MLB Player News

Rutledge has gone exactly six innings in each of his last five starts for Double-A Harrisburg, logging a 2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Given that Rutledge has a middling 14.7 K-BB% and a similarly mediocre 35.9 percent groundball rate, it's hard to project a high ceiling for the 6-foot-8 righty. The No. 17 overall pick in 2019, Rutledge had only two-thirds of an inning above Single-A under his belt coming into the year, so it's encouraging that he is having success while going deep into games in the upper levels of the minors.

DeSclafani (toe) is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Marlins in San Francisco, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' decision to move Sean Manaea to the bullpen earlier in the week supported the notion that the right toe issue that bothered DeSclafani during his most recent outing last Saturday in Arizona wouldn't be anything that forced him to miss a turn through the rotation. Through eight outings this season, DeSclafani has churned out a 3.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB across 50 innings.

Stripling exited his start Wednesday versus the Phillies in the fourth inning due to low-back tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Given Stripling's worked out of the bullpen for parts of the season, seeing him fail to complete four innings wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. It's unclear at this time if he'll be able to make his next start on the road versus Minnesota next week. If Stripling is unavailable, Sean Manaea would likely temporarily rejoin the rotation in his place.

Cabrera left Wednesday's win over the Nationals after only 79 pitches due to a blister developing on his right middle finger, Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald reports.

The right-hander was putting together his best performance of the season, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings with six strikeouts to record his third win. It was the first time in his career Cabrera had lasted at least five innings without walking a batter, making the early exit that much tougher to swallow. He generated 18 swinging strikes, including nine against his changeup. "There were a lot of lefties in the lineup," Cabrera said after the game. "The plan was to attack them with the changeup inside, the curveball outside and the fastball up. That was the plan, and it worked today." Cabrera's next turn in the rotation is set to come early next week in Coors Field, so his fantasy GMs will likely be rooting for the blister to cause the Marlins to skip him, or at least delay his next outing until the team leaves Colorado.

Gore (3-3) took the loss Wednesday as the Nationals were downed 4-3 by the Marlins, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out seven.

The southpaw tossed 60 of 93 pitches for strikes before exiting, but the Marlins were able to hit him hard when he was in the strike zone, with Jorge Soler's two-run homer in the fourth inning proving to be the biggest blow. Gore's 29.0 percent strikeout rate on the season remains encouraging, though it comes with an 11.5 percent walk rate. He'll take a 3.69 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 58:23 K:BB through 46.1 innings into his next outing, likely to come at home early next week against the Padres.

Burnes (4-3) took the loss against St. Louis on Wednesday, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven batters over six innings.

Burnes wasn't at his best Wednesday -- the eight hits against him were the most he's given up so far this season, and he yielded more than two earned runs for the first time since early April -- but he still managed to pitch effectively over six frames to notch his fourth straight quality start. However, the Brewers were unable to push any runs across the plate, resulting in their ace falling to 4-3 on the campaign. Burnes' numbers this season are quiet by his recent standards, especially in terms of strikeouts, as his current 8.0 K/9 would be the lowest of his six-year MLB career.

Liberatore (1-0) earned the win over Milwaukee on Wednesday, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six batters over five scoreless innings.

Liberatore was called up prior to the contest and given the difficult task of facing off against 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. The lefty Liberatore was up to the challenge, blanking the Brewers over five frames while fanning six batters. His control was less than ideal as he issued three free passes, but he was able to escape every jam he got into. Given this strong outing, it's likely that Liberatore will get at least another turn in the rotation, which tentatively lines up to come on the road against the Reds.

Senga allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out 12 batters over six innings in a no-decision against Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Senga bounced back nicely after a poor start his previous time out, inducing 18 swings-and-misses against the Rays and establishing a season-high mark with 12 strikeouts. The Japanese hurler yielded just one run, but the Mets were shut out until the seventh, preventing him from picking up his fifth win. Senga has adapted pretty well to pitching in MLB, posting a 3.77 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 55:26 K:BB through 43 innings.

Stripling allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two over 3.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Phillies on Wednesday.

With news of Sean Manaea moving to a bullpen role, it appears Stripling has at least temporarily grabbed control of the No. 5 spot in the rotation. He didn't do much to solidify it with this outing, and he's now allowed multiple runs in all but one of his nine appearances (five starts) this season. Stripling is at a 7.24 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 26:10 K:BB through 32.1 innings. He is tentatively projected for a road start in Minnesota next week.

Smyly allowed a run on four hits and struck out eight without walking a batter over six innings in a no-decision versus the Astros on Wednesday.

Smyly did his part, but the Cubs' bullpen allowed six runs over 2.1 innings to squander his quality start. The southpaw hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his last eight outings after he was tagged for seven runs (six earned) in his season debut. He's now at a 2.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 46:10 K:BB through 50.1 innings this season. Smyly is projected for a home start versus the Mets next week.