ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves on Tuesday fired manager Fredi Gonzalez, who couldn't survive the worst record in the majors.
Braves general manager John Coppolella confirmed the firing of Gonzalez. This was Gonzalez sixth season with the Braves, who are in the midst of a dismal stretch: They have lost two straight and eight of 10, have baseball's worst record at 9-28 and already are 13 games out of first place in the NL East.
Brian Snitker, who has been manager of the Braves' Triple-A Gwinnett team, will move up as interim manager. Snitker was Atlanta's third-base coach from 2006 to 2013, also following Gonzalez in that role when Gonzalez was named manager of the Marlins.
Snitker also had two stints with Atlanta as the bullpen coach in 1985 and from 1988 to 1990.
The Braves also fired bench coach Carlos Tosca. Gwinnett pitching coach Marty Reed has joined the club as bullpen coach. Terry Pendleton will move from first base coach to bench coach and Eddie Perez will move from bullpen coach to first base coach.
Gonzalez, 52, replaced Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox, who retired following the 2010 season. Gonzalez was the only Latino manager in the majors and he is the first Braves manager to be fired since Russ Nixon in 1990.
Pirates: Francisco Cervelli extended
PITTSBURGH — The Pirates and catcher Francisco Cervelli have agreed to a 3-year contract extension through 2019.
Philadelphia Phillies
Complete coverage of the Fightin' Phils and their MLB rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Team officials announced the extension on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old catcher has a career .284 batting average and hit .295 last season with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. He played seven seasons with the Yankees before joining the Pirates last season.
So far in 2016, Cervelli has hit .276 with 18 RBIs and 11 runs in 33 games.
Twins: Jose Berrios sent back to AAA
DETROIT — The Minnesota Twins have sent right-hander Jose Berrios to Triple-A Rochester, after the rookie allowed seven runs without finishing the first inning of his fourth career start.
The Twins made the move Tuesday before their game at Detroit, recalling left-hander Taylor Rogers from Rochester for help for the staff.
Berrios gave up 17 earned runs in 15 innings with 12 walks and 20 strikeouts in his major league debut, including recording only two outs Monday against the Tigers. The 21-year-old Berrios is Minnesota's top pitching prospect.
The Twins will need to decide on a starter for their game against Toronto on Saturday, when Berrios' next turn in the rotation would be up.
Rogers, also a rookie, made one relief appearance for the Twins last month.
