MLB Player News

Gray (1-2) was bombarded for nine runs on eight hits and three walks over just 3.1 innings in St. Louis on Thursday.

Well, that was ugly. Gray had been showing some promise lately, delivering a pair of strong road starts followed by a stunningly dominant home effort against the Mets, but he was a total mess in this one despite being away from Coors Field. The 24-year-old still has a terrifically attractive 2.59 FIP despite his 6.75 ERA -- his .376 BABIP and 50.9 percent strand rate should correct themselves in time, and his strikeout and walk rates are quite strong -- but making half his starts in Colorado will do him no favors. That said, we can give him a mulligan on this outing and try to make good DFS use of the hard-throwing righty in future road games.

Wacha gave up six runs on eight hits in only four innings for the second consecutive start Thursday against the Rockies, but was able to avoid a decision in an eventual 13-7 win.

After two low-scoring games to open this series in St. Louis, the rubber game turned out more like an evening at Coors Field, with both teams beating up the opposing starter. While Wacha was fortunate not to get the worst of it, he's also now given up a stunning 16 runs (12 earned) over his last three outings. The righty's also failed to finish five innings in three of his nine starts. There's some bad luck at play here -- his BABIP's inflated to .338 now -- but it's worth noting that Wacha has shockingly failed to induce even one pop-out all year long. It won't be easy to get back on track with a Tuesday start against the Cubs next on the docket.

Strasburg (7-0) struck out 10 over six sharp innings Thursday, allowing just one run on six hits and a walk in a 9-1 rout of the Mets.

With four double-digit-strikeout games out of nine and still no losses on his record, Strasburg's been nearly unimpeachable on the mound this season. His peripherals actually point to the potential for improvement in his already fancy 2.80 ERA, as his FIP is nearly half a point lower. Indeed, 2016 is shaping up to be the 2009 No. 1 pick's finest year in the majors, and he'll look to keep the good times rolling in a rematch against these Mets on Tuesday.

Bergman suffered a strained oblique in Thursday's loss to the Cardinals, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports. "It didn't look good," said manager Walt Weiss after Thursday's contest.

Entering Thursday, Bergman hadn't pitched since a two-inning appearance against the Diamondbacks back on May 10. He lasted just .2 innings Thursday, allowing one run on two hits, before being replaced on the mound due to an oblique strain. The Rockies have yet to announce whether Bergman will require further testing on his oblique, but regardless, oblique injuries can be particularly worrisome for pitchers. He should be considered day-to-day until further information on his status is disclosed.

Taillon, 24, has a 1.82 ERA and 51:5 K:BB through 49.1 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Taillon's most recent start was a gem, as he tossed six scoreless innings Thursday. The burly righty scattered five hits, did not walk a batter while fanning eight. It seems as though Taillon is finally all the way back from his various injuries, and he should make his MLB debut this summer. The Pirates will likely be conservative with his innings after two seasons off, so it will be interesting to see how much the organization limits his pitch counts prior to promoting him.

Manager Terry Collins is going to be "a little conservative" with Matz's (forearm) pitch count Friday against the Brewers, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.

Although Matz is still expected to start for New York, it seems that the Mets don't want to rush Matz back after he was forced to miss a start with the issue. Collins doesn't plan to be too cautious considering he only missed one start, but if things get dicey or if his pitch count gets a bit elevated in the early going, it wouldn't be too surprising for the left-hander to be removed from the game rather than being allowed to grind out an extra inning or two.

Cueto (6-1) continued his great start to the season by going the distance and allowing just one run on four hits in Wednesday's win over the Padres. He walked two and struck out eight.

Cueto has now tossed two complete-game gems against the Padres this season (the first was on April 26 when he threw a shutout). Aside from one start, Cueto has gone seven-plus innings in every start and owns a sparkling 2.70 ERA and 1.10 WHIP through 66.2 innings (nine starts). The good news doesn't stop there, as his next start comes against the Padres once again on Monday.

Teheran (1-4) finally got a win in 2016, throwing 7.2 scoreless innings without issuing a walk and striking out three in Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Despite entering the night with a 3.17 ERA, and ending it with a 2.73 mark, Teheran had lost a career-high-tying four straight decisions. On Wednesday, he shut out a Pirates lineup that put up 12 runs on 21 hits the previous night. He'll look to build off this outing when he takes the bump next against Brewers on Tuesday.

Wainwright (4-3) shut the Rockies out over 6.2 innings in Wednesday's win. He allowed just six hits and a walk while striking out five.

Now that's more like the Wainwright fantasy owners have come to know and love. After he'd allowed at least three runs in each of his first eight starts, this was a breath of fresh air for the veteran righty and his embattled fantasy owners -- his longest and finest start of the season, it came against a Colorado offense that's no slouch even away from Coors Field. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Wainwright dropped his arm angle, which helped him get his signature curveball back on track. "I don't know if 'He's back' is the right thing to say," Wainwright said following this start. "But I'm dangerous. I'm dangerous again." We'll see if he can indeed carry this forward when he next starts Monday against the Cubs.

Finnegan gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits over 5.2 innings Wednesday against the Indians. He struck out six and didn't walk anyone.

That's twice in Finnegan's last three starts that he's refrained from issuing a base on balls, but he walked five in the other one. Finnegan has allowed exactly three earned runs in five consecutive starts, but has only managed to go long enough for a quality start twice in that span, highlighting his generalized struggles with inefficiency. That's been the story of the 23-year-old's career to this point, but as a southpaw with decent heat and a changeup that works well against righties, he continues to hold intriguing longer-term upside.