MLB Player News

Burnes (1-2) suffered the loss against Atlanta on Saturday, pitching six innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Burnes' bad fortune continued Saturday, as he registered his fifth straight quality start but has only one win to his ledger over that span. The right-hander was impressive in racking up 20 swinging strikes among his 98 pitches, and the lone earned run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Ronald Acuna in the fifth inning. Despite recording only one victory on the campaign, Burnes has been arguably more dominant than last season, compiling a 1.86 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 50:8 K:BB across 38.2 innings. He's expected to make his next start in Miami next weekend.

Fried (4-2) earned the win over Milwaukee on Saturday, hurling seven innings during which he gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out eight.

Fried kept the Brewers off the scoreboard for six frames before Hunter Renfroe got to him for a solo shot in the seventh. That was the only blemish of the southpaw's outing, and the ace tied a season high with eight punchouts while racking up 15 swinging strikes. Fried started the season by giving up five runs in his first start, but he has been on a tear since then, registering a 1.72 ERA across his subsequent five outings covering 31.1 innings. He has finished with a quality start in four straight appearances.

Matz (3-2) suffered the loss against San Francisco on Saturday, allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks over two innings. He struck out three.

The left-hander's outing got off to an ominous start when the first three batters reached base via two walks and an infield single. Wilmer Flores ensured that the Giants took advantage of the situation, belting a grand slam to clear the bases. Matz gave up two more homers -- both of the two-run variety -- in the second frame and didn't come out for the third. It was the first time this season that Matz has given up multiple long balls in a contest, and it unsurprisingly resulted in the veteran yielding a season-worst eight runs. He'll try to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday at home versus Baltimore.

Wheeler (undisclosed) was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Sunday, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 31-year-old will join fellow starting pitcher Zach Eflin (undisclosed), who was previously scheduled to start Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader, on the COVID-19 injured list. Wheeler lined up to start during the three-game series in Seattle this week, which begins Monday, but it's now unclear when he'll next take the mound. He'll remain away from the team until he clears MLB's COVID protocols.

Webb (4-1) earned the win over St. Louis on Saturday, completing five innings and allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven.

This was far from Webb's best outing of the season -- he allowed a season-high four runs and needed 84 pitches to get through five frames. However, the Giants racked up nine runs in the first four innings, allowing the right-hander to pitch with limited stress and enabling him to pick up his fourth victory. Promisingly, Webb tied his season high with seven strikeouts after punching out just three batters in his previous outing. He'll carry a 3.82 ERA into his next start, which lines up to be a rematch against the Cardinals -- this time in St. Louis -- on Friday.

Davies hurled 6.1 scoreless innings against Colorado on Saturday, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six. He did not factor in the decision.

The right-hander submitted his finest effort of the campaign thus far, pitching beyond the fifth inning for the first time and holding the Rockies scoreless while racking up 14 swinging strikes. Unfortunately for Davies, opposing starter Kyle Freeland matched him in putting goose eggs on the board, leaving both hurlers to settle for a no-decision. Nonetheless, this was a promising outing for Davies, who hasn't allowed an earned run over his past two starts covering 11.1 frames. That has lowered his ERA, which stood at 5.40 through four starts, to a much more appealing 3.34 overall.

Overton did not factor into the decision in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Pirates. He allowed two runs on six hits with four strikeouts against zero walks over 5.1 innings.

The bar is not high on this Reds team; Overton has easily cleared that bar through two starts. He has a 2.53 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 10.2 innings. Overton is a 28-year-old journeyman with modest stuff, as evidenced by his career minor-league 8.3 K/9, but he's earned more chances to start with his performance so far.

Freeland allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five across six innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks. He did not factor into the decision.

Freeland was engaged in an improbable pitchers' duel with Zach Davies, and he limited the Diamondbacks to five singles. He primarily kept the ball on the ground to avoid any damage and also generated 12 swinging strikes on 89 pitches. Freeland has delivered a 1.57 ERA with a 19:5 K:BB across his last four starts spanning 23 frames.

The Phillies recalled Sanchez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated him as the 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader with the Mets. He's scheduled to start Game 2 of the twin bill.

The 25-year-old will be picking up his second big-league start and first of 2022 after the Phillies moved Zach Eflin -- who was initially scheduled to take the hill for the second game of the twin bill -- to the COVID-19-related injured list. While it's possible that Eflin will miss more than one turn through the rotation due to MLB's COVID-19-related protocols, Sanchez may be headed back to Lehigh Valley following the doubleheader regardless of how he performs. Before he was optioned to the minors May 1, Sanchez made four appearances out of the big-league bullpen and gave up six earned runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out 10 over 10 innings. He maxed out at 3.1 innings and 65 pitches across those four appearances, so he likely can't be counted on to work deep into his start Sunday.

The Phillies placed Eflin on the COVID-19-related injured list Sunday.

Eflin had been in line to start the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Mets, but his move to the COVID-19-related IL will force the Phillies to adjust their pitching plans. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Eflin was reportedly fully vaccinated when he landed on the COVID-19 IL last season, which means his placement on the list was the result of a positive. In a related transaction, the Phillies called up Cristopher Sanchez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to serve as the 27th man for the twin bill, and he's now in line to start the second game Sunday with Eflin having been deactivated. Eflin's return date from the IL is up in the air and will be contingent on how soon he's deemed asymptomatic of the virus.