained left hamstring Phillips has had. "His leg is better now," Baker said. "Sometimes you struggle. There's no alibi for it. We know for sure he's going to hit. Remember me saying when you start the season hurt, you're playing catch-up? He hasn't caught up yet."
Colorado: RHP Jeremy Guthrie (shoulder) is scheduled to throw live batting practice today after throwing a 45-pitch bullpen session and saying he was "letting it go" and felt fine. Manager Jim Tracy said "we're getting close to where" Guthrie, who last pitched April 22, would have to make a rehab start to avoid another of the brief outings that have put stress on the Rockies' bullpen recently. ... The Rockies went into Monday's game only 4-5 on the road, but their road batting average was only .211. They began an eight-game trip.
Houston: CF Jordan Schafer on Sunday failed to reach base in a game for the first time all season. The streak of 25 games to start a season ended in a tie atop the team-record list with Denis Menke (1969), though it was not even halfway to the club-record 52 at any point in a season set by Jimmy Wynn and Greg Gross. ... RHP Kyle Weiland (surgery to clean out shoulder infection) expects to be able to pitch again this year. "Hopefully within the next couple of months, I'll be at least throwing," Weiland said. "As soon as I can start moving the arm when they take the stitches out, I'll start getting my range of motion back and start building up my arm strength and from there, it's just a matter of time."
Los Angeles: CF Matt Kemp (left hamstring) was back in the lineup. He did not start Sunday's game but was used as a pinch hitter. ... IF Ivan DeJesus Jr. (strained muscle in left side) was activated from the disabled list and optioned to Class AAA Albuquerque. ... 3B Juan Uribe (left wrist) returned to the lineup for the first time in six games. Uribe made just one pinch-hitting appearance in the five games he did not start and saw a specialist in Los Angeles on Monday morning.
Miami: CF Emilio Bonifacio went into Monday with 27 hits this year, all singles -- a Marlins record to open a season. One of his two hits Sunday was an infield single, giving him 11 to tie Derek Jeter for the major league lead. ... RF Giancarlo Stanton told the Miami Herald that keeping his hands about four inches farther back has sparked his recent hitting spree. "Four damn inches is the whole thing," he said.
Milwaukee: SS Alex Gonzalez will be sidelined the rest of the season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Gonzalez, 35, has not decided when he will have surgery and will receive treatment for about a week to see how his knee responds. Gonzalez was injured Saturday when his knee buckled as he was sliding into second base. ... IF Cesar Izturis will see the majority of the action at shortstop in place of Gonzalez, manager Ron Roenicke said. Izturis played in only 18 games with Baltimore last year because of a knee injury but was in 150 games for the Orioles in 2010.
New York: SS Ruben Tejada was placed on the disabled list with a strained right quad, which he sustained while attempting to beat out a bunt single Sunday. SS Jordany Valdespin was recalled from Class AAA Buffalo, where he had been sent two days earlier. Valdespin will initially split time at shortstop with Justin Turner, who started Monday. ... SS Ronny Cedeno (left intercostal strain) played five innings in extended spring training and is on track to join the Mets by Friday.
Philadelphia: C Carlos Ruiz has been the team's most productive hitter in the season's first month: Through 24 games he had hit .325 with a team-high 19 RBI, 11 extra-base hits and 47 total bases. Saturday, he hit fifth in the lineup, just the second time in his seven-year career that he started a game in the top five spots of the lineup and the first time since hitting second on April 15, 2008. ... RF Hunter Pence was hitting .294 with four home runs and 13 RBI in his last 12 games before Monday and had hit safely in nine straight games.
Pittsburgh: CF Andrew McCutchen should be back in the lineup tonight after missing three out of four games to a vicious stomach flu. Manager Clint Hurdle said on Sunday that the team would "revisit" McCutchen's status today. ... LH reliever Tony Watson has a 6.23 ERA through 12 appearances, but the Pirates have been happy with his work. "There's more beneath the numbers," Hurdle said. One of them: Watson has inherited 17 runners, most in the majors, and allowed only four to score.
St. Louis: RHP Adam Wainwright is getting closer to the form he displayed in 2009-10, when he won 39 games for the Cardinals before losing last season to an elbow operation. After pitching poorly in his first three starts this season and going 0-3 with a 9.88 ERA, Wainwright is 2-0 and 2.70, including a one-run, seven-hit outing in seven innings Sunday. "You could see he had a good feel for all his pitches. I don't think (Wainwright) is very far away now," manager Mike Matheny said. ... CF Jon Jay on Sunday turned in his sixth spectacular play of the three-game weekend series when he avoided LF Matt Holliday, who had pulled up, and made a sliding catch. "I don't think I've seen anybody dive that many times and catch every one of them,: teammate Allen Craig said.
San Diego: LHP Clayton Richard is 2-7 in his last 11 starts at Petco Park despite a 2.27 ERA. Since the start of the 2010 season, Richard's run-support average in his home starts is 1.60. ... 1B Yonder Alonso went into Monday's game with 10 doubles, which put him on a 55-double pace for the season. The Padres' record for doubles in a season is 49 by Tony Gwynn in 1997. ... The Padres already have had five losing streaks of at least three games this season.
San Francisco: 1B-OF Aubrey Huff (anxiety disorder) was activated from the disabled list but was not in the lineup against Dodgers LHP Ted Lilly. Huff took the roster spot of RH reliever Guillermo Mota, suspended for 100 games by Major League Baseball for failing a drug test for the second time. ... Willie Mays was at AT&T Park on Sunday celebrating his 81st birthday, and the fans serenaded him with "Happy Birthday."
Washington: RF Jayson Werth underwent surgery to repair his broken left wrist, MLB.com reported, and will be out 12 weeks. LF Bryce Harper likely will move from left field to right to replace Werth, manager Davey Johnson said. Johnson plans on using a committee for left field -- Xavier Nady, Chad Tracy, Steve Lombardozzi amd Roger Bernadina -- until starter Michael Morse returns or Werth comes back. ... 3B Ryan Zimmerman (shoulder) and 1B Adam LaRoche (strained side muscle) both could return tonight. LaRoche is the one who might not be ready, but he's improving daily.
