MLB Player News

Rookie pitcher Sammy Solis (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth inning Sunday and earned the win in relief, the first for his career, for the Nationals against the Braves.

"This guy, impress me a lot," catcher Wilson Ramos said, per the Washington Post. "He’s one of the guys being here doing his job really good. To me, that guy will help the team a lot. He look like he got a lot of experience in the big leagues. He’s doing a really good job, so I’m very happy for him."

Solis has now thrown six innings of relief this season, allowing no runs and three hits.

"He’s fearless," closer Drew Storen said. "He really doesn’t care, which is a good thing. He goes in there and sticks to his game plan. He’s fitting in well. There’s no deer in the headlights look from him every time the phone rings. He’s ready to go out there and battle."

The Nationals have named Max Scherzer the starter for Monday's game against the Diamondbacks, with Stephen Strasburg (shoulder) scheduled to pitch Tuesday.

Strasburg developed a shoulder injury in his previous start Tuesday, and the team has decided to give him an extra day of rest rather than skip him completely. Scherzer will be pitching on normal rest Monday after earning a win Wednesday.

Braves starting pitcher Alex Wood surrendered three runs on eight hits and struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings Sunday for a no-decision against the Nationals.

Wood has now allowed 11 runs in 15 2/3 innings (6.32 ERA) over his last three starts.

"In games like this you feel like you could have done a little more. You think about lots of things. Today is still a loss," Wood said.

Wood also went 3 for 3 with an RBI in the game.

"Woody was a bulldog on the mound and he was in line to get the win," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. '"We've got to mix and match out of the bullpen and we haven't been able to do it."

Wood's next start is set for Saturday in Miami.

The Padres will use their off day Monday to push back starter Odrisamer Despaigne in the rotation, now going with Ian Kennedy in Game 1 of the Padres' series in Seattle on Tuesday and keeping James Shield (Wednesday) and Tyson Ross (Thursday) on regular rest, reports U-T San Diego.

Andrew Cashner would presumably start Friday on regular rest, leaving Despaigne to return to the rotation Saturday against the Nationals.

Despaigne struggled during his last start, giving up eight runs on 10 hits in five innings for a loss.

“We'll push him back, not skip,” Padres manager Bud Black said Sunday. “Pushing back is a little bit different than skipping. Skip means that we're putting someone else in.”

Despaigne was moved into the starting rotation from the bullpen when pitcher Brandon Morrow (shoulder) went on the disabled list May 3.

The Diamondbacks transferred pitcher Patrick Corbin to the 60-day disabled list Sunday.

Corbin made his debut in extended spring training earlier this week and is expected to make another start Monday. He's working his way back from Tommy John surgery and expected to be ready to return at some point this summer.

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton (hip) will throw a bullpen session Monday before joining Triple-A Indianapolis for his next rehab start Thursday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Morton is working his way back from labrum surgery. He fired seven scoreless innings in a rehab start with Double-A Altoona Friday and is ready for the next step in his recovery. If all goes well with Thursday's start, it's possible Morton joins the Pirates the following week.

The Cardinals are considering moving to a six-man rotation to help battle the loss of ace Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

"It’s not something we would rule out," general manager John Mozeliak said Saturday. "It’s something we’ve talked about, but we haven’t decided if that’s the best option for us. It’s something I think a lot about, and I know (manager) Mike (Matheny) and (pitching coach Derek Lilliquist) do too. It’s on the table."

With Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez not being ticketed for 200-inning seasons, the team is considering whether to roll out a six-man rotation or to go with a five-man rotation and periodically skip starts of the two younger pitchers while giving others spot starts in their place. However, a six-man rotation could throw off the routines of Lance Lynn and John Lackey. If the team does opt for a five-man rotation, Jaime Garcia is the preferred long-term option over Marco Gonzales.

"If Jaime is good to go, we’ll try to find a spot in the rotation for him," Mozeliak said. "When he’s been healthy, Jaime has been a very good pitcher."

Garcia is set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis Sunday.

Diamondbacks pitcher Chase Anderson allowed one run on five hits in seven innings of work in Arizona's 6-4 loss to the Padres on Saturday in 12 innings.

Anderson's only blemish came in the first inning when he allowed the first two batters to reach safely, putting runners on first and third for Matt Kemp. Anderson allowed a sacrifice fly to Kemp to allow his only run.

Anderson, who also struck out two and walked two, remains 0-1 with a 2.97 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work. He will look to get back on track Friday against the Phillies.

If Pirates starter Vance Worley had pitched as effectively Saturday night against St. Louis that he had in his previous four starts, he might be walking around with a 3-2 record.

Instead, he was saddled with a no-decision, courtesy of five runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out none.

Worley was fine for three shutout innings, during which he faced just 10 batters. But he was crushed the second time around the lineup. He retired just one of six batters to start the fourth, giving up five hits, including back-to-back doubles to Jason Heyward and Yadier Molina that scored four.

He recovered to retire the Cardinals without incident in the fifth and his team rebounded to win, but his ERA shot up to 4.63. Worley will try again Thursday in Philadelphia.

Promising Cardinals starter Carlos Martinez was rolling merrily along for four starts, but he has been rolling not-so-merrily backward since.

Martinez was mashed in a second straight outing Saturday night in Pittsburgh. He fell behind 3-0, then blew a 5-3 lead. He finished having surrendered seven runs on seven hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The right-hander allowed a walk, wild pitch and two doubles in a three-run second. He settled down before giving up a solo homer to Neil Walker in the fifth and two walks and a single in the sixth. All three of those baserunners scored, resulting in his first loss in four decisions.

"Sometimes (Martinez) gets feeling good and wants to turn it another gear," Mike Matheny told The Associated Press. "The other gear really doesn't play well for him. Turns into bad counts, turns into walks, turns into runs."

Martinez has yielded 14 runs on 16 hits and 11 walks in his last nine innings pitched. His ERA has zoomed from 1.73 to 4.89. He will try to right the ship next Friday against tough Detroit.