MLB Player News

Dominguez pitched two clean innings and struck out two batters to record his second save of the season Thursday against the Dodgers.

Dominguez was called into the game to start the eighth inning to relieve starter Aaron Nola, and he had little trouble working through the Dodgers' lineup, needing only 23 pitches to complete his two innings of work. He has still yet to allow an earned run in 13.2 innings pitched and has allowed two baserunners in that span. While that clearly makes him a superior pitcher to Hector Neris at the moment, it may not necessarily lead to more saves as the Phillies have looked to use Dominguez in high-leverage situations, whether that comes in the ninth inning or earlier in the game.

Santana could start Friday's game against the Rockies, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic Los Angeles reports.

Santana, who was originally listed as Sunday's starter before Alex Wood (leg) had his scheduled start pushed back, is now the leading candidate to take the ball for what manager Dave Roberts is deeming a bullpen game Friday. The Dodgers could opt to go with a lefty reliever if the Rockies stack left-handed hitters at the top of their lineup, but Santana appears to be the leading candidate to get the ball first for Friday's series opener, assuming he goes unused in relief Thursday.

Grace (groin) will get the next two days off before being reevaluated Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Grace, who has been sidelined since April 21 with a strained groin, has made two rehab appearances for Double-A Harrisburg, allowing an unearned run on four hits while striking out three across two innings. The Nationals will see how his groin feels in a couple of days before deciding whether to bring him back to the big-league bullpen or keep him on a rehab assignment.

General manager Michael Girsch said Reyes is dealing with a "significant" lat strain and will miss several starts, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "Alex Reyes has a significant lat strain," Girsch said. "It is not going to be a couple starts. It's going to be more than a few starts."

This is a tough blow for the young right-hander, who suffered the injury in his first game back from Tommy John surgery. Reyes experienced a noticeable dip in velocity during Wednesday's outing against the Brewers, leaving the Cardinals worried, and a subsequent MRI confirmed the severity of the issue Thursday morning. He'll receive a second opinion in the coming days, but the Cardinals are preparing to move forward without Reyes for the foreseeable future. Carlos Martinez, who is on the shelf with a lat injury of his own, could rejoin the team's rotation next week in place of Reyes.

Venditte will head down to Triple-A Oklahoma City after just one day in the major leagues, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Venditte allowed one run on two hits and struck out two in his lone relief appearance since being called up. He was sent back to Triple-A after the Dodgers officially activated Clayton Kershaw from the disabled list.

The Giants activated Law (ankle) from the 10-day disabled list Wednesday and optioned him to Triple-A Sacramento, MLB.com reports.

Law had already made a one-inning rehab appearance with Sacramento on Tuesday, so he'll simply stick with the affiliate after the Giants didn't have a need for his services out of the bullpen now that he's healthy again. The right-hander was sidelined for a little over two weeks with the ankle injury.

Leiter was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Leiter will join the Phillies for the first time all season to offer a fresh arm in long relief after Drew Hutchison, who was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move, and Victor Arano both worked a pair of relief innings in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers. The 27-year-old owns a pristine 0.82 ERA and 15:4 K:BB across 11 innings between High-A Clearwater and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.

Strahm picked up the win in relief Wednesday, tossing two clean innings with a strikeout in a 3-2 win over the Marlins.

Strahm returned to the bullpen after his brief two-inning start Sunday. It appears that the club wants to keep him in a relief role going forward, following the announcement that Walker Lockett will be called up to take Joey Luchessi's (hip) next turn in the rotation. Strahm has posted a 3.18 ERA in 11.1 innings, but the club clearly doesn't want to push its new pitcher after he endured a rough knee injury last season.

Mayers was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Mayers will return to the big leagues after being optioned to the minors Wednesday. He'll look to improve upon his already solid 2.63 ERA out of the bullpen during his next stint with the major-league squad.

Reyes was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right lat strain Thursday.

It was originally thought that Reyes avoided injury after experiencing a noticeable dip in his velocity during his 2018 big-league debut against the Brewers on Wednesday, but an evaluation upon his return to St. Louis confirmed the young right-hander suffered a lat injury that will require a stint on the disabled list. It's unclear how long Reyes will be sidelined with the issue, but the Cardinals figure to handle the 23-year-old with extra care seeing as Wednesday was his first game back from an extended absence due to Tommy John surgery. He tossed four scoreless innings in his first big-league start since 2016 prior to suffering the injury. Mike Mayers was recalled from Triple-A Memphis in a corresponding move.