MLB Player News

Wainwright (5-3) fired seven shutout innings in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Rockies, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out six.

The 35-year-old turned in his second seven-inning scoreless effort in his last three starts while also recording six strikeouts for the second straight outing. Wainwright was able to keep the ball down consistently and avoid the thin air of Coors Field, notching 10 groundball outs overall, which marked the third time in the last four trips to the mound that he's hit double digits in that category. After a couple of rocky starts to open the month, Wainwright has compiled a 0.44 ERA, .169 BAA, .217 wOBA and 0.98 WHIP over the 20.1 innings encompassing his last three starts. He'll look to keep it going as the calendar flips to June when he takes on the Dodgers at home next Thursday.

Worley (0-2) gave up two runs on two hits while striking out two over five innings in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Angels.

He only made two real mistakes in his 63 pitches, but Mike Trout put one over the fence for a solo homer in the first inning, and Cameron Maybin ripped the other for a triple in the third before coming around to score on a groundout. Worley's performance was good enough to keep him in the rotation for now, and he'll make his next trip to the mound Thursday at home against the dangerous Diamondbacks.

Strasburg (6-1) rag-dolled the Padres on Saturday, firing seven scoreless innings while scattering three hits and a walk and striking out a career-high 15 in a 3-0 win.

One day after Max Scherzer struck out 13 Padres, Strasburg did his rotation mate two better. The 28-year-old has now won four straight decisions, posting a 2.78 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 43:11 K:BB in 32.1 innings over that stretch and will be in a good spot to keep things rolling Friday on the road in Oakland.

Cole allowed four runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out three batters over five innings during Saturday's win over the Mets. He didn't factor into the decision.

This was Cole's second underwhelming start in a row, as he's now surrendered nine runs through his past 9.2 innings while striking out just five batters. For the year, he sports a solid 3.65 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 7.4 K/9, and the 26-year-old righty should bounce back in short order from this tiny rough patch. Unfortunately, the Pirates offense projects to continue providing minimal run support, so piling up wins will probably remain a difficult task for Cole going forward. He next lines up for a road start against the Mets.

Manager Terry Collins said Pill is the frontrunner to start Tuesday against the Brewers, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

Pill, called upon in the 10th inning Saturday, struggled through his major league debut. After allowing a David Freese single, the righty hit Andrew McCutchen with a pitch and then walked Francisco Cervelli to load the bases. Pill retired Gift Ngoepe for the second out before being pulled in favor of Josh Edgin, who promptly allowed John Jaso to single home the winning run. Nonetheless, with Steven Matz (elbow) and Seth Lugo (elbow) not quite ready to return, Pill may be tasked with a starting role Tuesday. Another candidate may be Josh Smoker, who has also struggled out of the bullpen this season to the tune of an 8.00 ERA over 18 innings pitched.

Wheeler was forced to leave his start Saturday after the sixth inning with a blister on his right hand, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

Wheeler had put together a solid performance before his premature departure, allowing just three runs on seven hits and recording five strikeouts. The young right-hander has established himself as a consistent arm in an injury-riddled Mets' rotation this season and, fortunately, this doesn't appear to be anything too serious. Consider him day-to-day as he aims for his next scheduled start Thursday against the Brewers.

Stripling allowed a single hit over three scoreless innings while striking out two batters to earn his first save of the season during Saturday's win over the Cubs.

The converted starter has excelled out of the bullpen with a 2.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10.5 K/9. However, he's being utilized more in the middle innings than in high-leverage situations, so his fantasy value will probably remain limited to providing solid ratios and punchouts.

Lugo (elbow) will make his third rehab start with Double-A Binghamton on Sunday.

It's expected to be the final rehab start necessary before Lugo is activated from the disabled list and the right-hander will be aiming for a better performance than his last outing with High-A St. Lucie, when he allowed six earned runs over just 3.2 innings. With fellow starter Steven Matz (elbow) also expected to return soon, Lugo may be bound for the bullpen when he makes his way back to the big leagues, or he could serve as a replacement for the inconsistent Robert Gsellman.

Greinke (6-3) pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts in Saturday's 6-1 loss in Milwaukee.

Greinke entered the game on a hot streak, winning four in a row and five of his last six starts, but ran into a buzz saw in Milwaukee. With his counterpart Chase Anderson taking a no-hitter into the eighth, Greinke had no margin for error. He matched zeroes with Anderson through the first three innings, but allowed a bases-loaded double to Jett Bandy in the fourth and a pair of tack-on runs in the sixth before being removed. Despite the loss, Greinke remains a premiere pitching option, and he has a favorable matchup in his next start when he faces the Marlins in Miami.

Anderson (3-1) pitched seven-plus shutout innings, allowing one hit with three walks and 11 strikeouts in Saturday's 6-1 win over Arizona.

It didn't look like this was going to be a good day for Anderson, who walked the first two batters of the game. But he struck out Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb to get out of the early jam and settled into quite a groove. He struck out eight of the first 15 batters he faced on his way to a career-high 11 strikeouts, outdueling Zack Greinke in the process. The lone hit Anderson allowed came on a clean single to center by Nick Ahmed to lead off the eighth inning. It was Anderson's 114th pitch of the game, a career high, so it's not certain he would have been allowed to continue much longer. The performance was a big turnaround from his recent outings. He'd pitched into the sixth inning just once in his last four starts, allowing 16 runs in 18.2 innings prior to Saturday's gem. Anderson will look to build on this performance Thursday when the Brewers visit the Mets.