MLB Player News

Matz (7-3) pitched six innings, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks while striking out seven in Saturday's game against the Braves. He did not factor in the decision.

Matz turned the game over to the bullpen with a 3-2 lead, but that was quickly erased when Tyler Flowers led off the seventh with a homer against Jim Henderson, Matz's replacement. It was his ninth quality start of the season, and a nice bounce back from his unimpressive outing last time out against Milwaukee. He'll draw this same Braves team in his next start on Friday.

Martinez allowed no runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four over seven innings, but received no decision Saturday against the Rangers.

Martinez was staked to a three-run lead, but the bullpen fell apart, wasting his excellent performance. After struggling through a series of three consecutive starts in May, he's rebounded with four straight quality starts to lower his ERA to 3.17 to go along with a 1.09 WHIP. He'll make his next start Friday at the Mariners.

The Pirates are unsure when Nicasio (personal) might return. "He needs to get back home," manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We wanted to work with him. To my understanding it is somewhat open-ended. We've encouraged him to go, contact us sometime next week, let us know the state of affairs and we'll go from there."

Nicasio was a preseason darling after throwing 16 scoreless Grapefruit League innings. Under the tutelage of pitching coach Ray Searage, the righty was set up for a big year. Unfortunately, left-handed batters -- something he could better avoid as a reliever in 2015 -- have hit him to the tune of .326/.383/.651 in 129 at-bats. Nicasio is better suited for the bullpen if and when he returns to the Bucs.

Nicasio (personal) is expected to miss his scheduled start Tuesday when the Pirates face the Giants, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Nicasio was placed on the restricted list Saturday as he had to leave the team to tend to a family matter. The Pirates appear to be preparing as though Nicasio won't be back with the team in time to start Tuesday's game, which would leave a hole in the rotation. Wilfredo Boscan, who is slated to start at Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, is a candidate to come up for a spot start in Nicasio's place.

Nicasio was placed on the restricted list Saturday.

According to MLB.com's Adam Berry, Nicasio is currently away from the team as he tends to a family issue. There is no word yet on when Nicasio will return to the club, but if he's not back by Tuesday, the Pirates will have to figure out who will start in his place against the Giants.

Scahill was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bill Brink reports.

He wasn't offering much value for the Pirates, notching a 4.41 ERA and 1.47 WHIP so far this season. Additionally, he has logged three innings of relief over the past three days and would have been unavailable for at least a day or two. He'll offer organizational bullpen depth going forward.

Bergman (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Wednesday, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports.

He completed a 45-pitch simulated game on Saturday, and the Rockies plan to let him throw 60-65 pitches in Wednesday's simulated game. Bereman's role at the big league level is that of a long reliever who can start from time to time, so the team wants him comfortable logging five innings before they activate him from the DL.

Davies stayed sharp in Friday's start versus the Dodgers, allowing just one run with six strikeouts and one walk across seven strong innings. He did not factor into the decision as the game was decided in extra innings.

Davies pounded the strike zone at a 64% clip and induced an impressive 15 swinging strikes, but the Brewers offense couldn't mount much of a charge and failed to help secure his fifth straight win. The right-hander has been on a roll over his last four starts, as he now has a 27:5 K:BB ratio and a minuscule 0.96 ERA over 28 innings during that span. He looks to be developing into a fine major league starter and will look to keep it rolling next Friday versus Washington on two extra days' rest.

Urias was on point in Friday's start versus the Brewers, striking out eight and walking just one across five shutout innings. He did not factor into the decision as the Dodgers won the game in extra innings.

The rookie's electric stuff was on display again Friday, as he set a new career-high in punchouts and pounded the strike zone at a 65% clip. He impressively walked just one batter for the fourth consecutive start after appearing a bit wild in his season debut, and he now owns a stellar 26:4 K:BB ratio over his last four starts. Urias will take one more turn in the rotation, Wednesday versus the Nationals, before the Dodgers reassess his usage for the remainder of the season.

Ray (4-5) surrendered seven hits and two earned runs and a walk over six innings in Friday's 10-2 victory over the Phillies. He struck out seven.

The 24-year-old southpaw was dealing Friday, throwing 74 of 108 pitches for strikes and inducing 15 swings-and-misses. It was Ray's second consecutive quality start, and considering he's often struggled with control, the fact that he only surrendered one free pass for the second straight appearance was encouraging. Ray will look to make it three consecutive victories when he faces the Blue Jays next Wednesday.