MLB Player News

Lugo left Thursday's game against St. Louis with a right calf cramp, Newsday's Marc Carig reports.

The right-hander shut out the Cardinals through five before aggravating his calf on a warm-up pitch. While his status moving forward is uncertain, the diagnosis of a cramp suggests it's a short-term concern. Steven Matz (shoulder) is expected to be ready to go Tuesday and will presumably push Lugo to a long-relief role.

Lugo left Thursday's game with an apparent injury, Maria Guardado of the Star-Ledger reports.

Lugo appeared to land awkwardly on the mound as he was warming up for the bottom of the sixth inning. He had worked around two hits and three walks to blank the Cardinals over five innings prior to exiting the game. Steven Matz (shoulder) is expected to be ready to take Lugo's rotation spot next Tuesday.

Campos was recalled by the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Campos recently came over to the Diamondbacks from the Yankees organization, where he had worked as a starter this season. He has a combined 3.26 ERA across three different levels in 2016, but he could assume a bullpen role with the big league club.

Giolito is the likely candidate to pitch Sunday against Colorado after Reynaldo Lopez was sent down, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Lopez's demotion opens a spot in the rotation for the Nationals, and given that Giolito only tossed one inning in his recent minor league start, he'll presumably be fresh and ready to start if called upon Sunday. While the Nationals have yet to make a formal announcement or a roster move regarding Giolito, he'll be a name to monitor throughout the weekend. Giolito notched a 4.91 ERA with a 1.91 WHIP across three starts (11 innings) with the big league club earlier this season.

Strasburg (elbow) was able to play catch in the outfield Thursday, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Strasburg was apparently only lightly tossing the ball, but the activity is still a good sign that he may have avoided a serious elbow injury. The team is labeling the issue simply as elbow soreness at this point with no timetable for a recovery, but if he is able to continue ramping up the activity beyond Thursday's light session, it could potentially be an indication that the ace might be able to rejoin the rotation without missing much time. A.J. Cole, who is slated to make his second start of the season Saturday, figures to continue filling in for Strasburg in the meantime.

Anderson (4-5) allowed two runs on three hits, struck out 10 and walked two in a loss to the Brewers on Wednesday.

The lefty was cruising, as he recorded six strikeouts and held a 1-0 lead after the first three frames, but then he allowed a home run to Ryan Braun in the fourth and then yielded another run in the fifth. Anderson continued to pile up the strikeouts on his way to a season high, but the two runs were enough to charge him with the loss. The Rockies' offense didn't score again, and the bullpen allowed five runs as the game became a blowout. Anderson will take his next turn in the rotation Tuesday against the Dodgers.

Davies allowed one run on five hits, struck out eight and walked three over six frames in a victory over the Rockies on Wednesday.

Nolan Arenado smashed a solo bomb in the first inning, but that's all the Rockies would score against the right-hander. Davies threw 60 of his 101 pitches for strikes and stranded the other five Colorado baserunners. He is 10-6 with a 4.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 108 strikeouts over 133 innings this season. He will next pitch Monday against the Cardinals.

Greinke gave up four runs on six hits over six innings Wednesday in a no-decision against Atlanta. He struck out five and walked three.

After taking advantage of the weak Padres offense his last time out, Greinke was unable to sustain his momentum despite facing the light-hitting Braves, who rank last in the majors in runs. That massive contract he signed over the offseason has not looked good at all this year, as Greinke has managed only short spurts of effectiveness interspersed with a number of blowups. The peripherals say he's better than that 4.21 ERA, but Greinke's been anything but elite with Arizona on the heels of three straight seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA for the Dodgers.

Teheran gave up six runs on 11 hits in a road loss to Arizona on Wednesday, although he avoided the decision. He struck out four without a walk.

The Braves mounted a late offensive surge to get Teheran off the hook, only to lose anyway in 11 innings. The Braves' ace has allowed nine runs on 17 hits in 11 frames spanning two starts since he returned from a back injury, but he's faced a couple tough offenses in the Nats and D-backs. The Padres should provide Teheran with an easier mark when he next takes the mound Tuesday.

Eickhoff (9-12) tossed six effective innings in Wednesday's win over the White Sox, allowing just four hits and two runs while striking out two.

Eickhoff has provided an interesting mix of good news and bad news for fantasy owners lately. Good news: He threw only 71 pitches in an efficient outing. Bad news: He got pulled after six innings anyway despite the presence of the DH in this interleague game. Good news: He's won three of his last four starts. Bad news: Wednesday's outing represents his only quality start in that time. Good news: He's refrained from issuing a walk three times in his last five outings. Bad news: He's given up seven homers over that span, including one in the sixth inning Wednesday that ruined his shutout bid. Eickhoff thus remains mostly a streaming option outside of deeper formats.