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Mets starter Noah Syndergaard was staggered by two shots in the first inning Thursday, but remained strong and cruised to a victory over Colorado.

D.J. LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado slammed solo homers, but Syndergaard allowed just one run on two hits the rest of the way. He finished with two walks and five strikeouts over seven innings to raise his record to 7-6.

"I made two mistakes in that inning and they jumped all over those fastballs," Syndergaard told MLB.com. "After that, I was just able to settle down and continue to pitch, rather than throw."

The only other run against Syndergaard was tallied in the third on a Carlos Gonzalez groundout. He faced the minimum number of batters thereafter.

The rookie has yielded three earned runs or less in 10 of his last 11 starts. The lone exception came in his previous outing, when Tampa Bay scored five in four innings against him.

Clayton Kershaw was in control all night for the Dodgers, flirting with a perfect game but settling for eight innings of three-hit ball as Los Angeles blanked the Nationals, 3-0, on Wednesday. 

Kershaw didn't allow a baserunner until a sixth-inning double from Michael Taylor, and allowed just two more singles the rest of the way. Kershaw struck out eight and walked none. 

Kershaw has now won five straight decisions to improve to 10-6 on the campaign. In five of his last six starts, Kershaw has not allowed any runs, lowering his ERA from 3.09 to 2.38.

Cubs starter Jason Hammel pitched well for 5 1/3 innings, but a quick hook resulted in a no-decision, although Chicago wouldn't pull out a 3-2 win until the 10th inning. 

Hammel gave up just four hits while striking out five and walking only one, but was pulled from the game in the sixth despite throwing a mere 65 pitches. Hammel hasn't gotten out of the sixth in any of his last five starts, although he had thrown at least 76 pitches in all of them. 

Hammel (6-5) is now 1-3 with six no-decisions in his last 10 starts. 

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole did not pitch badly during Wednesday's start against the Cardinals, but he was on the losing end of the 4-2 contest.

Cole allowed four runs (three earned) over 5 1/3 innings. He also struck out six and walked two. He is now 14-6 with a 2.48 ERA. Cole is winless in his last three starts with just one quality start.

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha produced a quality start Wednesday against the Pirates to earn his 14th victory of the season.

Wacha allowed two runs on nine hits over six innings of work during the 4-2 win. He also struck out seven and walked three. His biggest mistake was giving up a solo home run to Andrew McCutchen in the fourth inning.

Wacha has now won his last three starts and produced a quality start in his last four outings.

Mets starter Jacob deGrom was on top of his game once again, cruising to his 11th victory of the season in a win over the Rockies on Wednesday. 

deGrom dominated the Colorado lineup over his seven innings of work, giving up just two hits while striking out 10 batters during his 103-pitch outing. About the only flaw on his night were four walks which tied a season-high.

After three straight no-decisions, deGrom improved to 11-4 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.03. deGrom now has quality starts in 14 of his last 15 outings. 

Pirates pitcher Rob Scahill was able to toss three innings in a rehab game Tuesday at Double-A, reports MLB.com. Scahill has been out since June with tightness in his forearm.

One start after recording arguably his best performance of the season, Diamondbacks starter Chase Anderson was hit hard by the Phillies in a 7-6 loss Wednesday. 

Anderson lasted just five innings, giving up nine hits and five runs - a far cry from his outing on Aug. 7, when he struck out seven and scattered four hits in a win over the Reds in his first start back since coming off the disabled list. 

Anderson (5-5) did strike out five batters and didn't walk anyone, but the Phillies made solid contact off him throughout his time on the mound. Anderson has now lost three of his last four starts and seen his ERA rise to 4.31. 

Aaron Nola has been a bright spot for the Phillies since being called up last month, and Wednesday, despite his shortest big-league outing, the rookie picked up his third victory of the season against the Diamondbacks. 

Nola lasted just 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits, but was the beneficiary of a Phillies offensive outburst in the 7-6 final. Nola's ERA has gone up in each of his last four starts, but he has won his last three decisions to improve to 3-1. 

Reds starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen is still penciled in to start Sunday against the Dodgers. However, given his recent string of poor outings, the Reds could bump the right-hander from his next start.

"We're trying to figure out what's the best way to manage these last innings that he has," Reds manager Bryan Price said Wednesday, per MLB.com. "We knew this going into the season based on whether he was pitching effectively and pitching here, that inevitably he would run out of innings if we just kept giving him starts. I think at some point in time, he'll need to transition into the bullpen."

The 23-year-old Lorenzen is in his second pro season as a starter. He totaled 120 2/3 innings in 2014. He is up to 109 2/3 innings between the majors and minors this season, and Price revealed they want to limit his innings to 150-155.

"It's a balancing act at this point in time right now," Price said. "He's got a lot of room for growth and need for growth. We've asked a lot out of this kid. … this is his second [season as a starter] and he's had some really good moments, even though he's in a bit of a down spell right now. … but he's got some work to do. There's a lot of development that needs to take place in order for him to become the pitcher we know he'll be."