Braves' Didier Fuentes: Awful in loss

Fuentes (0-3) allowed eight runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over one-plus inning to take the loss versus the Athletics on Tuesday.

Fuentes had his worst outing yet, allowing three home runs in the first inning as the Athletics stormed ahead 5-0. He loaded the bases in the second and was pulled from the game at 40 pitches (24 strikes), only for Jesse Chavez to allow all three inherited runners to score on a Nick Kurtz grand slam. Fuentes has allowed 20 runs over 13 innings in his four major-league starts, adding a 12:6 K:BB. He's struggled, but Atlanta's rotation has been pummeled by injuries. With the team far adrift of a wild-card spot, Atlanta may be more tolerant to let Fuentes learn on the job for the remainder of the season, or at least until Chris Sale (ribs), Reynaldo Lopez (shoulder) and Spencer Schwellenbach (elbow) are healthy.