The Braves announced Tuesday that right-hander Kevin Gausman has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Lefty A.J. Minter is up from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. Meanwhile, the league announced that third baseman Josh Donaldson has received a one-game suspension for his role in last night’s benches-clearing incident with the Pirates, but he’s appealed the punishment and is in Tuesday’s lineup.
With Gausman shelved for the time being, lefty Sean Newcomb will likely make at least a one-off return to the rotation in Atlanta this weekend, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. That’d change in the event that Newcomb is needed out of the bullpen Friday, but he won’t pitch out of the ’pen for at least the next couple of days after picking up a win with 4 2/3 innings of exceptional relief yesterday.
It’s been a nightmare of a season for Gausman, whom the Braves acquired from the Orioles at last year’s non-waiver trade deadline. Acquired to be a piece of the rotation for multiple years, Gausman has instead pitched like a non-tender candidate thus far in 2019. He’s posted a 6.21 ERA through 62 1/3 innings, albeit with more promising K/BB numbers. Gausman has averaged 9.2 strikeouts and 3.5 walks per nine innings while actually logging the lowest full-season home run rate of his career (1.16 HR/9). He’s been plagued by a somewhat elevated .339 average on balls in play, but the greater problem has been an inability to strand runners; Gausman’s 57.6 percent strand rate is nearly 20 percent lower than his career mark (74.2 percent).
It’s not clear how long Gausman is expected to be out, but even if he’s facing an extended absence, this figures to be a brief return to the rotation for Newcomb. Atlanta signed Dallas Keuchel last week, and he’s slated to make a second minor league appearance on Saturday, per David O’Brien of The Athletic (Twitter link). Keuchel tossed seven shutout innings with nine strikeouts in his first appearance with Class-A Rome this week as he continues to build toward a return to the big league mound.
As for Donaldson, he clearly took exception to being hit by a Joe Musgrove offering in last night’s contest and voiced his thoughts toward Musgrove as he walked toward first base. The two eventually had to be separated by Pittsburgh catcher Elias Diaz, and the incident led to ejections for Donaldson, Musgrove and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.
Suckage bug claims another victim.
Musgrove was one of the most egregious ejections of all time. I don’t mind Donaldson’s toss as much just because he did throw the catcher down after apparently getting his jersey wrinkled by that HBP.
Ump said it was because he took off his hat/glove in a move ready to fight. An ejection for either of them is crazy to me, IMO.
If that’s true then that is absolutely absurd. An ejection for hat removal??? Donaldson maybe merits the ejection for shoving Diaz, but had they not ejected anyone I as a Pirate fan wouldn’t have complained.
He got him for dropping his glove and promoting a bench clearing incident.
Right, and if Musgrove or the Braves pitcher would’ve hit another batter afterwards, and injured him, then people would be saying why didn’t the umpires nip it before…
In my opinion, it was an excellent job by the umpires to squash the tension then and there. With baseball’s old you hit me, I hit you mentality, it’s better to stop it all before it starts and someone gets hurt!!
The bigger surprise for me is that Musgrove was actually willing to go at Donaldson..lol JD looks like a crazy man, and he’s country strong. He tossed that catcher with ease lol…Although, Musgrove would have the reach advantage..So, could have been interesting little match-up, but still, my money would have been on JD..
I can respect that take. For what it’s worth I agree that Donaldson is a tough guy to face off with, but Musgrove seems to have quickly established himself among the Bucs as a guy who is willing to speak his mind and also willing to back up anything he says. I don’t condone or enjoy base-brawls but that would have been an interesting matchup.
I disagree. What typically happens is the pitcher looks the other way or stands down. Bottom line, when a pitch gets away which risks the hitters year or career, the batter will look at the pitcher. If a pitcher gives you “the stink eye” after risking an injury, there is going to be trouble.
Canning hit Russell Martin yesterday.. Martin did exactly what Donaldson did, He stared down Canning, except Canning looked at his catcher and asked for another ball. Martin trotted to first.
If a pitcher stares down the hitter, then steps off the mound, there is going to be trouble… Not sometimes…. always. The person who acted abnormally, was Musgrove.
Musgrove was looking at and walking toward his catcher while waiting for another ball. Then Donaldson started jawing.
Its not incumbent on Musgrove to back down after Donaldson piped up.
Then Donaldson started walking toward the mound instead of towards 1B. He deserved the ejection. Musgrove did not.
I saw it differently, Musgrove hit him then stared him down. I don’t have a dog in this hunt. We saw two different things.
Reading Donaldson’s lips, when walking to first, turning his head toward the mound he asked Musgrove wtf are you looking at? Along with the facial expression and the body language that usually comes along w/ that question will most assuredly get a defensive response. On this night it was no different.
