MLB Player News

Pirates starter Gerrit Cole tossed a quality start as he earned his 10th win in his penultimate start of the season Tuesday night against the Cubs. The young right-hander surrendered two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out six over six innings of an 8-2 victory.

Cole has allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his last three starts. He will make his final start of the regular season Sunday against the Reds in Cincinnati. 

Cardinals starter Michael Wacha fell one out shy of a no-hitter in his final start of the regular season Tuesday against the Nationals. 

Ryan Zimmerman slapped an infield single to end Wacha's no-hit bid with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. He became the fourth pitcher to lose a no-hit bid in the ninth inning this season and the third starter to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth, joining Yu Darvish and Yusmeiro Petit.

Trevor Rosenthal entered the game for Wacha and forced Jayson Werth to ground out for the final out of the game. The young right-hander surrendered one hit and two walks while striking out nine over 8 2/3 innings of a 2-0 victory. 77 of his 112 pitches were called for strikes.

Wacha has allowed only six earned runs over his last 38 innings pitched. He finished the season 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP in 15 appearances (nine starts).

Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez tossed a quality start but was not backed by enough run support, as he earned the loss Tuesday night against the Phillies. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over seven innings of a 2-1 defeat.

Alvarez is 4-6 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 16 starts. He will take the hill for the final time this season Sunday afternoon at home against the Tigers.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright got the start Monday night at home against the Nationals. Wainwright pitched Washington out of playoff contention as he recorded a quality outing.

Wainwright improved to 18-9 on the season as he allowed three earned runs on seven hits and no walks over seven solid innings. He threw 112 pitches and struck out five batters along the way. His ERA is now at 3.01 on the year as he's had another fine year for the Cardinals.

The 32-year-old has won his last three decisions and has been quality in four straight outings. Wainwright will make his last start of the regular season on the season's final day. He takes the hill Sunday against the Chicago Cubs.

Reds starter Johnny Cueto got the starting nod on Monday night at home against the New York Mets. Cueto just returned from a lat strain his last time out with a win over Houston.

The Cincinnati starter took a no-decision as he left after seven innings with the score tied at two. Only one of those runs were charged to Cueto, who gave up just three hits and three walks on 99 pitches in a game that saw the Reds clinch a playoff berth.

Cueto struck out five batters on the no-decision and has given up just one earned run over his first 12 innings off the disabled list. The Reds have not scheduled another start for Cueto just yet. With just a handful of games left in the regular season, it is possible he comes back and pitches once more on Saturday or Sunday against Pittsburgh.

Pirates starter Charlie Morton took the hill Monday night in Chicago. Although he couldn't pull the win, he still was a very dominant pitcher out there for the Bucs as they ended up winning and clinching a playoff berth.

Pittsburgh earned the 2-1 victory with a home run in the ninth inning as Morton took the no-decision. He still went seven outstanding shutout innings on the night, allowing just three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 89 pitches. He lowered his ERA to 3.14 on the year.

Morton keeps his record at 7-4 on the year. He hasn't won a start since Sept. 2 at Milwaukee, but has given up just one run over his last 15 innings with 14 Ks over that span in two no-decisions. Morton will make one more start during the regular season for the Pirates and it could be a big one. He's scheduled to start the regular-season finale at Cincinnati on Sunday.

Marlins starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi was masterful on the mound Monday night in Miami. Eovaldi had everything working as he twirled a three-hit shutout over 7 2/3 innings for the win.

Eovaldi improved his record on the season to 4-6 as he walked two batters and struck out five on 109 pitches. His ERA is now at 3.50.

The 23-year-old has given up just two runs over his last 12 2/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Eovaldi is not guaranteed another start for Miami. If he does get one more starting appearance, it would likely come either Saturday or Sunday against Detroit.

Braves left-hander Alex Wood, who has been a regular part of the starting rotation since about the All-Star break, pitched a perfect two-thirds of an inning in relief Sunday at the Cubs, throwing just two pitches.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez expects to have Wood in the bullpen for the playoffs, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, though general manager Frank Wren was non-committal in an interview with MLB Network Radio Monday.

"It's one of the options we are talking about," Wren said.

The Braves have yet to say whether Wood will make one last start Sunday against the Phillies.

Though Nationals starting picher Stephen Strasburg appeared to be past the forearm tightness that sidelined him for nearly two weeks in his return Sunday against the Marlins, he was rusty with the long layoff, according to the Washington Post.

"He was actually awful," manager Davey Johnson said. "Every pitch he threw was up. He's got such great stuff, but everything was belt-high. I grew to love him when he pitched for me in the Olympics in Beijing [in 2008]. He's a pitcher. He has command. Everything is right on the knees. Everything tonight, even the curveball was belt-high. Fastball up all night. Not typical Stephen."

Strasburg allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts in six innings Sunday. Johnson said the right-hander would make one more start Friday at Arizona.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg took a no-decision in Sunday's quality start against Miami.

Strasburgh allowed three runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out six and walked a pair. His ERA sits at 3.02 over 29 starts.