The Atlanta Braves placed right-hander Spencer Strider on the 15-day injured list Saturday with elbow inflammation.

Strider, 27, exited in the fourth inning of Friday’s 7-5 loss to the host New York Mets after experiencing soreness.

The former All-Star and 20-game winner surrendered seven runs on six hits (three homers) in three-plus innings.

Strider is 4-2 with a 5.31 ERA through eight starts this season. He has struck out 46 batters, walked 20 and given up nine home runs in 39 innings.

It is the latest setback for Strider since his All-Star campaign in 2023. He made only two starts in 2024 before season-ending elbow surgery, and he began this season on the injured list with a left oblique strain.

The Braves recalled right-hander Anthony Molina from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. Molina, 24, made one appearance earlier this season with Atlanta, tossing two hitless innings in an 8-6 win at Colorado on May 1.

–Field Level Media

Lewis Hamilton finished just 0.064 seconds behind polesitter George Russell in qualifying for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, a spot Hamilton believes puts his Ferrari team “in a good position to be able to fight” for first place in Sunday’s race.

In finishing just behind the Mercedes driver, Hamilton notched his best qualifying performance ahead of a Grand Prix. His position for Sunday’s 66-lap race will be his first Grand Prix front-row start since 2024’s British Grand Prix.

“All weekend we’ve been kind of four-tenths off these guys [Mercedes], so even with the upgrade we thought maybe that’s where we were,” said Hamilton.

“But for us to be that close, less than a tenth between us, it’s a real showing of the hard work everyone at the factory has done to bring these upgrades to this track, so a big, big thank you to everyone back in Maranello.”

The seven-time World Champion topped Qualifying 1 on Saturday. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, finished less than half-a-tenth behind Russell in Q2 before suffering a crash at the start of Q3.

“We’ve just got to keep pushing, keep developing, and I’m hoping tomorrow we can squeeze some more out of this and I hope we keep up with these guys for once,” Hamilton said.

Runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli came in third in the other Mercedes, with McLaren’s Lando Norris taking the fourth slot.

“It has been a little bit of a difficult weekend for me, didn’t really have the feeling in the car,” said Antonelli, who has 156 points after just six races, a whopping 66 points ahead of Hamilton and 68 ahead of Russell.

“It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow,” Russell said. “Lewis did an amazing job to get up there. We thought the fight was with ourselves and McLaren and Lewis was very fast in that session.”

–Field Level Media

The Texas Rangers placed outfielder Evan Carter (oblique) on the 10-day injured list on Saturday. In a corresponding move, the club recalled utility man Cody Freeman from Triple-A Round Rock.

Carter exited Friday’s game against the Boston Red Sox due to right oblique soreness. It is now being labeled as a right oblique strain.

Carter recorded six home runs, 21 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a .172/.292/.321 batting line for the Rangers this season. His defensive ability in center field has been even more critical. Baseball Savant ranks him in the 94th percentile in Fielding Run Value.

Freeman suited up in 36 games for the Rangers last season, batting .228 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. He is hitting .341 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 10 games in Triple-A this season and went 1-for-2 in his lone game for Texas.

He has experience playing left field, right field, second base, and third base in the majors.

Texas also recalled right-hander Joe Ross from Triple-A Round Rock and optioned right-hander Luis Curvelo to the same affiliate. In addition, right-hander Michel Otanez was designated for assignment.

–Field Level Media