MLB Player News

Braves starting pitcher Alex Wood has spent several weeks making adjustments to his pitching mechanics in order to find the form that made him a successful starter in 2014. Wood admits he might have finally found that form after throwing 7 1/3 scoreless innings during Sunday's 2-1 win against the Pirates.

"This is my best [start] of the year for sure, just in terms of my fastball command, being able to move it in and out," Wood said, per MLB.com. "Today is how I felt during that long stretch that I put together last year. Hopefully, it will carry over the rest of the year."

Wood tied a season-high with eight strikeouts, while allowing five hits and no walks.

"He was pretty much in control the whole game," Braves catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "He had all three of his pitches working and he was moving his fastball around. He was ahead in the count. That's what he can do. When he's right, he can dominate lineups. Today you saw a glimpse of what he can do.

"He threw a lot of fastballs in to a lot of their right-handed hitters that backed them up and made them respect both sides of the plate. He had a lot of strikeouts, especially looking at fastballs that were in on the plate because they were looking out over [the plate]."

Cubs starting pitcher Jason Hammel have up four runs in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals.

Hammel threw just four innings in a game that featured multiple rain delays. He struck out seven batters and allowed just one walk.

Hammel dropped to 5-3 with the loss. He has a 2.92 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 17 walks in 95 2/3 innings this season.

Cardinals starting pitcher Carlos Martinez picked up his ninth win of the season on Sunday against the Cubs.

Martinez threw six innings, allowed just two hits and one earned run in a game that featured multiple rain delays. He struck out six batters and walked another three.

Martinez (9-3) has a 2.80 ERA with 100 strikeouts and 39 walks in 93 1/3 innings this season.

Mets pitcher Steven Matz was impressive on the mound and from the plate in his major-league debut.

In Sunday's 7-2 win over the Reds in the second game of a doubleheader, Matz gave up two earned runs in 7 2/3 innings of work. He struck out six batters while allowing five hits and three walks. His major-league career begins with a 2.35 ERA. 

However, from the dish, Matz went 3 for 3 with a double and four RBI. Two RBI came on a double and two others came on one of his singles. 

This marked the first time in MLB history a pitcher notched four RBI in his big-league debut. It's also the first time a player at any position got four RBI in their debut in Mets franchise history. 

"He was ready," manager Terry Collins said, per nj.com. "He was ready to show people he belonged in the big leagues and today he did that.

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson allowed four runs in Sunday afternoon's 6-4 win over the Padres. 

It wasn't Anderson's best outing but he did enough to record the win. Anderson went seven innings, gave up five hits, walked one batter and struck out one. He gave up three home runs, which did the damage against him. 

Anderson now has a 3.66 ERA for the season. He improved to 4-2. 

Padres pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne struck out six batters in Sunday afternoon's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. 

Though Despaigne was able to record the six Ks and keep Diamondbacks batters to only three hits, he allowed five runs — four earned — thanks to two home runs surrendered. Despaigne now has a 4.94 ERA for the season. 

The Cubs placed pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada on the 15-day disabled list Sunday, reports the Chicago Sun Times. Wada missed Saturday's start because of a sore deltoid muscle in his shoulder.

With Wada on the DL, the Cubs activated pitcher Neil Ramirez from the 15-day disabled list. Ramirez has been sidelined since April 15 because of shoulder inflammation.

Braves pitcher Alex Wood was dominate during his start Sunday, which the Braves won 2-1.

Wood did not surrender a run over 7 1/3 innings of work. He also struck out eight and did not walk a batter. He is now 5-5 with a 3.17 ERA.

Sunday's win broke a streak of four starts where Wood did not earn a win. He has now received a quality start in his last three starts.

Stephen Strasburg had his second straight solid outing since returning from the disabled list, going seven innings to even his record at 5-5 as the Nationals edged the Phillies on Sunday. 

Strasburg made just one mistake in allowing a home run to Philadelphia's Jeff Francoeur, but otherwise was on his game, at times reaching 99 mph on the radar gun as he threw a season-high 113 pitches. 

The Nationals starter allowed just four hits while striking out a season-high nine batters, and also lowered his ERA to 5.49. 

Dodgers starter Zack Greinke earned his first win since May 5, beating Miami on Sunday. 

Greinke had lost two games and had seven no-decisions since his last win. He moved to 6-2 on Sunday, giving up four hits over 7 2/3 scoreless innings. Greinke walked a batter and struck out six. 

Greinke hasn't allowed a run in the last three starts, spanning 20 2/3 innings.