MLB Player News

Burnes completed six innings Saturday, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out five batters in a no-decision against Pittsburgh.

Despite tying a season high with four walks, Burnes was effective in the outing, allowing just a pair of hits. Both of those knocks came in the fifth inning, with the second of the two -- a Jason Delay double -- producing both of the runs charged to his ledger. The veteran hurler stuck around to complete six frames, giving him his seventh consecutive quality start and his 16th overall on the season, tied for third in the majors. Burnes' stats haven't been quite as good as they were the past few seasons, but he's still been impressive with a 3.42 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 141:50 K:BB over 139.1 innings.

Grove allowed a hit and struck out four without walking a batter over 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday versus the Padres. He did not factor in the decision.

Grove was announced as the starter, but it ended up being more of an opener situation, with Ryan Yarbrough following him with 4.1 innings in bulk relief. That kind of arrangement may be the only way Grove sticks on the major-league roster in the near term. He was touched up for eight runs over six innings in his last start and still carries a 6.61 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 67:18 K:BB through 64 innings this season. While his strikeout numbers are solid, he'll likely be limited to low-leverage situations if he ends up as a traditional reliever going forward.

Snell allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out eight over five innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Saturday.

Snell's impressive run of 13 starts without allowing more than two runs came to a close, though it happened against a tough division rival. The southpaw was in line for the loss until the Padres rallied ahead in the eighth inning. Snell's 1.30 WHIP and 164:72 K:BB aren't the most encouraging marks, but he's allowed just 12 homers in 23 starts this season to offset an ugly 5.2 BB/9. That's helped him maintain a 2.61 ERA through 124 innings on the year. Snell is lined up for another challenging start on the road in Arizona during next weekend's series.

Matz (3-7) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Rockies.

Matz gave up a run for the first time in three starts, but he turned in his third straight quality start. It's been an impressive return to form for the southpaw after an awful start to the season. He's now at a 3.91 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 93:32 K:BB over 99 innings through 24 appearances (16 starts). Matz will looking to keep it rolling next weekend in a road start versus the Royals.

Richardson will be called up from Triple-A Louisville to make his first big-league start Sunday against the Nationals, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Richardson was scratched from his scheduled start with Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, and it turns out the reason was to keep him on schedule for his first start in the major leagues. Richardson is one of Cincinnati's better prospects, but he hasn't thrown more than 49 pitches in a game since May, so he'll likely face some sort of pitch limit Sunday.

DeSclafani will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and is expected to be shut down from throwing for 6-to-8 weeks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Based on the 6-to-8-week timeline, DeSclafani's season is almost certainly over, barring a deep postseason run by the Giants. After missing most of last season with an ankle injury, DeSclafani returned to go 4-8 with a 4.88 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 19 appearances (18 starts) for the Giants in 2023. The right-hander is under contract for $12 million in 2024.

The Pirates officially recalled Falter ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Brewers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Falter was added to the taxi squad Friday and is now on the Pirates' active roster for the first time after coming over from Philadelphia at the deadline in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro. While Falter has mostly struggled at the highest level this season (5.13 ERA, 1.44 WHIP), he showed promise in 2021 and 2022, and the Pirates are evaluating for the future.

The Mets recalled Megill ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Orioles.

Megill will get another chance in the rotation after both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were moved at the trade deadline. His ERA and WHIP have only gotten worse with Triple-A Syracuse, though Megill took a step forward in his most recent start in the minors with six innings of two-run ball against Lehigh Valley.

The Brewers optioned Rea to Triple-A Nashville on Saturday.

Lefty Clayton Andrews was recalled to replace Rea, who was knocked around for six runs over four innings Friday, bringing his ERA since the All-Star break to 6.75. Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) is due back Sunday, so Rea's services are no longer needed in the rotation, though he could be back before long as a swingman.

The Dodgers announced Grove will start Saturday's game against the Padres, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander was expected to move to the bullpen after he gave up eight runs in his previous outing, but he'll end up receiving another start Saturday. However, Grove may not have the workload of a traditional starter with Ryan Yarbrough a likely option to piggyback.