MLB Player News

Kelly (3-1) earned the win during Friday's 4-1 victory over Colorado, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in 8.2 innings.

Kelly gave up his lone run in the first inning then shut down Colorado's offense for the rest of the game en route to his third win. He fell in line for the victory after Arizona scored three runs in the eighth but couldn't quite hold on for the complete game, permitting a pair of two-out singles before being removed. The 33-year-old has been a revelation this season, firing four straight quality starts while allowing five runs in 27.2 innings during the stretch. He'll face a real test against the Dodgers next week.

Flaherty (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Saturday and he will be allowed to throw all of his pitches, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

This will be his first bullpen session since being shut down in March, and it's noteworthy that he won't be limited to only fastballs. Flaherty will likely have several more such sessions, possibly throwing live batting practice, before a rehab assignment would be on the table.

Lodolo (back) will not make a start this weekend against the Pirates after Friday's game was postponed and the rotation was pushed back, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

This is a tough break for those who started Lodolo this week in hopes of taking advantage of a good matchup against the Pirates. It's unclear if he will join the rotation next week at home against the Brewers. Tyler Mahle will start Sunday.

Overton will start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Pirates after Friday's game was rained out, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The Reds' rotation is getting a little crowded, with Nick Lodolo and Luis Castillo expected back in the coming days, but the team will still give Overton a start this weekend even though they no longer needed to after Friday's game was postponed. Robert Duggar will start Saturday's nightcap.

Brubaker will start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Reds after Friday's game was rained out, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Mitch Keller will start Saturday's nightcap, with the Reds no longer having need of a sixth starter for this weekend's series.

Soroka (Achilles) hasn't had any setbacks in his recovery process and has been doing some mound work recently, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Soroka hasn't appeared in a game since August of 2020 due to multiple tears of his Achilles tendon. His most recent surgery was in early July of 2021, and it's encouraging that he's now able to throw off a mound. The team is hoping the right-hander will be able to return to game action around the All-Star break, but there's still a long way for him to go in his rehab before the team will be able to pinpoint a return date.

Wainwright landed on the injured list Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

The Cardinals originally didn't announce which injured list Wainwright was being placed on nor why he was absent, as has become standard protocol for players hitting the COVID-19 injured list. It turns out that he did in fact test positive for the virus, but the right-hander noted on his personal Twitter page that he's symptom-free. He'll have to test negative twice before returning to action, but if he remains unaffected by the illness he should be no worse for wear once he makes it back.

Matz (personal) was activated from the bereavement list Friday.

Matz was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday but has rejoined the team as expected without missing his turn through the rotation. The left-hander is scheduled to start Saturday against the Giants and has a 4.56 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 27:5 K:BB across 23.2 innings this season.

Wainwright was placed on the injured list for undisclosed reasons Friday.

Not only did the Cardinals' announcement not specify the reason for Wainwright's absence, it also didn't specify which injured list the veteran righty had been placed on. That's the pattern teams have used when placing players on the COVID-19 injured list, which seems to be the case here. If Wainwright has tested positive for the virus, he could miss a handful of starts, but if he's out for other reasons, it's possible he returns without missing a single turn. His absence allows the Cardinals to activate Steven Matz from the bereavement list.

Gibson and the Phillies won't play Friday against the Mets after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader in August. The Phillies will adjust to the cancellation simply by pushing their starters back by a day, so Gibson will take the mound Saturday. Over his last three starts, he's posted a 2.81 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 16 innings.