Reyes returns to leadoff
Oliver Perez lost his starting job, and Jose Reyes got his old job back.
The New York Mets dropped Perez from the rotation Saturday and sent him to the bullpen. Reyes was moved from third in the batting order to his more familiar leadoff spot.
Both have been struggling. Reyes was pleased with his change, while Perez said he understood the reason behind his demotion.
“I don’t like to go to the bullpen, but that’s best for the team,” Perez said. “Right now I have trouble.”
Perez is 0-3 with a 5.94 ERA in seven starts.
Ethier sidelined
Big-league batting leader Andre Ethier has a fractured bone at the end of his right pinkie.
Ethier suffered the injury during batting practice and sat out the Dodgers’ 4-1 win against the San Diego Padres. He’ll be examined by a hand specialist in Los Angeles today.
Ethier said it’s too early to tell how much time he’ll miss.
Ethier leads the majors with a .392 batting average and 38 RBIs.
A’s bring up Cust
The Oakland Athletics promoted slugger Jack Cust from Triple-A Sacramento and activated right-hander Justin Duchscherer from the 15-day disabled list.
Duchscherer was scheduled to start against the Los Angeles Angels, but the A’s made a last-minute change because of a recurrence of the inflammation in Duchscherer’s left hip.
Cust batted .273 with 19 RBIs in 33 games with Sacramento. The outfielder-designated hitter was with the Athletics in spring training before they designated him for assignment on April 3. Cust led the A’s with 25 homers last year, but also led the A.L. in strikeouts.
Just for kicks
A long fly by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Chase Utley and a bizarre bounce almost had Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Corey Hart playing football.
Utley hit a deep drive to right field at Miller Park in the second inning.
The ball hit the wall, caromed directly at Hart’s left foot and then bounced over the wall. Umpires ruled it a ground-rule double for Utley. If the ball had hit Hart’s foot and never touched the ground, it would’ve been a homer.