METS
Hitting coach fired
NEW YORK — The New York Mets fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens and cut reliever Jose Valverde after a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday. Minor league hitting coordinator Lamar Johnson will take over for Hudgens. Hudgens, 57 was in his fourth season as the Mets’ hitting coach. The Mets began the day with a .237 batting average, ranking among the worst in the majors. New York has lost nine of its past 12 games and scored a total of just 32 runs in that span. “Sometimes you make change for change,” Manager Terry Collins said. “This is by no means Dave Hudgens’ fault. Not whatsoever,” he said. “It’s about trying to get the execution better. We’ll see if change helps.” The Mets have tried to implement a plan of patience at the plate in the majors and minors, but the results have not shown. “When you struggle the way we’ve struggled offensively, a finger, obviously, gets pointed. A lot of times that finger gets pointed unfairly,” Mets third baseman David Wright said. Valverde, 36, gave up four runs while getting only two outs in the eighth and ninth innings as the Pirates took the lead. He was 1-1 with a 5.66 ERA.
Valverde joined the Mets this year after pitching for Detroit last season. He briefly was New York’s closer before losing the job.
DODGERS
Broadcaster Scully ill
LOS ANGELES — Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully missed Monday’s Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcast because he has a chest cold.
The team said Monday that Scully, 86, would be out Monday and today for home games against the Cincinnati Reds.
In April 2012, Scully sat out five games because of a bad cold, causing him to miss the team’s home opener for the first time in 35 years. Scully, in his 65th season with the Dodgers, calls all nine innings of the team’s TV broadcasts. He began his broadcasting career in 1950, and since then has gone on to call three perfect games, 19 no-hitters, 25 World Series and 12 All-Star games, including Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 home run in the 1988 World Series and Hank Aaron’s record-setting 715th home run.