ATLANTA (AP) Desperate for starting pitching as they pursue a third straight NL East title, the Atlanta Braves acquired left-hander Tommy Milone from the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday for two players to be named.
The division-leading Braves have struggled to put together a rotation behind Max Fried, who is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA. Ian Anderson, who pitched one-hit ball over six innings in his major league debut last week, is the only other Atlanta starter to earn a win this season.
The 33-year-old Milone provides another option, though the Braves are likely to continue their pursuit for additional pitching help ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. He is 1-4 with a 3.99 ERA over six starts in his first season with the Orioles.
After signing a minor league deal with the Orioles in February, Milone received a major league contract in July. He started on opening day as a replacement for injured John Means and has 31 strikeouts and only four walks over 29 1/3 innings.
Milone’s best effort of the season – six innings of three-hit ball against Washington on Aug. 7 – earned him his lone win with Baltimore.
That sort of performance would certainly be welcomed in Atlanta. The Braves lost ace Mike Soroka to a season-ending Achilles injury and demoted two other expected starters, former All-Star Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb, to their alternate-training site after poor showings. They never got a chance to use their projected No. 5 starter, Felix Hernadez, who opted out of the season because of coronavirus concerns.
With their rotation in tatters, the Braves tried 10 starters over their first 32 games. Promising young pitchers such as Touki Tousaint and Kyle Wright were hit hard, finally forcing the team to use journeyman relievers Josh Tomlin and Robbie Erlin as starters. But that clearly wasn’t an long-term solution for a team that hopes to win its first playoff series since 2001.
Milone broke into the big leagues in 2011 with the Nationals and has pitched for Oakland, Minnesota, Milwaukee, the Mets and Seattle. He has a career record of 51-51 with a 4.45 ERA.
The Braves went into their game Sunday night against the Philadelphia Phillies with a two-game lead in the NL East.
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