NATIONAL LEAGUE.(baseball)

Publication: The Sporting News

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Arizona

37-25: 1st

Bierbrodt is better than his debut indicates, team says

Writing off LHP Nick Bierbrodt's shaky major league debut to nerves, the team seems prepared to keep him in the rotation, at least until LHP Brian Anderson (groin) returns. Bierbrodt, the club's first-ever draft pick, did not do the things that allowed him success in the minors this year, such as keeping the ball down and throwing his slider for strikes. The team hopes he will settle down next time out. Anderson, meanwhile, is progressing well and could be back within two weeks.... Greg Colbrunn was expected to be the team's top pinch hitter, but he was only 1 for 18 in that role before a bone bruise in his left knee forced the club to put him on the D.L.

SCOUTING REPORT: LHP Troy Brohawn has become a key contributor in the bullpen. Brohawn is being used at times as a situational lefthander, although he does not have the big breaking ball usually required for such matchups. Brohawn's best pitch is a sinking fastball, which batters will swing over or top harmlessly. Because Brohawn is not overpowering, he has to work the corners, which leads to some walks. His greatest asset is his poise, even though he never pitched in the majors before this season. He is never shaken on the mound and isn't intimidated by big situations.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: CF Steve Finley's awful offensive start can be attributed to a left wrist injury suffered last September 12, when he was bit by a pitch from Dodgers LHP Onan Masaoka. The sore wrist has prevented Finley from swinging properly. Instead of keeping his wrists cocked, which allows him to hit with his hands inside the ball, Finley has been turning the bat over to avoid the discomfort in the wrist and using a longer swing. Because Finley could not stay back on pitches and trust quick hands to hit the ball, he had to start his swing earlier. That led to being fooled on breaking pitches. As June started, the wrist finally started to feel healthy, and Finley seems to have his swing back. That gives the team a much-needed additional threat in the middle of the lineup. --Ed Price

TSNumber

2

The largest lead the Diamondbacks have overcome on the road since July 5 of last season, when they trailed the Astros, 8-4, after five innings but wound up winning, 12-9.

BATTERS AVG G AB R H HR RBI Moeller .500 1 2 1 1 (*)Spivey .375 6 8 3 3 1 2 Gonzalez(+) .339 62 236 54 80 25 51 Grace(+) .322 56 183 28 59 9 36 Dellucci(+) .318 40 85 19 27 5 15 Bell .292 57 212 37 62 9 30 Bautista .286 39 63 2 18 1 8 Durazo(+) .286 41 77 15 22 8 23 Sanders .265 51 185 35 49 16 47 Miller .241 48 145 16 35 2 11 Counsell(+) .221 50 131 18 29 3 6 Womack(+) .221 54 226 28 50 10 Finley(+) .220 56 200 25 44 4 22 (*)Barajas .185 29 65 7 12 3 5 BATTERS OBP SB K BB E Moeller .500 (*)Spivey .500 3 2 Gonzalez(+) .427 36 30 Grace(+) .419 12 29 3 Dellucci(+) .383 20 7 1 Bell .373 36 28 2 Bautista .297 1 7 1 Durazo(+) .385 17 12 Sanders .328 4 57 14 Miller .306 23 12 4 Counsell(+) .322 18 19 1 Womack(+) .267 14 24 12 8 Finley(+) .307 3 32 24 2 (*)Barajas .221 16 3 GRAND SLAMS: Grace, Sanders (1) PITCHERS ERA W-L IP H R ER (*)Prinz 0.54 2-0 16.2 10 1 1 Schilling 2.60 10-1 100.1 86 30 29 (*)Sabel 2.79 3-0 19.1 19 6 6 Johnson(+) 2.83 7-4 98.2 73 32 31 Batista 2.98 4-3 45.1 35 18 15 Swindell(+) 3.22 1-1 22.1 20 8 8 (*)Brohawn(+) 3.68 1-2 22.0 20 9 9 Klm 4.26 2-2 38.0 27 18 18 Ellis 4.53 4-2 55.2 60 30 28 Reynoso 5.98 1-6 46.2 58 32 31 (*)Bierbrodt(+) 27.00 0-0 2.0 5 6 6 PITCHERS HR K BB SV AVG. (*)Prinz 1 12 8 5 .169 Schilling 16 108 12 .228 (*)Sabel 2 6 1 .264 Johnson(+) 9 148 28 .208 Batista 2 25 22 .226 Swindell(+) 4 15 4 1 .241 (*)Brohawn(+) 13 12 1 .256 Klm 2 46 23 3 .208 Ellis 4 19 20 .288 Reynoso 13 15 13 .312 (*)Bierbrodt(+) 1 3 3 .455 SHUTOUTS: Johnson, Schilling (1) COMPLETE GAMES: Schilling (4), Johnson (2) (*) Rookie (+) Lefthanded (#) Switch hitter League leaders in bold Statistics provided by STATS Inc. through Saturday, June 9.

