MLB Player News

Mets pitcher Steven Matz made his second rehab start for Class A St. Lucie on Thursday. The rookie left-hander pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing a run on four hits. He walked one and struck out one, throwing 25 of his 41 pitches for strikes.

Matz is recovering from a partially torn lat muscle and is expected to return to the Mets' rotatin by early September. His next rehab outing will be on Tuesday for Double-A Binghampton, according to ESPN.com.

Reds rookie Keyvius Sampson was due for a poor outing and it came Wednesday against visiting Kansas City.

Sampson was slammed for four runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings in a no-decison. He walked two and whiffed two.

His struggles began immediately on a walk and RBI hits by Ben Zobrist and Eric Hosmer. They continued in the second on a two-run single by Lorenzo Cain. A walk and single leading off the fourth doomed him to an early exit.

The lousy performance sent his ERA soaring from 3.18 to 4.43.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg has been either injured or underperforming for so long that it was hard to remember the pitcher many believed to be the premier prospect in the sport.

Strasburg, however, continued to show glimpses of his potential Wednesday night in a hitter's paradise, no less. He held the host Rockies to just one unearned run on two hits in seven innings with no walks and five strikeouts.

The only run he allowed came off a wild pitch in the second inning, after which he retired 16 of the last 17 batters he faced.

Strasburg has yielded only five runs in his last 35 2/3 innings to send his ERA tumbling from 6.55 to 4.22.

For quite some time this season, Mets rookie starter Noah Syndergaard was virtually unhittable. Suddenly, however, he's very hittable.

Syndergaard struggled again, this time in Baltimore. He gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings with two walks and six strikeouts.

He retired eight in a row at one point in the first three innings before falling apart. A double, walk and Steve Clevenger single put one run on the board in the fourth and a two-run homer by Jonathan Schoop in the sixth all but knocked him out.

Syndergaard has allowed 11 runs over his last three starts covering 16 innings to send his ERA up from 2.66 to 3.17.

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray wasn't on top of his game during his start against the Pirates on Wednesday.

Ray allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings of work. He struck out five batters while allowing two walks.

With the loss, Ray dropped to 3-9 on the season with a 3.38 ERA.

Mets rookie pitcher Steven Matz will make his next rehab start Thursday with Class A Port St. Lucie, per ESPN.

Matz has been sidelined for six weeks with a partially torn lat muscle. He made two impressive starts with the Mets before going down. The team is hoping he can come back by Sept. 1.

Braves right-hander Julio Teheran is officially hot. He managed his fourth straight fine start Wednesday in San Diego.

Teheran came through with arguably his best outing since July 3. He allowed just one run on four hits in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts.

His only hiccup was deposited over the fence by Yangervis Solarte. He escaped a bases loaded jam in the first inning, then faced the minimum number of batters until the Solarte blast.

Teheran has given up just seven runs in his last 25 2/3 innings pitched to lower his ERA to 4.32, its lowest point since May 21.

Dodgers starting pitcher Alex Wood didn't have his best stuff during his start against the Athletics on Wednesday.

Wood gave up three runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three walks while only recording one strikeout.

With the loss, Wood drops to 8-8 on the season with a 3.79 ERA.

After another rought start on Tuesday, Diamondbacks right-hander Chase Anderson was optioned to Triple-A Reno. Anderson allowed seven runs--five earned-- over 4 2/3 innings in an extra-innings loss to the Pirates. 

Anderson recently came off of the disabled list while battling a triceps injury. But after a strong start to the season, Anderson has struggled lately. He is 1-3 with a 7.52 ERA over his past four starts. 

Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel struggled in a brief start against the Tigers on Tuesday night. Hammel allowed five runs on nine hits over three innings. He did strike out six batters, but that was simply a footnote on what was otherwise a sour note for Hammel.

All five runs Hammel allowed on Tuesday came via the longball. He served up a solo home run to Ian Kinsler and a two-run blast to J.D. Martinez in the first. Then, after the Cubs clawed back with two runs of their own in the first, Hammel gave up a two-run blast to Anthony Gose in the second.

A long rain delay would spell the end of Hammel's night after three innings, leaving him with a no-decision in the 10-8 loss. But he didn't seem very long for the game regardless, as his ERA inflated to 3.38.