MLB Player News

Kershaw (forearm) is expected to begin playing catch Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

This will mark the first step of Kershaw's throwing program as he works through left elbow inflammation, with hopes of making a late-season return. More updates on the lefty's status and throwing progression should become available in the next week or so.

Darvish (back) may not make his next scheduled start as he deals with back tightness, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Manager Jayce Tingler said Darvish didn't recover from Thursday's short start as quickly as they hoped. The righty hasn't been placed on the injured list, but that remains a possibility if he doesn't improve in the coming days. More information about Darvish's back and when he might pitch next should become clear in the coming days.

Kershaw (forearm) may not have time to build up to a starter's workload before the end of the regular season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports. "I think that will be kind of contingent on where the ramp-up goes," manager Dave Roberts said. "I don't want to say, 'No.' That's the goal. But if it comes to be a two-, three-inning monster out of the 'pen, then that's what it will be."

Kershaw is not traveling with the Dodgers on their current road trip and won't re-start his throwing program until at least next week. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 and figures to need substantial time to ramp back up once he's able to start throwing from a mound again. The southpaw is currently on the 60-day IL and isn't eligible to return until Sept. 5, though it appears the team isn't banking on him rejoining the club on that date. Kershaw's greatest value to the organization -- and to fantasy managers -- would be as a starter, so the hope is that the future Hall of Famer will be able to start throwing again soon.

The Phillies reinstated Falter (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list Saturday.

As expected, the lefty reliever rejoins the Phillies after being on the virus-related IL since July 20. Falter has a 4.50 ERA in 18 relief innings with the big-league club this season and may get some middle-innings work Saturday with Matt Moore starting.

Luzardo (4-5) picked up the win in Friday's 14-10 win over the Cubs, coughing up five runs on six hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out six.

The southpaw tossed only 60 of 106 pitches for strikes and was hit hard when he was in the zone, getting taken deep twice while also giving up a double and a triple among his six hits allowed, but an 11-run second inning by the Marlins made Luzardo's struggles somewhat moot. The 23-year-old has a 9.20 ERA through his first three starts for Miami and has walked 11 batters in 14.2 innings, and the control and command issues he displayed earlier in the year with Oakland don't appear to be solvable simply via a change of scenery.

Megill didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Dodgers, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.

The rookie right-hander didn't pitch poorly, throwing 61 of 92 pitches for strikes, but Megill exited the game down 3-0 before the Mets got him off the hook for the loss. He has a 5.40 ERA over his last four starts and 20 innings, a far cry from the 2.10 ERA he held when that stretch began, but with Jacob deGrom (elbow) looking increasingly unlikely to pitch again this season and Noah Syndergaard (elbow) ticketed for the bullpen when he finally comes off the IL, Megill's rotation spot appears secure.

Urias didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Mets, allowing two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out five.

The southpaw tossed 57 of 82 pitches for strikes before exiting with a 3-0 lead, but the Dodgers' bullpen cost Urias his 14th win of the year. He's failed to last six innings in any of his last four outings, but he's posted a dazzling 1.31 ERA over that stretch. On the season, Urias sports a 3.29 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 149:30 K:BB through 139.2 innings.

Snell pitched five innings against Arizona on Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six. He did not factor in the decision.

Snell didn't come close to matching the seven-inning, 13-strikeout performance he produced against Arizona his last time out, but he at least kept San Diego in the game by surrendering just two runs over five frames. The left-hander threw 61 of 101 pitches for strikes and walked fewer than three batters for the first time in his past eight starts. Snell has shown improvement with providing length of late, going at least five innings in three straight starts after doing so only four times in his previous 13 outings. He'll likely make his next start at Coors Field against Colorado next week.

Gomber (9-7) took the loss Friday as Colorado fell 5-4 to San Francisco, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts in four innings.

Gomber started on a sour note by permitting four runs in the first inning, though he only surrendered one more over his next three innings, and he wound up in the loss column when Colorado's ninth-inning rally came up short. The lefty has pitched adequately this season with a 4.09 ERA but he'll need to improve his consistency to become a reliable fantasy option given he's averaging less than 5.1 innings per start.

DeSclafani (11-5) won Friday's 5-4 victory over Colorado, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.

Making his first start following a brief IL stint, DeSclafani limited the damage to a single run in both the second and third innings and departed with a 5-2 lead. Closer Jake McGee made things interesting in the ninth by surrendering two runs, but San Francisco was able to eke out the win. The 31-year-old DeSclafani returned to the win column for the first time in over a month.