Atlanta

33-27: 2nd

Middle of the lineup sagging in absence of a true slugger

How badly do the Braves need a legitimate cleanup hitter? They have scored the fifth-fewest runs in the majors--that's how badly. The question is whether G.M. John Schuerholz can get a slugger. Who's available? The team isn't interested in the Rangers' Ken Caminiti. It would love to have the Astros' Moises Alou, but the price would be high in talent. The Devil Rays' Fred McGriff would be a good fit for the last three months of the season. And if the Giants fall out of the West race--or even if they don't--Barry Bonds might become available.... The offensive woes all can't be blamed on the lack of a mid-lineup slugger. The Nos. 1 and 2 hitters are batting .258, rank 23rd among big-league tandems and have an on-base percentage of .311-25th-best. Corner OFs B.J. Surhoff and Brian Jordan rank 14th among N.L. tandems in RBIs and on-base percentage, are tied for 14th in homers and are 13th in slugging percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT: RHP Kerry Ligtenberg gave up an 11th-inning run to the Expos last Thursday, then pitched a scoreless eighth against the Yankees Friday. He says he was a little out of whack against the first Yankees hitter he faced but made an adjustment and got the next three hitters. That's what the team has been waiting to see. But Ligtenberg needs several more solid outings to restore the team's confidence in him. He has been buried in the bullpen, the third righty used behind Jose Cabrera and Jason Marquis, and the lack of work hasn't helped his psyche or his pitches.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: By the numbers, RHP John Smoltz been solid in his starts. But behind the scenes is a different story. Though his elbow isn't paining him to the extent it did before ligament replacement surgery last year, little else has changed. Smoltz was forced to change his arm angle in his last two starts to compensate for the elbow, just as he did before the surgery. If his elbow doesn't improve, allowing him to pitch pain-free and throw between starts, Smoltz says he's unlikely to return next season. --Bill Zack

TSNumber

2.84

The staff's June ERA through Saturday. That goes with a 7-1 record. After a slow April (4.29, 12-14), pitchers steadily improved, posting a 3.79 ERA and a 14-12 record in May. What's next?

