MLB Player News

Peralta picked up his first career save Wednesday against the Reds, and manager Craig Counsell wants to keep him in a high-leverage relief role going forward, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The right-hander struck out two and did not allow a baserunner while throwing 19 pitches.

Given how the Brewers' rotation pieces have been dropping like flies, Counsell may be overruled at some point by the front office if Peralta is needed as a spot starter. However, it sounds like the Brewers may have found a new go-to righty at the back of the bullpen. Coming into play Wednesday, Peralta boasted a 2.32 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 37 strikeouts in 31 innings of relief. He has been touching the upper-90s with his fastball out of the bullpen. In this contest, Josh Hader was called upon in a key spot in the seventh inning and also pitched the eighth before Peralta came in for the ninth. Hader will still probably get the majority of the save chances, but Peralta could get a handful of opportunities over the rest of the season if he remains in this role.

Velasquez (3-5) picked up the win in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Tigers, giving up four hits and two walks over 5.2 scoreless innings while striking out nine.

The right-hander came up one out short of a quality start after throwing 110 pitches (69 strikes) and running out of gas in the sixth inning, but the nine strikeouts were still a season high for Velasquez. He'll take a 4.46 ERA and 79:26 K:BB through 66.2 innings into his next outing July 31, at home against the Giants.

Taillon started feeling pain again in his elbow and will see a doctor Monday before a next step is determined, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

He has been shut down, and it seems that like surgery may be the next logical route for Taillon. It certainly doesn't sound good, and he was already going to have a hard time ramping up in time to return this season for a team that has fallen out of contention. The setback likely eliminates any shot Taillon had of pitching again in 2019.

Nola will be bumped up to start Sunday against the Braves, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

If the Phillies stayed on turn, Nola wouldn't have pitched again until next week, but they wanted to pitch him on normal rest against their division foes. This takes him out of a two-start week next week.

Gray underwent an X-ray on his right calf Wednesday which revealed no significant injury, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

Gray left his start Wednesday against the Nationals after getting struck in the leg by a line drive, but he escaped with nothing worse than a bruise. He expects to be able to make his next scheduled start Monday against the Dodgers.

Fried (blister) will start Saturday against the Phillies, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Fried has been on the injured list with a blister. The Braves' original plan was to have him return Sunday, but they changed plans after realizing that he may be less susceptible to blister issues when pitching during an evening game than during the hot Sunday sun.

Wheeler (shoulder) is slated to start Friday's game against the Pirates, Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports reports.

This was the assumed target date for Wheeler's activation, and the Mets will proceed with that plan. It is possible that this will be Wheeler's last start as a Met, considering he would next line up to start Aug. 1 against the White Sox.

Gray left Wednesday's game against the Nationals after four innings with a left calf injury, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

He was hit on his calf by a line drive and stayed in to pitch one more inning before getting pulled. Gray gave up one run on two hits and five walks while striking out four over four frames. He should be considered questionable for his next scheduled start Monday against the Dodgers.

Hamels (oblique) allowed one hit and three walks over 2.1 scoreless innings in his first rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday. He struck out two.

Only 17 of his 35 pitches found the strike zone, but some rust was to be expected after the nearly month-long layoff. Expect Hamels to make another start with Iowa before potentially returning to the Cubs' rotation during the first weekend of August.

Darvish didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 5-4 extra-innings loss to the Giants, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk over six innings while striking out six.

The right-hander attacked the strike zone, throwing 57 of 77 pitches for strikes, but he was on the hook for his fifth loss of the year until the Cubs forced extra innings with runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Darvish has turned a corner with his control -- he hasn't walked more than two batters in any of his last eight starts, posting a 4.07 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 54:7 K:BB through 48.2 innings over that stretch. He'll look for a better result in his next outing July 30 in St. Louis.