MLB Player News

Lopez (forearm) will start Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Lopez has been sidelined since July 28 but recently reached 71 pitches in a rehab outing. He shouldn't have significant limitations as a result, though he will face a tough Phillies lineup, so he may struggle to work efficiently.

Blackburn pitched six innings of one-run ball in Sunday's loss to the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.

Coming off a brutal outing where he allowed six runs and took the loss against the Athletics, Blackburn fared much better Sunday, yielding just one run on a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly in the third inning. Blackburn turned in his seventh quality start of the season and now has three quality starts in four outings since being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 20:7 K:BB in 22 innings with his new club. He is currently lined up to face the Padres next weekend.

Imanaga (9-3) allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Blue Jays.

Imanaga was good aside from a Joey Loperfido solo home run in the second inning, but that ended up being the lone run of the game. Imanaga has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) over 23.2 innings across four starts in August, though his 26:3 K:BB in that same span paints a more encouraging picture. For the year, the southpaw has a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 137:20 K:BB through 133.1 innings over 23 starts. He's lined up for a favorable road start in Miami his next time out.

Woodford (0-5) took the loss Sunday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and one walk over four innings against the Mariners. He struck out four.

Woodford was tagged early when Cal Raleigh blasted a two-run homer with one out in the first inning and was never able to find his footing as he was let down both by his own performance and by poor defense. After showing well in a spot start against San Diego, Woodford was given another crack but was lit up for seven total runs by a Mariners squad that had failed to score more than three runs in any game during the five-game losing streak that they carried into the contest. While a better performance may have altered the Pirates' mindset a bit, with Jared Jones (lat) slated to make at least one more rehab start early this week, Woodford appears to be the most likely to lose his spot in the rotation once jones is ready to make his return.

Atlanta hasn't officially announced a starter for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, but manager Brian Snitker previously indicated the Lopez (forearm) was expected to be re-inserted into the rotation early this week, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach are penciled in to pitch Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, potentially leaving Tuesday open for Lopez to make his return from the injured list. The right-hander threw 71 pitches over four innings during his rehab start last Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett, so he shouldn't have significant workload limitations in his return to Atlanta's rotation.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington said Sunday that Jones (lat) will make at least one more rehab start before returning from the 15-day injured list, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The right-hander has struggled in his two rehab outings for Triple-A Indianapolis with six earned runs allowed across six innings. Jones encouragingly built up his workload to 67 pitching during his last appearance, but the Pirates might want to see him regain some effectiveness before re-inserting him into the big-league rotation.

Kuehler is on the full-season injured list at High-A Rome after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, Scott Kennedy of SI.com reports.

Kuehler logged a 2.52 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and a 44:20 K:BB in 50 innings across 11 starts for Single-A Augusta and then gave up eight runs in three innings in his lone start for Rome on June 30. It's possible that the 22-year-old righty will eventually shift to the bullpen, where his fastball/slider combo could play up and his shaky command would be less of an issue. He may not recover in time to pitch for an affiliate in 2025.

Wicks (oblique) struck out three and allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks in his second rehab start Thursday with Triple-A Iowa. "He's got a minimum of two [rehab starts] left before he's kind of ready to pitch for us regardless," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com on Friday, when asked about a timeline for Wicks to return from the 60-day injured list. "So, he's got time left. I think at the start of it, health is most important. And as we get closer to making a decision, then results start to get factored in more, absolutely."

Wicks has been on the IL since mid-June with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, but he's been able to steadily ramp up his workload over his first two rehab starts, tossing 43 pitches Aug. 10 and 59 pitches Thursday. The results haven't been impressive, however, as Wicks has covered just 3.2 innings between those outings while giving up 10 earned runs on nine hits -- including four home runs -- and four walks. Counsell expressed confidence that Wicks will be able to knock off the rust in his subsequent rehab outings, and the fact that the skipper notes that the lefty will make at least two more starts in the minors suggests that Wicks probably won't be activated until the final weekend of August, at the earliest. Kyle Hendricks should continue to hold down a spot at the back end of the Chicago rotation while Wicks is on the farm.

Sale (14-3) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while striking out 10.

Sale stifled the Angels' lineup for most of the night, allowing only two batters to reach second base over the first five innings before surrendering two runs -- one of which came across on a wild pitch -- in the sixth. The lefty induced 17 whiffs on the night and posted double-digit strikeouts for the third consecutive start. Sale has now won his four last decisions (spanning eight starts) and hasn't surrendered more than two runs since June 1 against the Athletics (a span of 12 starts).

Freeland took the loss against the Padres on Saturday, allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings while striking out three.

Freeland went 1-2-3 through the opening frame before surrendering three consecutive hits to start the second, leading to two runs coming home for San Diego. The lefty would then allow two more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth while matching his season high with three walks in the contest. Freeland has now given up at least three runs in each of his last three starts and currently holds a 7.43 ERA in August to go along with an 11:6 K:BB. Saturday marked only his second loss since April 14.