MLB Player News

Wacha will start Monday in Miami as expected, FOX Sports Midwest reports.

Wacha struggled to a 5.59 ERA through his first nine starts of the season, earning a demotion to the bullpen. After one awful relief appearance and one good one, he's now needed again in the rotation. It's not yet clear if he's back in the rotation to stay or if another poor start could send him right back to the pen.

General manager Neal Huntington said Sunday that Williams (side) will make a rehab start at Triple-A Indianapolis this week, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Huntington didn't specify whether Williams will require only one rehab start before returning from the 10-day injured list, where he's resided since May 17. The Pirates may just wait and see how he performs at Indianapolis before deciding on his next step, but since he threw a 64-pitch simulated game Saturday, Williams' arm seems to be reasonably built up already. Prior to getting shut down with the right side strain, Williams had compiled a 3.33 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 54 innings.

Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said Keller is "in the conversation" to join the big club and start Wednesday's game against the Braves, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Keller's first big-league start back on May 27 in Cincinnati didn't go especially well and earned him a return trip to Triple-A Indianapolis, but he's responded well to the demotion. In his two turns since returning to the minors, Keller has allowed two runs over 11 innings, which included a career-high 13-strikeout performance his last time out Friday. With the Pirates moving fifth starter Rookie Davis (finger) to the 10-day injured list, Keller probably profiles as the best internal option to fill the void in the rotation in Atlanta, though Huntington noted that he's also considering pitchers outside the organization to make a spot start.

Buehler (7-1) struck out nine and blanked the Giants over seven frames while surrendering five hits and a walk Sunday in the Dodgers' 1-0 victory.

While Buehler's performance came against one of the majors' weakest lineups and in one of baseball's most pitcher-friendly venues in San Francisco, it nonetheless went down as another dominant performance from the young right-hander. Only one of the hits Buehler allowed went for extra bases, and he needed only 91 pitches to rack up 17 swings and misses. Buehler has now delivered quality starts in six of his last seven turns, registering a 4-1 record, 2.15 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 54:4 K:BB in 46 innings during that stretch.

Hendricks (7-4) picked up the victory over the Cardinals on Sunday, allowing one run on eight hits in seven innings. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.

Hendricks gave up a run-scoring double in the second inning but shut out the Cardinals for the remainder of his start to improve his career record against St. Louis to 7-2. Since dropping to 1-4 following an ugly loss to the Diamondbacks on April 26, Hendricks has won six of his last eight starts, compiling a 1.99 ERA and racking up 50 strikeouts in 58.2 innings over that span. He'll look to continue his string of success in a matchup against the Dodgers on Friday.

Ray (5-3) allowed two runs on five hits with 10 strikeouts and one walk across 6.2 innings to earn a victory against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

The 27-year-old continues to rack up the strikeouts, as he has at least nine in three of his past four starts. With his strikeout stuff, Ray also has yielded just three homers in his last eight outings. This win snapped a two-game losing streak for Ray too. He is 5-3 with a 3.54 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 101 strikeouts in 76.1 innings this season. Ray will make his next start at the Nationals on Friday.

Strasburg (7-3) picked up the win against the Padres on Sunday, allowing one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out six and did not issue any walks.

Strasburg was lifted for a pinch hitter with the score tied 1-1 in the eighth inning and was buoyed by four consecutive home runs from Washington hitters to pick up his seventh victory of the season. After suffering back-to-back losses in mid-May, the 30-year-old has now won four of his last five starts to improve to 7-3 on the season. He'll carry a 3.36 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 110/23 K:BB into his next scheduled start against Arizona on Saturday.

Wood (back) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Wood has been on the injured list since March 28 due to back spasms, but he fired a bullpen session Saturday and woke up Sunday morning without any issues. "A big part of it was making sure I'm waking up the next day and feeling recovered," stated Wood. "The times before, when I kind of had a setback, deep down I kind of knew that day afterward. But you never really know until the next day. I feel normal. I feel good. A good step in the right direction." The southpaw will likely throw live batting practice in the near future, assuming everything goes according to plan.

Taillon (elbow) has yet to begin a throwing program, though he has resumed baseball activities, 93.7 The Fan reports.

General manager Neal Huntington said Taillon is feeling better but is still "a ways away, unfortunately." The team had hoped the right-hander would begin throwing after four weeks, but he continues to rest his forearm and elbow. Taillon hasn't pitched since May 1, when he beat the Rangers in Texas.

Wainwright (hamstring) is on his way to St. Louis for further evaluation and is expected to miss at least one start, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wainwright was lifted from Sunday's start after experiencing tightness in his left hamstring, and he's headed for further evaluation to determine the extent of the issue. Skipper Mike Shildt stated that he anticipates Wainwright missing at least one start, though he could miss more time if the injury is severe.