MLB Player News

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran was stuck with the loss Monday after surrendering four earned runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six in six innings in his team's 5-1 loss to the Phillies.

Teheran had surrendered just three earned runs in his previous four starts combined before Monday's loss. He takes a 9-6 record, 3.08 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 127:31 K:BB ratio into Sunday's scheduled matchup with the Nationals.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels took a shutout into the ninth inning of Monday's game against the Braves before two-out RBI double by Chris Johnson. Hamels remained in to secure a complete-game win in the 5-1 victory, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out nine while throwing 123 pitches.

Hamels also recorded his second career triple for good measure while finally earning his first post-break win in his fourth consecutive quality start. He takes a 5-13 record, 3.65 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 146:41 K:BB ratio into Sunday's scheduled matchup with the Dodgers.

The Braves aren't planning to hold pitcher Julio Teheran to an innings limit, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “I think you treat that individually,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I think he’s fine.”

Teheran has thrown 137 innings before Monday's scheduled start against the Phillies. He threw 168 innings last season between the majors, minors and Dominican Winter League.

Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw (11-7) stayed sharp as he collected his 11th win of the season Sunday night against the Rays. The left-hander went eight strong innings as he yielded two runs -- one earned -- on three hits and two walks while striking out eight in an 8-2 victory.

Kershaw has allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last five starts and owns a 1.46 ERA over that span. He is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at Philadelphia. He is 4-3 with a 2.30 ERA in 11 starts away from Dodger Stadium.

Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg (6-9) stayed dominant as he tossed his first career complete-game shutout Sunday against the Phillies. The right-hander yielded only four hits and one walk while striking out 10 in a 6-0 win. He needed only 99 pitches.

Strasburg told reporters he tweaked his groin during the second inning and it only bothered him when he flew open with his delivery, so the 25-year-old refrained from doing that during his complete game performance.

Strasburg has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. He is scheduled to make his next start Saturday at Atlanta. He is 0-1 with a 2.14 ERA in four starts against the Braves this season.

With the return of Jonathon Niese (shoulder) and the demotion of Jeremy Hefner, the Mets announced Sunday they are going back to a five-man rotation.

With the news, the projected rotation for the team's upcoming series at L.A. Dodgers will be Jenrry Mejia, Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee. For the following four-game series at San Diego, it will be Zack Wheeler (Thursday), Niese, Mejia and Harvey.

Cardinals rookie pitcher Michael Wacha is still without a definite role Sunday after making a successful spot start Saturday against the Cubs. Wacha, however, is likely to shift to the bullpen, per MLB.com.

"Anything to stay up here, that's what I'm looking for," Wacha said. "Everything felt good when I was in the 'pen last year, but I guess we'll see."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Friday he doesn't plan to move to a six-man rotation, and added Sunday the plan right now is to make sure Wacha gets rest following Saturday's start.

"He's going to recover from his start yesterday, and we'll just kind of keep moving forward," Matheny said.

Marlins starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez couldn't hold a three-run lead Sunday and walked away with a no-decision against the Braves. Alvarez was charged with four runs on seven hits and one walk in six innings, striking out four.

Alvarez was given a 3-0 lead in the second inning and managed to stay out in front until Freddie Freeman put Atlanta up 4-3 with a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Miami tied the game at 4 in the sixth, taking Alvarez off the hook for the loss.

The right-hander has taken a no-decision in two straight starts. He will look to get back into the win column in his next scheduled start Saturday against the Giants.

The Pirates announced Sunday rookie starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will have his start pushed back to Friday against the Diamondbacks. Cole being pushed back means Francisco Liriano will start Wednesday at St. Louis and A.J. Burnett will start Thursday's series finale against the Cardinals.

The Cardinals reshuffling of their rotation forced Adam Wainwright's scheduled start to be delayed three days until Tuesday against the Pirates. Wainwright said he used the extra days off this weekend to spend more time in the weight room, and he will drop back into his standard routine Sunday as he preps for his next start, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"These couple of days now in the middle of August will be pretty beneficial down the stretch," he said. "I understand it. My arm responds well to that."