MLB Player News

Matz (shoulder) experienced a setback in his rehab and will not start Friday's game as planned, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Matz had a throwing session Thursday to make the final preparations prior to Friday's start, but the left-hander reportedly felt sore following the session, leading the Mets to pull him from his scheduled start. This setback comes at the worst possible time for the young pitcher, as it now makes a return to the Mets rotation prior to the postseason (and possibly even during the postseason) very difficult. He'll likely resume his rehab once his shoulder is feeling good again, but there's no telling if and when he might be able to get back to game action this season. Gabriel Ynoa will fill in for Matz as Friday's starter.

Nicasio earned his fifth hold Wednesday, striking out one batter in a scoreless relief inning.

Nicasio has compiled a 2.70 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 71:17 K:BB in 50 innings since the team sent him to the bullpen. The right-hander has become one of the team's most reliable relievers, flashing closer's stuff, though Tony Watson is not in jeopardy of losing his job. Nicasio has already set a major league record with at least one strikeout in his last 31 relief appearances.

Greinke (13-7) gave up two runs on just two hits -- but four walks -- with seven strikeouts over six innings Wednesday in a win over San Diego.

The Diamondbacks and Padres are in the midst of a race for fourth place in the NL West, and Greinke's disastrous first season in Arizona is a big reason behind his team's place in the cellar. Despite ending his three-game losing streak Wednesday, he's now walked four batters in three consecutive starts. It's been one thing or another for Greinke this year -- when he's not walking hitters, he's giving up homers. He did both Wednesday, with his 23rd homer allowed this season building on an already career-high total.

Marquez (1-0) won his first major league start, allowing just one run on four hits, striking out three and walking one over five innings against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

He now has a 3.48 ERA in his first four MLB appearances and since his first outing, Marquez has allowed just one run over eight frames. Between Double-A and Triple-A this year, he posted a 155:29 K:BB, but that hasn't com to fruition yet in the bigs. Marquez has struck out six and walked five in 10.1 innings. But any owner using him as a streaming option had to be pleased Wednesday.

Eickhoff (11-14) pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

After serving up four bombs in his last start, Eickhoff surrendered three solo shots in this one, two of which were back-to-back blasts in his final frame. Surprisingly, the Phillies hammered White Sox ace Chris Sale, allowing Eickhoff to cruise to his career-high 11th victory. Wednesday marked the 26-year-old's sixth straight quality start, the best such streak of his career. He'll have a good opportunity to make it seven consecutive quality outings as Eickhoff draws the anemic Braves lineup in his next start Tuesday.

Cueto has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 groin strain, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy effectively ruled Cueto out for Sunday but suggested the right-hander might not even miss a full turn, saying Cueto could slot back into the rotation following Monday's off day. Matt Cain, Jake Peavy and Ty Blach are considered the top candidates to start in place of Cueto in the series finale against San Diego.

Cueto has been diagnosed with a mild groin strain, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

The Giants are expected to provide more information before the end of the night Wednesday. This preliminary diagnosis is encouraging, but the report notes that Cueto is likely to miss his next scheduled start.

Finnegan will "for sure get another start," Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Finnegan has already thrown 167 innings on the season, way above what he's done in any previous season, so the threat of a shutdown has always been present. He last pitched on Saturday in a shortened outing.

Hendricks has been confirmed as the starter for Monday's series opener in Pittsburgh, the Daily Herald's Bruce Miles reports.

He was pushed back from pitching this weekend in an effort by the Cubs to line up the postseason rotation. Hendricks will now presumably get two starts next week, first against Pittsburgh on Monday and then next Saturday in Cincinnati.

DeGrom (elbow) underwent successful surgery on his ulnar nerve Wednesday and he is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

Though this was obviously an unfortunate way for deGrom's season to end, his timetable to return for spring training is a best-case scenario. Given that pitchers undergoing elbow surgery at this point in the year can usually be in jeopardy of missing the beginning of the following season, it's great news that deGrom will be ready when pitchers and catchers report in February.