MLB Player News

Padres rookie starter Colin Rea pitched well on Thursday, but was unable to hang around long enough to get a win against the Dodgers. Rea went five innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out a career-high six batters. He was handed a no-decision in the 10-7 victory.

Rea was staked to an early 4-0 lead after the second inning, and he was able to keep the Dodgers off the board over the first four frames. But he allowed two runs to score in his final inning of work, though he left with a two-run lead.

The bullpen coughed up that lead, costing Rea a chance for his third big-league win. 

Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg threw a successful bullpen session Thursday, manager Matt Williams said.

Strasburg will miss his scheduled start Friday against the Braves due to a back injury, but he remains on track to make his next start against the Mets, per MASNsports.com.

Dodgers pitcher Mike Bolsinger will start Friday's game against the Padres, manager Don Mattingly announced after Wednesday's game against the Giants.

"We've been wanting to slip him into the rotation to either move somebody forward or to give someone an extra day," Mattingly said, per MLB.com. "Just if somebody needs a blow, kind of looking at all our guys individually and what's best for them."

Mattingly said they don't plan to skip anyone in the rotation, so all the starters (Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood and Mat Latos) will get an extra day of rest moving forward.

Bolsinger's last MLB start was July 29. He is 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA in 16 starts this season.

"You can anticipate he's going to be in this rotation for at least a turn," Mattingly said.

The dominance of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw bordered on the absurd Wednesday night against the archrival Giants.

Kershaw matched a career-high with 132 pitches in a complete-game victory. He allowed one run on six hits and fanned a season-best 15.

The super lefty surrendered a run-scoring single to Angel Pagan in the sixth, but was otherwise nearly flawless.

Kershaw is now 12-6 with a 2.18 ERA that has reached its lowest point of the year. He has given up one run or less in 11 of his last 12 outings.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola hadn't suffered through a really rotten outing since joining the team in late July. But he has now.

Nola was rocked for six runs on nine hits in just four innings against the host Mets. He walked none and fanned four.

Back-to-back three-run frames set him back. A double by Kelly Johnson and inside-the-park homer by Ruben Tehada plated three in the second, then a double by Daniel Murphy and dinger by Michael Conforto added three in the third.

The dud sent his ERA soaring from 3.26 to 4.02.

The Nationals will turn to pitcher Tanner Roark to start Friday's game against the Braves, reports The Washington Post.

Roark will start in place of Stephen Strasburg, who is dealing with a back issue. Strasburg has been able to play catch recently and will throw a bullpen session Thursday.

Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn will not be a starting pitcher this weekend as first planned. He has been skipped in the rotation due to a mild ankle sprain, per KMOV. Lynn had been scheduled to pitch Friday in the opener of a key series against Pittsburgh.

The right-hander is coming off one of his finest performances of the season when he tossed seven shutout innings in San Francisco.

His injury is not considered serious, so he appears likely to pitch against the Cubs in another important set next week.

Cubs starter Jason Hammel turned in a subpar outing against the Reds on Wednesday. The right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits over five-plus innings. He struck out four, but he has now given up at least four runs in two of his last four starts.

Hammel served up a home run to Jason Bourgeois to lead off the game. Another run scored in the second, putting the Cubs down 2-0 early. The Cubs got two back in the third and fourth to tie the game, but Hammel gave the lead right back with solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

The veteran right-hander left with a no-decision, as the Cubs rallied to tie the game again before the Reds eventually took the 7-4 victory.

Hammel's ERA now sits at 3.55, which is the highest it's been since the beginning of May. 

The Cardinals have set their rotation for the big weekend series against the Pirates. Carlos Martinez, who was skipped on Tuesday due to a back injury, will open the series on Friday.

Jaime Garcia and John Lackey will follow on Saturday and Sunday respectively, according to MLB.com.

The Cardinals enter play on Wednesday six games ahead of the Pirates in the National League Central, with six more head-to-head matchups left on the schedule for 2015.

Cardinals right-hander Michael Wacha has been scratched from Wednesday's start against the Nationals. Tyler Lyons, who was recalled Wednesday, will get the start in place of Wacha.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Wacha is being skipped in an effort to limit his innings, according to USA Today. Wacha is currently at 157 1/3 innings this year, which is about 50 innings more than he pitched all of last season.