MLB Player News

Snell (4-4) was tagged for seven runs on seven hits and four walks while fanning one in Wednesday's loss against the Athletics.

Snell had a rough outing Wednesday and has been very inconsistent of late, as he has given up four or more earned runs in three of his last six appearances. The lefty owns a 5.44 ERA on the season, which is a huge step in the wrong direction after he posted a 3.24 ERA during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Smyly (knee) is listed in the lineup as Atlanta's starting pitcher for Thursday's series finale against the Mets.

As anticipated, Smyly's left knee checked out fine following a bullpen session earlier this week, so he'll be able to stick in the Atlanta rotation after the injury resulted in his early removal from his most recent start Saturday against the Phillies. After a sluggish start to the season, Smyly has re-emerged as a reliable rotation option since the beginning of June. Over his last nine starts spanning 45.2 innings, Smyly has gone 5-0 with a 2.76 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 40:19 K:BB.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Corbin would start the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Corbin will end up being pushed back one day in the pitching schedule after he was initially on tap to start Wednesday before the contest was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Washington organization. Through his first two starts of the second half, Corbin has been lit up for 11 runs (10 earned) over 10.2 innings to bring his ERA up to 5.71 on the season. With Corbin in the third season of a six-year, $140 million contract and in the midst of a brutal campaign, he's unlikely to command much trade interest from contending clubs ahead of Friday's deadline.

Wheeler is scheduled to start the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Nationals, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Wheeler had been in line to start Wednesday before the contest was postponed due to 12 positive COVID-19 cases within Washington's organization. The Nationals will conduct more testing early Thursday, but for now, MLB is optimistic the doubleheader will be played. Wheeler has gone 2-1 with a 3.08 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 30:5 K:BB in 26.1 innings through four starts in July.

DeSclafani (10-5) allowed four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three over 2.2 innings in a loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.

DeSclafani started out well with three strikeouts over his first two frames but fell apart in the third. He allowed four hits on top of two walks to put the Giants in a 4-0 hole. He was replaced by Daniel Alvarez after his second walk but the damage had already been done. It ties for his shortest outing of the season, with both of those starts coming against the Dodgers. Despite his rough outing, DeSclafani still owns a strong 3.10 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 113:32 K:BB over 122 innings. He's lined up for a favorable matchup against the Diamondbacks next week.

Buehler (11-1) tossed seven scoreless innings in a win over the Giants on Wednesday. He allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out eight.

Buehler was masterful Wednesday evening, throwing 70 of 98 pitches for strikes and allowing just one baserunner to reach scoring position. The 26-year-old has undoubtedly been one of the best starters in baseball this year, registering a quality outing in 18 of his 21 starts. He's gone at least seven while striking out eight or more batters over his last three appearances and has not allowed a home run since June 24. Buehler owns a 2.19 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 139:31 K:BB over 135.2 innings. He's in line for a challenging matchup against the Astros next week.

Mahle (8-3) earned the win over the Cubs on Wednesday by pitching six shutout innings during which he gave up five hits and one walk while striking out two.

The right-hander picked up his first victory since June 16 by keeping Chicago off the scoreboard despite tying a season low with only two strikeouts. He wasn't exactly efficient with his offerings -- Mahle needed 103 pitches to get through six frames and threw only 59 of those pitches for strikes -- but he issued just one walk and was able to rack up outs in spite of constantly pitching deep into counts. The 26-year-old notched his sixth quality start of the season and lowered his ERA to 3.71. He's lined up to next face the Twins at home early next week.

Houser (7-5) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings to earn the win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

The right-hander was very effective despite a relatively short outing that saw him throw just 70 pitches (42 strikes). Houser has made two starts and one appearance since the All-Star break, allowing four runs across 11 innings. He has a 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 76:43 K:BB through 97.2 innings overall. Houser lines up for a rematch at home versus Pittsburgh next week.

Megill didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Atlanta, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out six.

The 26-year-old rookie continues to impress, and only a lack of run support prevented Megill from collecting his second straight win. He's given up one run or fewer in five straight starts, and his 2.04 ERA and 39:11 K:BB through 35.1 innings will be tough to dislodge from the rotation even when the Mets' more experienced arms get healthy.

Fried (7-7) took the loss Wednesday, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks over seven innings as Atlanta fell 2-1 to the Mets. He struck out nine.

The southpaw set a new season high in whiffs while tossing 67 of 106 pitches for strikes, but Fried still came out on the wrong end of the decision. He's delivered a quality start in two of his last three outings and eight times overall this year, leading to a 4.32 ERA and 94:32 K:BB through 91.2 innings.