MLB Player News

Braves emerging starter Alex Wood appeared to be on the verge of blowing a rare 5-0 lead provided him Saturday in Miami. But he found his groove and coasted to his second victory.

Wood allowed an RBI groundout in the second and solo homer to Giancarlo Stanton leading off the third. But he yielded just three hits, including two that never left the infield, the rest of the way. He finished having surrendered one earned run on seven this with two walks and one strikeout over seven innings.

The performance by the left-hander was arguably his best this season and ended a stretch in which he gave up 11 runs on 23 hits in 16 innings pitched.

"I'm still working on a lot of things and trying to figure it out," Wood said, per MLB.com. "I'm piecing it together as we go, but as long as we get a 'W' and I throw up some zeroes, I'll take it any day."

Wood will try to take his momentum and run with it next Friday against Milwaukee.

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton will make one final Triple-A rehab outing on Tuesday before rejoining the big-league rotation, reports MLB.com on Saturday.

Morton, who is working his way back from labrum surgery, owns a 0.64 ERA through 14 rehab innings. He hasn't appeared in a big-league game since Sept. 16.

He is slated to return May 25-27 against Miami.

"We want to make sure Charlie is taken care of, that he's given every opportunity to be as sharp as he can be when he comes in," said Hurdle, who implied the staff has already decided how to work him back in and does not need the extra time to make that decision.

"We have a good idea of what we want to do," manager Clint Hurdle said.

An encouraging six-inning performance in a rehab outing Tuesday has Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez set to start Sunday against Atlanta.

Alvarez had been on the disabled list with right shoulder and elbow issues. He has not pitched for Miami in more than a month.

Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martinez has followed three straight winning starts with three winless ones, but his latest provided encouragement.

Martinez allowed 14 runs on 16 hits in nine innings in losing his previous two outings. His ERA had soared from 1.73 to 4.89. But he could take comfort Friday after a solid effort against dangerous Detroit in which he gave up two runs in five innings and matched a season-high with eight strikeouts.

The difference was his sinker. "I felt a lot better than the last couple times that I threw," Martinez told MLB.com. I felt much better with the sinker. The sinker was working good today in the strike zone and down."

Matheny concurred, but added that Martinez is still simply throwing too many pitches to go deep into games. He threw just 63 percent of his pitches for strikes Friday.

"He just can't average 20 pitches an inning," Matheny said. "It's not going to work out real well for you ... the stuff is there. He looks good. He's just going to have to be more on the plate with it."

He also can't continue giving up home runs. The one blasted by Yoenis Cespedes was the seventh he has allowed in 40 innings - all solo jobs. The rest of the St. Louis rotation has yielded eight in a combined 165 1/3 innings.

Dodgers pitcher Juan Nicasio recorded the final two outs to secure his first save of the season during Friday's 6-4 win over the Rockies.

Nicasio  entered with two runners on and one out, but he struck out the final two batters to pick up the save. He now has a 1.02 ERA. 

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out 10 batters and picked up his 100th career victory during's Friday's 6-4 win over the Rockies.

"I don't know if it means a whole lot, but it's something to celebrate I guess," Kershaw said of the feat, per MLB.com. "Hopefully just getting started. I guess it's kind of cool."

Kershaw allowed three runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings of work during the start. Kershaw walked three batters and earned his second win of the season for his effort. It was his first win since his third start of the season April 17.

His next expected start is set for Thursday at San Francisco.

Padres pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne gave up seven runs on 10 hits during Friday's 10-0 loss to the Nationals.

Despaigne only lasted three innings before being pulled. He had one strikeout and two walks. Despaigne's troubles began in the first inning when he allowed four runs and five hits.

Despaigne has now surrendered 15 runs in eight innings over his last two starts and his ERA now stands at 6.75. His next expected start is scheduled for Thursday against the Cubs.

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings of work during Friday's 10-4 loss to the Tigers.

Martinez tied his season high with eight strikeouts, but he received the loss for his effort. He also walked two batters and allowed a solo home run to Yoenis Cespedes in the second inning.

Martinez (3-2) had allowed 14 runs in his last two outings before Friday's start. He was able to lower his ERA from 4.89 to 4.73. His next expected start is scheduled for Wednesday at the New York Mets.

Braves starter Julio Teheran gave up nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, but Miami only managed two runs, one earned, against him. Teheran escaped with a no decision in the Braves' win on Friday. 

Teheran walked one and struck out five. He threw 103 pitches, 63 strikes. 

"[Teheran] didn't have his best stuff, but he did a good job to keep us in the game," Braves third baseman Phil Gosselin said, per MLB.com."He's always going to battle and give you a good outing, no matter what."

Teheran's next start will be Thursday, against Milwaukee. 

Diamondbacks starter Chase Anderson gave up one run on three hits over 5 1/3 innings, but he settled for a no decision in a game Arizona eventually lost to Philadelphia on Friday.

Anderson walked three and struck out three, throwing 104 pitches, 59 strikes.

Anderson lowered his ERA to 2.81. His next start is Wednesday, at Miami.