MLB Player News

Martinez, who is 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA over his first four starts, is at a loss as to the source of his problems thus far this season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I'm not really sure what's going on," he said. "I'm just trying to find my rhythm and get the mechanics down right. It's just trying to locate that fastball."

The assumed ace of the Cardinals staff has been anything but early this season, failing to make it past the sixth inning in his last three trips to the mound after an excellent Opening Night start versus the Cubs. Martinez has had trouble consistently harnessing his fastball and also experienced control problems in the first inning during his last two starts, issuing six free passes and allowing four runs to the 15 hitters he's faced in the opening frames of that pair of games. There's been some speculation that Martinez's participation in the World Baseball Classic could have had a negative carryover effect, although manager Mike Matheny largely dismisses the notion, noting that the 25-year-old would have gotten about the same amount of work had he remained with the team during the spring. He'll try to begin righting the ship in a Tuesday home start versus the Blue Jays.

Taillon (1-0) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out four over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against the Yankees on Saturday.

Taillon pitched five innings of shutout ball before imploding in the sixth and leaving the game with a 5-3 deficit, but the offense was able to take him off the hook for a potential loss. He still boasts a 2.13 ERA, and he's held opponents to two or fewer earned runs in three of his four starts. He'll make his next start Friday against the Marlins.

DeGrom (0-1) allowed three runs on eight hits and six walks while striking out 10 over 5.2 innings to take the loss Saturday against the Nationals after having his start pushed back due to a stiff neck.

Although deGrom had a big strikeout day, he also struggled with bouts of wildness and found himself over the 100-pitch mark before the end of the sixth inning. This was the first time in four starts that he allowed more than two runs, and he has 32 strikeouts in 24.2 innings on the year. He'll make his next start Friday against the Nationals.

Hill (finger) will make a rehab start before returning for the big league club, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

He threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday with a bandage covering his blister and expects to throw off a mound without covering the blister in the next few days. The Dodgers want to send him on a rehab assignment to see how the blister holds up before he rejoins the rotation. This suggests that Hill will not be an option to return to the rotation until May. Meanwhile, Julio Urias may make his next start in the majors next week against the Giants.

Urias may make his next start with the Dodgers in San Francisco next week, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

The Dodgers start a four-game series with the Giants on Monday, and it sounds like Urias could start Wednesday, as that would be Alex Wood's turn, and he figures to be the most likely option to move to the bullpen. He last started Friday for Triple-A Oklahoma City going 5.2 innings, so Wednesday would be his normal day to pitch. Urias has a 1.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings with Oklahoma City, but he has also walked nine over that span.

Wood gave up four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings Friday. He walked one and struck out six in a loss to the Diamondbacks.

The veteran southpaw got another start in place of the injured Rich Hill (finger), and he failed to reach the five-inning mark for the second time in two tries. Outside of Friday's outing, the 26-year-old has pitched well in a swingman role this season, posting a 3.29 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 13.2 innings. With Hill unlikely to return before his next turn in the rotation, Wood should receive a favorable matchup against the light-hitting Giants on Wednesday.

Hill (finger) threw off the bullpen mound Saturday, MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reports.

He also played catch -- something he has been doing for much of the week. His timetable for returning to the rotation is unclear, but it sounds like he's making progress. Alex Wood will remain in the rotation for now.

Cueto was hammered for six runs on eight hits over five innings Friday. He walked two and struck out just one in a loss to the Rockies.

The 31-year-old went into Coors Field and did what most pitchers do who visit the Rockies: get hit hard. The majority of the damage was done on a grand slam off the bat of Trevor Story, the first grand slam surrendered by the veteran ace in his 10-year career. Cueto has now sandwiched two strong performances with two poor ones. It isn't surprising to see that both of his rough outings have come in arguably the two toughest ballparks to pitch in across the majors (Chase Field and Coors Field). Cueto will look forward to returning to the friendly confines of AT&T Park when he faces the Dodgers on Wednesday.

DeGrom (neck) has been confirmed as Saturday's starter.

His status was still up in the air after originally having his start pushed back from Friday, though it seems he's good to go for a pivotal home start against the Nationals. The right-hander has posted great numbers thus far (1.89 ERA, 0.84 WHIP) and has not faced Washington since 2015.

Walker gave up four runs on seven hits and one walk while fanning six batters over 5.2 innings in Friday's 13-5 win over the Dodgers.

Walker left the game with the Diamondbacks trailing 4-3, but he was taken off the hook for the loss after the team exploded for nine runs in the eighth inning. While Walker's ERA and WHIP now sit at an unremarkable 4.57 and 1.38, respectively, both figures have been inflated by a .323 BABIP, which is about 40 points above his career mark. With the benefit of some more luck on balls in play, Walker is certainly capable of delivering a sub-4.00 ERA if he continues to strike out a batter per inning.