MLB Player News

Promising Phillies rookie Aaron Nola could be making his last start of the season Tuesday in Miami, per Philly.com.

Nola has thrown 175 innings between the minors and majors this year. The team has stated an intention to keep him between 180 and 190 innings in 2015.

The right-hander got knocked around in two of his last three outings, but performed well previously. He owns a 6-2 record and decent 4.11 ERA.

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez took a no-decision, but was dominant Tuesday against the Brewers, as he allowed just one run on four hits and two walks over eight innings. He also struck out nine. 

Martinez had allowed at least three runs over his past eight starts, a span in which he owned a 5.16 ERA and saw his season mark jump from 2.34 to 3.12.

Martinez was back to his All-Star form Tuesday, as his nine strikeouts tied his second-best mark of the season. 

Mets starter Jacob deGrom got clobbered for six runs on 10 hits with zero walks and five strikeouts over five innings Tuesday against the Marlins.

It would have been tough to predict this outcome, as deGrom had a 1.63 ERA in 23 career starts at home and a 1.80 ERA against Miami prior to Tuesday's dud. There has been no talk of deGrom being skipped or shut down, but he could be feeling the effects of throwing a career-high 181 innings this season. He will make his next start Monday at home against the Braves, which should be as good a matchup as any for deGrom to get back on track.

Braves starter Julio Teheran gave up two runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

While allowing just two runs against the potent Blue Jays lineup is a notable feat for any starting pitcher, Teheran was not at all efficient, as he needed 113 pitches to record 17 outs. Still just 24 years old, the young righty will be very tricky to evaluate heading into drafts next year. He outperformed the fielding-independent stats over the previous two seasons, and this year a spike in walks and home runs coupled with a lesser defense behind him has led to easily Teheran's worst year since 2012. At least he will face one of the few teams that can match the Braves' offensive ineptness in his next start Sunday against the Phillies.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg (9-7) was absolutely masterful in a 4-0 victory over the Phillies on Tuesday, tying a career best with 14 strikeouts in eight innings. He allowed only one hit and one walk.

Strasburg was in vintage form, so much so that he equaled the number of whiffs he tallied in his very first major league game back in June 2010 against the Pirates. The hard-throwing right-hander was tireless and razor-sharp Tuesday, striking out an incredible eight of the last 12 batters he faced, clocking his fastball over 95 miles per hour in his final inning of work, and throwing 77 of his 105 pitches for strikes.

Strasburg has now struck out 27 batters over his last two starts and is 5-2 since Aug. 8, when he returned from a disabled list stint that spanned pver a month. He will look to continue his torrid stretch during his next trip against the Marlins at home.

Phillies pitcher Alec Asher's next start has been moved up to Wednesday against the Nationals, the Morning Call's Stephen Gross reports.

This is a minor tweak, as Adam Morgan, the originally scheduled starter for Wednesday's game, will instead pitch Friday against the Braves. Neither pitcher is very intriguing for fantasy purposes.

Cubs starter Jason Hammel had a rough go of it in his start against the Pirates in Game 1 of Tuesday's twinbill. The veteran right-hander allowed four runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out five, needing 72 pitches before leaving the game.

After the Cubs spotted him a run in the top of the first, Hammel gave up three runs in the bottom half and he needed 20 pitches to get out of the opening inning.

Hammel allowed another run to score in the fourth before finally getting the hook. The Cubs bailed him out however, as they went on to rally for three runs in the seventh to tie the game. Hammel was handed the no decision, but the Cubs wound up losing 5-4.

Hammel is in a bit of a rough stretch right now, as he is 2-1 with a 6.52 ERA over his last six starts.

Pirates starter Gerrit Cole pitched well against the Cubs in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader. Cole allowed four runs--three earned--on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and did not walk a batter in the 5-4 win.

Cole gave up an unearned run in the top of the first, but the Pirates responded with three of their own in the bottom half. But, after the Pirates added another run, Cole ran into trouble in the seventh.

He was able to strike Kris Bryant out to start the inning, before allowing three straight hits leading to a run. Cole was lifted from the game with the Pirates leading 4-2 and runners on second and third. Both of those runners came in to score on a pair of wild pitches, which effecitvely took Cole out of the final decision.

This outing does count as a quality start, making it his fourth such performance in his last five starts.

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson will have at least his next start skipped as the team seeks to give him a rest, per MLB.com. Chip Hale stated that it could happen again down the stretch.

"Probably skipping a little more than one start," he said. "We're looking at next week on the road we're going to start him. But he's in the bullpen right now. I think maybe Chase needed a little break."

Anderson, who is up to 141 1/3 innings on the year, struggled in his last outing, allowing five runs in two innings to San Francisco.

Marlins rookie starter Justin Nicolino was impressive Monday night against the Mets, but was ultimately left with a no-decision in the 4-3 loss. Nicolino allowed three runs on six hits over six innings.

Nicolino pitched well, but the Mets' power was on display as home runs by Yoenis Cespedes (solo) and Travis d'Arnaud (two-run shot) accounted for all of the damage against the young left-hander. 

Though he did not get a win, Nicolino showed improvement over his last start, when he allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings to the Brewers. Aside from that outing however, Nicolino has been a pleasant surprise for the Marlins, as he posted a 1.98 ERA in four starts prior to last week's start against Milwaukee.