MLB Player News

Mets rookie right-hander Noah Syndergaard tossed what was arguably the best start of his young career on Tuesday against the Padres. Syndergaard had a perfect game through six innings, but he gave up a hit to lead off the seventh. 

Ultimately, Syndergaard threw eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and no walks. He struck out nine in the 4-0 victory. 

Syndergaard (5-5) dropped his ERA down to 2.70 with the strong outing. The only trouble he got into was in the seventh when he had runners on the corners with no outs. But he got Matt Kemp to pop up in the infield and then enduced an inning-ending double play to end the threat.

The hard-throwing youngster has a 1.73 ERA and a 57:14 K:BB ratio over his last eight starts.

Mets rookie left-hander Steven Matz met with doctors on Tuesday to examine his strained lat muscle. Matz was told to refrain from throwing for at least another week, according to ESPN.com.

Matz has been out for nearly three weeks with the injury, and despite the less-than-encouraging news from the doctors, general manager Sandy Alderson did say Matz's lat muscle has improved. Still, he'll go at least another week without picking up a baseball.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels had his next start pushed back from Thursday to Friday, reports MLB.com.

With the trade deadline at 4 p.m. Friday, pushing the start back would prevent Hamels from suffering an injury before the deadline. Hamels has been involved in numerous trade rumors recently.

Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez underwent surgery on his injured right shoulder Tuesday, reports MLB.com.

Alvarez is on the disabled list due to right shoulder inflammation. He was recently shut down during a rehab assignment after experiencing more discomfort in the shoulder. He will miss the rest of the season.

Diamondbacks starter Robbie Ray rebounded nicely Monday from his worst start of the season. But his bullpen cost him a victory.

Ray, who couldn't make it out of the fifth inning last Tuesday, pitched through seven in Seattle. He gave up just two runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts, which tied a season-high.

He pitched shutout ball through five, but a Logan Morrison RBI single in the sixth and Robinson Cano homer in the seventh narrowed his lead to 3-2.

Ray has five quality starts in his last six outings.

A blown save cost Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks a victory over Colorado on Monday night. But he really didn't deserve it anyway.

Hendricks had been the beneficiary of a six-run fourth inning. He allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

He fell behind 4-0 on a two-run homer by torrid Carlos Gonzalez in the third and two-run single by DJ LeMahieu in the fourth. He required 104 pitches to get through five.

Hendricks has surrendered nine runs in his last 11 innings and hasn't earned a win since July 5.

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn was masterful throughout his start Monday against the Reds, which the Cardinals won 4-1.

Lynn allowed one run on five hits over seven innings of work to earn his eighth win of the season. He struck out five and walked three during the outing. Lynn is now 8-5 with a 2.71 ERA.

Lynn has received a quality start in his last three outings and is 2-0 over that time.

At least one Atlanta batter reached base in six of the first eight innings Monday night in Baltimore. If just one of them had scored, Braves starter Alex Wood probably would have been celebrating a victory.

Instead, he lamented a no-decision, particularly after his team went down to defeat in extra innings.

Wood yielded a mere three hits in pitching shutout ball for 7 1/3 innings. He walked two, fanned seven and retired 12 batters in a row at one point.

The left-hander, who managed his finest effort since June 28, has lowered his ERA to 3.54.

Two more teams have reportedly thrown their hats in the ring for Phillies on-the-block starter Cole Hamels.

Included are the Diamondbacks, who have inquired about the left-hander, per ESPN.

Another is the Yankees, according to MLB.com, which is claiming that the Bronx Bombers will not part with premier prospects such as pitcher Luis Severino, outfielder Aaron Judge, shortstop Jorge Mateo and first baseman Greg Bird to land Hamels.

Their reluctance to do so could make them a longshot.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, who has been sidelined with an oblique injury, will make a rehab start Wednesday for Triple-A Syracuse, per The Washington Post. 

Strasburg has been on the disabled list since July 4. Since then, he has slowly worked his way back with long-toss and bullpen sessions, setting the stage for this rehab start. 

Strasburg (5-5) has a 5.16 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 18 walks in 61 innings this season.