MLB Player News

Flaherty (shoulder) will be activated off the injured list to start Monday against the Nationals, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Flaherty looked like he had a shot to return last week, but the Cardinals elected to have him work one more rehab start Wednesday for Triple-A Memphis, in which he struck out nine while allowing three runs in 6.2 innings. That caution stands in stark contrast to the team's approach earlier in the year, when Flaherty returned from the injured list earlier than expected but made just three ineffective starts before aggravating his shoulder injury. His return will bump Dakota Hudson to the bullpen.

Garrett (oblique) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Thursday and will pitch a simulated game Saturday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Garrett was placed on the injured list in late August, and the Marlins indicated at the time that the left-hander wasn't expected to return this season. However, he's made good progress over the last two weeks and has now been cleared to face hitters. The 25-year-old will still need to increase his workload before he's in the mix to return from the injured list. In spite of Garrett's encouraging progress, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Marlins exercise caution rather than rushing him back since the team isn't in contention for a playoff spot.

Greene (shoulder) will make his next rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Louisville, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 23-year-old recovered well after tossing two scoreless frames in his first rehab outing Thursday, and he'll remain on a five-day schedule for his next start with Louisville. According to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com, Greene threw 27 pitches in Thursday's game plus eight more pitches in the bullpen, and he should continue building up his workload Tuesday.

Gore (elbow) threw another bullpen session Friday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

For now, the ultimate goal of having Gore return to pitch in games for the Nationals before the end of the season seems to be viable. Next up, the young lefty is scheduled to throw 50 pitches in a simulated game next week.

Anderson remains on track to start Sunday's game against the Rockies in Cincinnati, despite being used in relief Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Cincinnati added Anderson to the roster Monday and had him start that day's series opener with the Cardinals, but he was chased midway through the second inning after allowing five earned runs while recording just five outs. The Reds likely didn't plan on having Anderson work out of the bullpen Wednesday, but with the game going into the 13th inning and the only other available reliever (Joel Kuhnel) having worked each of the previous two days, manager David Bell turned to the veteran right-hander. Anderson ended up surrendering three runs (two earned) to take his second loss in three days, but since he tossed only 36 pitches Monday and 19 on Wednesday, he shouldn't face any significant workload restrictions when he returns to the mound Sunday.

Houser struck out two and allowed one hit and no walks over two scoreless relief innings in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Pirates.

In his return from the injured list Aug. 24, Houser started and was blasted by the Dodgers for five runs on five hits and four walks en route to his ninth loss of the season. After that outing, manager Craig Counsell didn't specify what Houser's role would be moving forward, but the right-hander's usage out of the bullpen Wednesday would seemingly imply that he no longer has a hold on a rotation spot. Jason Alexander stepped in as the Brewers' new No. 5 starter Tuesday and will be rewarded with a second turn through the rotation Sunday in Arizona after he limited the Pirates to one run while allowing five baserunners over five frames in a no-decision.

Woodruff (9-4) took the loss against Arizona on Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 5.2 innings.

Woodruff fell behind early, allowing two runs on a Christian Walker homer in the first inning. He yielded another run in the second and two more in the sixth to finish with his worst outing since early May. Woodruff has been stuck on nine wins since the end of July, though this was his first loss following five straight no-decisions. His numbers are down overall compared to last season, but he's still pitched relatively well with a 3.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 136:34 K:BB over 114.1 innings.

Kelly (12-5) earned the win over Milwaukee on Thursday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he allowed four hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.

Kelly received some early run support and capitalized with a dominant start. He didn't allow any extra-base hits and racked up 14 swinging strikes among his 91 pitches. Kelly extended his streak of appearances without a loss to 12, dating back to the start of July. Over that stretch, he's posted a 2.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 71:18 K:BB over 80.2 innings while picking up six wins. Though the Diamondbacks are likely out of playoff contention, this season has at least seen the emergence of two potential rotation anchors in Kelly and Zac Gallen.

Strider (9-4) earned the win over Colorado on Thursday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out 16 batters over eight scoreless innings.

Strider overpowered the Rockies in his most impressive performance as a big leaguer, racking up 22 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. The strikeout total established a new franchise record in a nine-inning game, surpassing the 15 K's recorded by John Smoltz in both 1992 and 2005 and Warren Spahn in 1960. Strider has posted five double-digit strikeout performances across 17 starts this season and ranks ninth in the league with 176 punchouts despite hurling only 114.2 innings. As icing on the cake, he appears to be getting stronger as the season winds down -- over his past four starts, the rookie right-hander has gone 3-0 while registering a 1.08 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 36:4 K:BB over 25 frames.

Kershaw did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing one run on one hit and three walks over five innings against the Mets. He struck out six.

Kershaw did not allow an extra-base hit and surrendered his only blemish by walking in a run in the first. After a shaky initial inning following his return from the 15-day injured list (back), the lefty returned to his usual formidable self, turning in four perfect innings before exiting the game. In the five starts prior to his injury, the 34-year-old veteran delivered a spectacular 29:3 K:BB in 29.1 innings.