BATTERS AVG G AB R H HR RBI Martinez(+) .373 45 83 16 31 9 Gilkey .308 22 39 4 12 2 7 C. Jones(#) .296 59 206 39 61 17 46 A. Jones .282 60 238 44 67 15 32 Jordan .268 57 213 23 57 5 28 Brogna(+) .267 48 146 11 39 2 14 Furcal(#) .257 60 245 28 63 4 20 Lopez .256 51 180 18 46 6 21 (*)Helms .255 38 94 14 24 5 15 Surhoff(+) .250 50 160 16 40 4 19 Veras(#) .250 48 180 24 45 3 21 Lockhart(+) .228 37 57 5 13 1 Bako(+) .175 17 40 4 7 2 3 DeRosa .000 3 2 1 BATTERS OBP SB K BB E Martinez(+) .429 1 10 8 Gilkey .364 9 3 C. Jones(#) .403 3 34 39 7 A. Jones .340 3 44 21 3 Jordan .307 29 13 3 Brogna(+) .327 3 31 12 Furcal(#) .296 14 41 16 7 Lopez .308 33 10 2 (*)Helms .290 23 5 2 Surhoff(+) .311 19 14 Veras(#) .318 5 40 15 1 Lockhart(+) .313 6 7 Bako(+) .250 11 4 DeRosa .400 1 1 GRAND SLAMS: Giles (1) PITCHERS ERA W-L IP H R ER Cabrera 1.45 4-1 18.2 16 4 3 Maddux 2.32 5-5 85.1 76 28 22 Burkett 2.59 5-4 87.0 70 27 25 Remlinger(+) 2.62 2-1 34.1 25 10 10 Rocker(+) 2.77 2-0 26.0 22 9 8 Marquis 3.19 1-0 31.0 19 14 11 Glavine(+) 4.63 6-4 79.2 78 42 41 O. Perez(+) 5.19 3-4 50.1 61 30 29 Smoltz 5.76 2-2 25.0 33 16 16 Ligtenberg 6.61 1-2 16.1 13 13 12 Whiteside 6.97 0-1 10.1 14 9 8 PITCHERS HR K BB SV AVG. Cabrera 1 12 8 .235 Maddux 4 75 12 .242 Burkett 8 77 19 .217 Remlinger(+) 6 43 11 .197 Rocker(+) 1 32 13 17 .227 Marquis 5 27 14 .178 Glavine(+) 12 52 45 .264 O. Perez(+) 3 36 24 .303 Smoltz 4 20 5 .320 Ligtenberg 2 13 14 1 .213 Whiteside 3 3 5 .311 SHUTOUTS: Maddux (2), Burkett (1) COMPLETE GAMES: Maddux (2), Burkett (1) (*) Rookie (+) Lefthanded (#) Switch hitter League leaders in bold Statistics provided by STATS Inc. through Saturday, June 9.

Chicago

37-22: 1st

Credit the starting rotation for team's recent hot streak

The starting pitching has been terrific. By the end of last week, the team had won 16 of 20 games, and in those 20 games four of the five starters--RHPs Jon Lieber, Kerry Wood, Kevin Tapani and Julian Tavarez--allowed a combined 39 earned runs and 97 hits in 128 innings. Included in the streak were successive one-hitters by Lieber and Wood. The ability of the starters to go deep into games has allowed manager Don Baylor to get the matchups he wants from the bullpen.... SS Ricky Gutierrez gave the Cubs a scare last week. He suffered from headaches and dizziness after he was hit by an elbow from the Cardinals' Edgar Renteria as Renteria stole second base. Gutierrez had missed four straight starts entering the week. Fortunately for the Cubs, they have the slick-fielding Augie Ojeda as a backup. But they're likely to miss Gutierrez's bat.

SCOUTING REPORT: Two years removed from reconstructive elbow surgery, Wood has displayed every bit of the velocity he had during his 1998 Rookie of the Year season, but he's more of a complete pitcher today. While his fastball is still his best weapon, Wood is able to keep hitters off-balance with a big-breaking curveball, a slider and a changeup that he has developed in the last year. Earlier this season he tended to let one bad inning rattle him, but he and pitching coach Oscar Acosta have worked on maintaining focus, no matter what the situation is.

SEE A DIFFERENT GAME: Part of the reason for LF Rondell White's recent power surge stems from him moving his hands closer to his body and working on drills to elevate the ball and finish high. With his hands closer to his body, White no longer has the feeling of "reaching" for the ball. When that happened, his top hand rolled over and caused him to hit grounders--often double-play grounders. After viewing videotapes and working on fly-ball drills,...

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