MLB Player News

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw struck out 12 batters while giving up just one earned run on three hits and three walks in seven innings as his team defeated the Braves 6-1 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.

Kershaw, who struck out six straight batters at one point, threw 124 pitches (76 strikes) in the victory. He only topped his Game 1 workload once during the regular season, throwing 132 pitches in a near-complete game shutout in mid-May. He'll be in line to pitch a potential Game 5 Wednesday if necessary.

Fresh off a 19-win regular season, Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright turned in an impressive performance as he tossed a quality start and earned the win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Pirates Thursday.

Wainwright allowed a solo home run to Pedro Alvarez in the fifth inning for his only blemish of the night. The right-hander surrendered only one run on three hits and no walks while striking out nine over seven innings of a 9-1 victory.

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton will start Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals Monday if necessary.

Morton went 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 85:36 K:BB ratio in 116 innings over 20 starts. He hit 16 batters with pitches, the highest total in the National League.

Morton faced the Cardinals three times during the regular season, going 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA, 2.05 WHIP and 8:5 K:BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings.

The Pirates confirmed Wednesday that pitcher Gerrit Cole will start Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals Friday.

Cole, who did not face the Cardinals during the regular season, went 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 39:10 K:BB ratio in 32 innings over five starts in September.

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is expected to be the starter for Friday's Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Cole threw a bullpen session after Tuesday's Wild Card win, which seemingly puts him in line to start Friday. The rookie went 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 100:28 K:BB ratio in 117 1/3 innings over 19 starts during the regular season.

Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu will start Game 3 of the NLDS, SB Nation LA reports.

Ryu posted an even 3.00 ERA with 154 strikeouts over 192 innings. He recorded a pair of complete games including a shutout in his first major league season.

Reds starter Johnny Cueto seemed rattled from the start in Tuesday's wild card playoff game in Pittsburgh. He ran into trouble allowing two solo homers in the second inning and never recovered.

Cueto took the loss as the Reds were eliminated by the Pirates, 6-2. Cueto gave up four runs -- three earned -- on seven hits and a walk over just 3 1/3 innings on the outing. He threw 60 pitches on the start.

The Pittsburgh fans were chanting Cueto's name in the second inning and it appeared to get to the starter as he surrendered the two long balls. The 27-year-old went 5-2 this season for Cincinnati with a 2.82 ERA over 11 starts. Cueto spent a lot of time on the shelf this season and will look to remain healthy next year.

Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn will start Game 2 of the NLDS, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

The club isn't sure which team they'll play yet, but have set their rotation. Lynn posted a 3.97 ERA in 201 2/3 innings. 

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole will provide early relief if Francisco Liriano struggles during the club's wild card game.

There was some question over Cole's role once the postseason began, but he finished strong. While he won't be used as a starter during the club's first game, he could toss a fair amount of inning if Liriano struggles. 

Cole finished the season with a 3.22 ERA in 117 1/3 innings.

There's no better way for a pitcher to leave a lasting impression on the final day of the season than to throw a no-hitter, and that's what Henderson Alvarez did on Sunday. The Marlins' sinkerballer raised his offseason Fantasy profile with his no-no against the Tigers, but is there really any reason to target him in mixed leagues for 2014?

The key to Alvarez's future value is whether he can become even a decent strikeout pitcher. Though Alvarez posted a respectable 3.59 ERA this season, and his 5.0 K/9 ratio was better than last year's 3.8, he was still one of the majors' most contact-prone pitchers.

Since 2000, a few pitchers -- from Ben Sheets to Justin Verlander -- have blossomed into strikeout pitchers after posting a low strikeout rate in a season prior to reaching the age of 24. The record is not so good for young pitchers with back-to-back years of K/9 ratios below 6.0. But as the recent history of Trevor Cahill shows, there is a precedent for that kind of anemic strikeout production (K/9 below 5.5 in '09 and '10) to lead to a close-to-average K/9 rate later in one's career (K/9 above 6.2 in '11, '12 and '13).

Cahill has been a solid deeper mixed league option the last three seasons, and with better control, Alvarez could surpass his Diamondbacks counterpart in WHIP and ERA. A rich man's Cahill -- that's the upside Alvarez presents going into next season.