MLB Player News

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson confirmed starting pitcher Steven Matz will not throw for three weeks to allow the tear in his lat to heal. He will be re-evaluated at the end of the three-week period.

"Based on what the doctors told us there is a very high probability he will be healed in three weeks but that is not guaranteed," Alderson said.

Matz said he felt good enough to pitch in Sunday's game against the Dodgers and the injury did not limit him as he threw six scoreless innings. He added the injury is not painful, but it feels like a pull on the muscle under his armpit.

"It's frustrating, but this is just a minor thing and I will be back," Matz said.

Reds starting pitcher Raisel Iglesias will start Saturday against the Marlins in place of Anthony DeSclafani, who was scratched due to a glute strain he dealt with in his last start, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"That glute tightness just hasn't subsided to the point where we want it to," manager Bryan Price said, per MLB.com. "He can pitch -- it's not something that would prevent him from pitching -- it's just that we'd like him to be back to 100 percent coming out of the All-Star break."

An MRI on the hamstring of Cubs starter Jason Hammel has come back clean, per the Chicago Sun-Times, which is further reporting that he could return at the back end of the rotation immediately following the All-Star break.

Hammel, who sustained the injury Wednesday against St. Louis, left that game after just one inning. He is 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA, but has just two quality starts in his last six outings.

The Phillies will not give in to an unsatisfactory deal for ace Cole Hamels, which could result in him sticking around for a while, an executive from an interested team was told by a Phillies representative, per CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

Hamels has nine pre-approved teams on his list. Boston is considered among them, but the San Diego native is also believed to be interesting in returning to that state. He would, however, be forced to accept a trade to any of those teams.

The left-hander is coming off two fine outings. He has allowed just two earned runs in his last 14 innings pitched to lower his ERA to 3.02.

After throwing just two pitches Thursday against the Rockies due to a lengthy rain delay, Braves starting pitcher Alex Wood will now take the hill for Sunday's series finale. Manny Banuelos, who was slated to make his third career start Sunday, will pitch in relief over the weekend.

"After coming back inside and seeing what the radar was looking like going into game time, I was pretty surprised they wanted to start that game," Wood said of his rain-shortened outing Thursday, per MLB.com.

Braves left-hander Alex Wood was only able to throw two pitches (both balls) on Thursday, before a two-hour rain delay ended his night. Wood did not come back out after the rain stopped, making this by default the shortest outing of his career.

Wood, who did not factor in the decision Thursday against the Rockies, is unlikely to make another appearance before the All-Star break, leaving him with a 3.34 ERA through the first half of the season.

Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke blanked Phillies for eight innings on Thursday, striking out eight batters along the way.

He allowed just one base runner all night, a lead-off single to Ryan Howard in the second inning. Otherwise, Greinke was perfect in the 6-0 victory. He needed just 94 pitches to get through the eighth.

Greinke (8-2) continued his string of recent dominance on Thursday, as he extended his scoreless streak to 35 2/3 innings. He hasn't allowed an earned run since June 13, as his ERA sits at a league-best 1.39.

Cardinals young right-hander Carlos Martinez was excellent against the Pirates on Thursday, as he earned his 10th win of the season. Martinez tossed 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out eight in the 4-1 victory.

Martinez (10-3) lowered his ERA to an impressive 2.52 with Thursday's performance. He threw 108 pitches, with 68 going for strikes. 

The 23-year-old has been rolling lately. He hasn't allowed more than three earned runs since May 9, and he has a 1.72 ERA over his last seven starts. He is one of the candidates to be the final man added to the National League All-Star team in Cincinnati. 

Reds right-hander Michael Lorenzen was strong in his start against the Marlins on Thursday, but was left with a tough-luck loss. Lorenzen allowed two runs on five hits over six innings, walking four and striking out five. He actually lowered his ERA to 3.53 with Thursday's performance.

Lorenzen (3-4) allowed a first-inning run, and then gave up a second run in the fifth. Otherwise he was able to avoid any serious damage, despite a rather significant amount of baserunners in the 2-0 loss.

"I wasn't able to outpitch Fernandez," Lorenzen said, per MLB.com. "That was my goal. When you get an opportunity to go up against a guy like him, you want to do your best and show that you can compete at the highest level."

The rookie heads into the All-Star break on a bit of a roll, having allowed a total of nine earned runs in 28 2/3 innings over his last five starts.

"There are lessons to be learned," manager Bryan Price said. "Number one, when you don't have your best stuff, you can still compete -- which he did today…They just sprinkled a few base hits throughout the course of their lineup. I'll tell ya, when Michael gets to where he's commanding the zone better, he's gonna be a force."

Mets rookie left-hander Steven Matz has suffered a significant lat muscle injury that will sideline him for several weeks, the New York Daily News first reported. 

Matz, the No. 33 prospect in the game according to Baseball America, is 2-0 in his first two career starts, posting a sterling 1.32 ERA.

The Mets have since confirmed that Matz was diagnosed with a partial tear of his lat muscle and he will be placed on the disabled list, CBSSports Baseball Inside Jon Heyman reports. The lefty will be shut down for three weeks and then be reevaluated, according to Heyman. 

Either Jonathon Niese or Bartolo Colon will start on Sunday in place of Matz.