MLB Player News

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha dropped to 9-3 with a loss to Philadelphia on Sunday. 

"I guess you could think of [the good starts], but right now it stinks pretty good and you definitely don't want to experience this feeling too many times," Wacha said, per MLB.com.

Wacha gave up five runs, his most since September 9 of last season, on eight hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out seven. Wacha also made a fielding error, his second of the season. 

"It was one of those days," manager Mike Matheny said. "He, at times, would find the feel for it. And he was having trouble early on establishing the strike zone with his fastball low. He was getting into hitters counts and having to challenge and they were finding the good part of the bat."

Wacha's next start will be Friday against the Cubs. 

Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen produced a solid outing Sunday to help lead the Reds to a 5-2 win over the Marlins.

"Today was a special day pitching on Father's Day," Lorenzen said, per MLB.com. "I got to throw on Mother's Day last time and I actually got to fly in my dad last night. This is the second time he's seen me play in person since I was about 16, maybe since I was 9. This is the second time he's seen me play in person, so it's a pretty special day. He was up in the stands today, so it was awesome."

Lorenzen (3-2) allowed two runs on eight hits over seven innings of work. He also struck out five and walked one. His biggest mistake was giving up a solo home run to Justin Bour in the second inning.

"Honestly, I didn't feel right on the mound," Lorenzen said. "My warmups, I was all over the place, didn't feel right, but the defense behind me picked me up huge."

Lorenzen is now 2-0 in his last two starts and has allowed a total of four runs. His next expected start is scheduled for Friday at the New York Mets.

After throwing a successful bullpen session Sunday, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels expects to start Wednesday at the New York Yankees, reports MLB.com.

Hamels was scratched from Friday's start because of a hamstring injury.

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Robbie Ray allowed four earned runs in Saturday's loss to the Padres.

Ray threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing six hits and four runs. He struck out seven batters and walked two as his command came and went throughout the game. Ray allowed a third inning solo home run to Padres first baseman Derek Norris.

Ray (2-2) has a 2.08 ERA with 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 30 1/3 innings of work this season

Mets starter Noah Syndergaard did not have his best stuff in Saturday's start against the Braves. But he was able to escape with a no-decision in the 6-4 loss. The young right-hander was only able to last four innings on Saturday, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits, while walking two and striking out three. 

His defense behind him abandoned him in this one, committing a couple of costly miscues that led to Braves scoring. Synderagaard needed 88 pitches to get him through the fourth inning, as his ERA ballooned to 4.03 after Saturday's outing. 

"From pitch one I was out there battling," Syndergaard said, per MLB.com. "[I] got my pitch count up way too early. Just another frustrating outing. Similar to the one against San Francisco, I don't think they hit the ball too hard off me. Just have to have a short-term memory after that and continue to do what I've been doing."

Syndergaard will try to get back on track in his next start, scheduled for Friday at home against the Reds.

Braves starter Williams Perez battled, but picked up his fourth win of the season on Saturday. The young right-hander gave up four runs on five hits to the Mets over six innings of work. He walked two and struck out five, improving his record to 4-0. 

Perez gave up a couple of runs in the first inning to put his team down early. But the Braves were able to come back and grab a 4-2 lead. Perez the proceeded to give up solo home runs to Curtis Granderson and Travis d'Arnaud in the fifth and sixth innings respectively to tie the game 4-4. 

The Braves mounted another comeback, however, and it was enough to secure the victory for the 24-year-old. Perez will take his impressive 2.78 ERA into his next start, which is scheduled for Friday in Pittsburgh.

Reds right-hander Anthony DeSclafani gave up three runs on four hits to the Marlins over five innings in a losing effort on Saturday night. He walked three and struck out three, as he dropped his record to 5-5.

DeSclafani, who was traded to the Reds by the Marlins this past offseason, gave up all three runs in the fourth inning, including a solo home run to Derek Dietrich. He was otherwise decent in the outing, but he was outdueled by his former teammate Justin Nicolino. 

The performance upps his season ERA to 3.48, and this was the first time in five starts that DeSclafani did not pitch at least six innings.

"I just missed, I fell behind in counts and made a mistake on a pitch to Dietrich," DeSclafani said, per MLB.com. "They just put some good swings on the ball. It's going to happen sometimes, that's baseball. Definitely want to try to limit, try not to put up a crooked number that inning."

He'll look to get back in the win column in his next start, currently scheduled for Friday in New York against the Mets.

Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin, who continues to recover from his 2013 Tommy John surgery, had a solid outing Saturday in a rehab start for Double-A Mobile. 

Corbin threw 79 pitches, 51 of them strikes, in 5 2/3 innings of work. He allowed two runs on three hits and while also walking three batters. It was a far better result than his first rehab start, where he allowed four runs in 2/3 inning against Single A hitters. 

Cardinals right-hander Lance Lynn threw a bullpen session on Saturday, the first time he's done so since landing on the disabled list with a forearm strain on June 12. Lynn tossed about 35 warm-up pitches, and then threw about one inning-worth of pitches.

Lynn is eligible to come off the DL on Thursday in Miami, though the team may opt to wait until the weekend-series against the Cubs at home, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"We just wanted to make sure it fired up the way it's supposed to. And everything felt good," Lynn said.

Matt Williams has declared that there is "no reason why" Nationals struggling right-hander Stephen Strasburg can't make his next start in the big leagues after coming out of a bullpen session feeling fine.

Strasburg, who has been out with a strained arm for three weeks after a brutal stretch on the mound, last started for Double-A Harrisburg on Wednesday. That would line him up to pitch next week against Atlanta.