Blue Jays Fire Hitting Coach

The Toronto Blue Jays fired hitting coach Mike Barnett on Monday and replaced him with first base coach Mickey Brantley.

The Blue Jays are 9-11 after losing seven of eight. They were swept last weekend in Baltimore and outscored, 24-7.

Toronto is batting .270, seventh in the American League. The Blue Jays’ 95 runs ranked sixth in the AL.

The Blue Jays scored only 719 runs last year, next-to-last in the AL. They hit .260, which ranked 12th.

“This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction, it’s something we’ve been watching closely for the last year. We’re starting to get into the same habits we were in last year,” General Manager J.P. Ricciardi said.

“Before this thing steamrolled on us, we thought now was the right time to make a move,” he said. “We were starting to get into the same patterns. We weren’t scoring runs, we left a lot of guys on base, our situational hitting is not good.”

Ernie Whitt will leave his bench coach role to replace Brantley.

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Milwaukee pitcher Ben Sheets could miss a second turn in the rotation because of an inner ear infection.

Manager Ned Yost said Sheets was feeling better, but could be out six to 12 days with the ailment, which has caused dizziness and nausea.

“They’ve got a big name for it, but it’s just an inner ear infection that makes him a bit dizzy,” Yost said. “He’s on medication that should play its way through in the next week or so.”

Sheets was scratched from his scheduled start Monday against St. Louis before the game was rained out.

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Kerry Wood said his shoulder felt better, and the Chicago Cubs hope the right-hander will be able to make his next start.

Wood left Sunday’s start early because of tendinitis, but still got his first win of the season in the Cubs’ 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pitching in 42-degree weather, Wood said his shoulder was stiff before the game, but he loosened up and struck out a season-high eight in five innings. He was lifted after only 76 pitches because of discomfort that felt similar to what bothered him in spring training.

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The San Francisco Giants optioned fifth starter Jerome Williams to triple-A Fresno to work on his command, and purchased the contract of reliever Al Levine to fill Williams’ roster spot.

With Thursday’s off day, the Giants don’t need their fifth starter until next Tuesday.