Atlanta Braves – PlayerWatch

RHP Dan Winkler, who had Tommy John surgery in 2014, left Sunday’s game against the Cardinals after fracturing his right elbow throwing a 1-2 pitch to Randal Grichuk in the seventh inning. Winkler had ended the sixth inning with a strikeout and retired the first two batters in the seventh. Claimed in the Rule 5 Draft last year, he was making his third relief appearance for the Braves this season without giving up a hit.

CF Mallex Smith is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett after CF Ender Inciarte (left hamstring strain) was put on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. Smith, 22, led the minors with 88 stolen bases in 2014 and was 6-for-15 for Gwinnett this season after a four-hit game Saturday at Norfolk. The speedster was acquired from San Diego before last season as part of the Justin Upton trade.

CF Ender Inciarte was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday because of a strained left hamstring suffered Friday while running to first base in the first inning. He missed a month last season while with Arizona because of a strained right hamstring, but this injury isn’t believed to be as serious. Inciarte batted .303 with 21 stolen bases for the Diamondbacks last year.

RHP John Gant, who had made the Braves as an unheralded rookie off an impressive spring training, will be optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He pitched three times in the Braves first four games, giving up four runs over three innings. Two of the six hits Gant gave up were home runs.

RHP Chris Withrow was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday and had a rough first outing against the Cardinals, allowing the tying run in the sixth inning. He gave up a hit, walked two and hit a batter. Withrow missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery after making 46 relief appearances in 2013 and 2014 for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

INF/OF Emilio Bonifacio, dropped by the Braves the end of spring training, was re-signed to a minor league contract and assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. He was signed for a second stint with the Braves over the winter as a free agent. Bonifacio has appeared in 769 major league games, posting a .259 batting average.

RHP Bud Norris will face the Nationals for the second time in less than a week as the Braves open a four-game series in Washington on Monday. Norris, signed as a free agent over the winter, pitched well in his Braves debut, but took the loss in part because of shaky defense. He worked seven innings and allowed six hits, falling to 2-2 for his career against the Nationals.