Truth & Rumors > MLB

07:13 AM ET 05.22 | On the way to helping Max Scherzer to 6-0 on Tuesday night, Alex Avila has also had his struggles at the plate. Among all of [Avila's] graphic numbers for the Tigers, one, in particular, explains a former All-Star Game starting catcher's baffling issues in 2013. It's his previously faithful on-base percentage. Even a year ago, when he batted a so-so .243, he had a heavy .352 OBP. [Entering Tuesday's game, it was] .256 -- .172 spanning the last two weeks. He is batting .179 on the season. His slugging percentage is .304. ... If he doesn't pull out of this spiral, and in a hurry, the Tigers will be left with no practical choice but to return Avila, 26, to Triple A Toledo for a head-clearing stint that might put him back on track.

The Detroit News

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07:12 AM ET 05.22 | Coming out of a weekend sweep at the hands of the Indians, Seattle remained positive. Alas, the M's lost their fifth straight game on Tuesday night, falling to the Angels, 12-0. They face the Angels again on Wednesday before returning home to face the Rangers, the team with the best record in the majors. Who exactly are the Mariners? We may be about to find out. And if the answer is, "losing club," general manager Jack Zduriencik might not return for a sixth season. Yet, it was interesting that even after the Craziness in Cleveland, several of the team's veteran newcomers spoke with confidence about the direction of the franchise -- even though, as potential free agents, they might not be around for a breakthrough.

FOX Sports

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07:12 AM ET 05.22 | What a difference a year makes in Baltimore. Executive vice president Dan Duquette, who had been out of baseball for a decade, stockpiled pitchers in his first offseason with the Orioles, adding to the group of now-not-so-young arms compiled by his processor, Andy MacPhail, then practically running a shuttle that shuffled players from Norfolk and Bowie to Camden Yards. Those additions helped the Orioles secure an AL wild-card spot. So far this year, Duquette and the Orioles haven't had the same kind of success when reaching up their sleeves in search of pitchers to plug into their struggling rotation, which has a 4.85 ERA.

The Baltimore Sun

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11:36 AM ET 05.21 | The Washington Nationals bullpen has gotten even weaker after relief pitcher Ryan Mattheus suffered an injury in the locker room following his brutal performance during the team's 13-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday night. After the game, Mattheus took his frustration out in the locker room by punching a locker. Unfortunately, that just added to his frustrations by causing Mattheus to suffer a broken throwing hand. There is no immediate timetable for his return, but he is expected to "be out awhile" following his trip to the hand specialist.

FanSided.com

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07:15 AM ET 05.21 | It appears that Jayson Werth, who has not played in a major league game since May 2, won't be returning very soon, either. After getting what Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson called "kind of an alarming report" on [Werth] following another MRI on his strained right hamstring, it appears the right fielder's return will be delayed even further than the start of the team's upcoming homestand. "Our doctors say that he's going to be a while longer," Johnson said Monday afternoon at AT&T Park. "I think he was rushing it. And hearing from Jayson, he felt like it was a slight strain he could play through. He's starting to realize that your hamstring is going to take a little more time."

The Washington Times

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