Galarraga Gets 3-Game Suspension

Atlanta first baseman Andres Galarraga was suspended for three games and fined $1,000 by the National League on Wednesday for charging the mound against Dodger pitcher Darren Dreifort on Saturday.

Brave officials said Galarraga planned to appeal the ruling. He played Wednesday against the Houston Astros, and went one for five in Atlanta’s 6-2 victory.

Dreifort hit Galarraga on the left thigh Sunday, setting off a second-inning brawl.

Galarraga was ejected and Dreifort, who sustained cuts on his right elbow, was unable to continue in the game.

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Chipper Jones, the Braves’ third baseman, is expected to miss a few games after pulling muscles in his right rib cage Wednesday night.

Jones hurt himself in batting practice and aggravated the injury when he flied out to right field to end the first inning.

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The Todd Hundley outfield experiment has ended. The New York Mets will no longer used their former catcher in the left field. He will be used strictly as a pinch hitter. Hundley has struggled in the outfield and his average has plummeted to .164.

Hundley had 30 homers and 86 RBIs last season, but he had elbow surgery last Sept. 26 and arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in November.

Hundley missed the first 85 games of this season.

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Tony Gwynn, sidelined since Aug. 13 because of an inflamed left Achilles’ tendon, took batting practice and San Diego Manager Bruce Bochy says Gwynn will return on Friday when Montreal plays at San Diego. . . . The triple-A Las Vegas Stars, affiliated with the Padres since 1983, agreed to extend its player-development contract with the team through the 1999 season. . . . San Francisco’s Stan Javier suffered a sprained neck when he car was rear-ended as he left the park Tuesday night and he did not play Wednesday. . . . Texas Ranger outfielder Warren Newson was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for left-handed pitcher Greg Cadaret, claimed on waivers from the Angels. . . . The Tampa Bay Devil Rays activated relief pitcher Albie Lopez, out because of a heel injury, from the 15-day disabled list.