Musgrove acted “abnormally” based only off of your own conclusions about “typical” behavior. This idea that a pitcher is somehow required not to make eye contact with a batter who is upset with him makes no sense. And if Musgrove supposedly staring at him (he wasn’t, he was looking at Diaz) upset Donaldson so much, that still doesn’t earn Donaldson the right to stop walking to first and instead walk towards Musgrove. Musgrove is allowed to walk towards his catcher; Donaldson has no business making a 90 degree turn to approach Musgrove. And even with all of that, to me it’s still just an argument that merits no further action until Donaldson shoves Diaz. Saying that Musgrove is responsible because he looked at Donaldson is wrong on multiple levels.
I agree that Donaldson overreacted, but you’re wrong about the pitcher not making eye contact. When you get plunked or have a pitch come in tighter than you’re comfort level permits, the first thought that runs through your head is a question of intent. If the pitcher doesn’t look at me, I know he’s at least pretending he didn’t mean it. If we make eye contact, I know then and there that he’s trying to send a message. Then I’m ticked and tempted to charge (assuming he’s not Nolan Ryan or Kyle Farnsworth)
Hammels just hit Areanado and it looked 100% intentional. Areanado eyed him, Hamnels walked way down the mound, just like. Musgrove and the ump got between Areanado and Hammels..
Unlike Musgrove, Hamels didn’t drop his gloves or say a word. Had he, the same thing might have happened.
Because of the injury, Areanodo was taken out of the game.
Musgrove was the one in position to throw water or gas on that fire, he chose to spray gas. He got ejected, and since he promoted the bench clearing, it was appropriate.
You drop your glove to fight, you’re gone. That’s an easy call.
Is strand rate for a pitchers own efforts or does it include his runners that relievers give up?
His own efforts.
Ejecting either player was ridiculous but to suspend Donaldson is going way too far nothing even happened and Musgrove is the one that started running his mouth.
Wow. You didn’t even watch the play, did you. It started with Donaldson mouthing off and Musgrove then said, “who, me?”
Homers are the worst.
Donaldson didn’t say anything until Musgrove did. He just stared him down.
Nope didn’t watch anything. I only watched it live and backed it up to see what happened and watched each replay a couple times and in each one Donaldson was walking to first and didn’t say anything until Musgrove said something then he turned and said something back. Might want to make an appointment to get an eye exam.
Words don’t start bench- clearing incidents, actions do. Donaldson could perfectly well have said his piece while walking to first base; he didn’t need to turn towards the mound and try to shove past Diaz. Gausman was yelling at the Pirates 1st base coach Kimera Bartee a couple innings later about something, but Bartee didn’t turn it into another almost scuffle. Donaldson didn’t like the pitch, Musgrove didn’t like Donaldson’s reaction, fine, they can yell at each other… just take your walk to first base until the ump shuts both of them up.
Angel Hernandez is behind the plate for the Rangers/Red Sox game tonight. I can see why Chipper Jones labeled him the worst umpire in major league baseball. How does that man keep his job? Blackmail?
He’s already played the race card.
I had plantar fasciitis a few years back and could barely walk. Not sure how he could pitch with that. I wish him speedy recovery.
It is definitely painful and uncomfortable. It is also one of those nagging injuries that might be okay in a couple weeks or may last a couple of months.
*plantar fakeitis…aka Kuechell ready in 2 starts and Gausman has been worse than Folty lately
Hopefully, this is the end of Gausman. Hopefully, Faulty is next, or move him to the closer role where he will thrive.
So a starting pitcher that can’t locate and is a mental and physical mess right now is all of a sudden gonna thrive by being moved to the closer role? Yeah, no.
Folty would touch 100 mph when he broke in. Put him in the pen with that and that slider(if he quits hanging it) he could thrive. If you watch him and his body language he beats himself up more and more as the game goes on. Something has got to give. No doubt he has talent. Give him one inning when the games on the line and he won’t have time to get in his head. He would thrive
To DTD’s point….kinda sounds like Eric Gagne. Headcase, couldn’t throw strikes, then 4-5 year stretch he was a dominant closer. Atlanta will take that right about now.
Get hit in the shirt, trot to first base. The end. Does not matter where the pitchers eyes went. Batter is entitled to first base, not mouth off. That’s on Donaldson, and he should have received 5 games at the very least to send a message to the league. Because the league caters to the soft hitters in today’s game it will never happen. Besides, pace of play was held up thanks to Donaldson. Put him on a clock to reach first base like they clock pitchers between pitches.
Gausman is a joke. Plantar Fasciatis??? Making up injuries to mask that he is downright awful? We need Frank Wren back immediately!
Gausman is not hurt. The only thing hurt is his Ego