MLB Player News

Diamondbacks starter Patrick Corbin tossed a quality start but had his outing spoiled by the bullpen as he earned a no-decision Friday against the Mets. The left-hander permitted two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out four over six innings pitched.

Corbin has allowed two runs or fewer in five of his last six starts. He is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday at home against Baltimore. He is 8-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 13 starts at Chase Field.

Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn (13-6) tossed a quality start but suffered his sixth loss of the season Friday night against the Cubs. The right-hander yielded three runs on three hits and five walks while striking out five over 6 2/3 innings pitched in a 3-0 defeat.

Lynn has allowed seven earned runs combined over his last four starts (27 2/3 innings). He is scheduled to make his next start Thursday at home against the Pirates. He is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts against the Pirates this season.

Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, who is on the disabled list due to a lat strain, has yet to resume throwing, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports Friday. Cueto has been on the DL three times already and has not pitched in a game since June 28. The Reds have not issued a timetable for his return.

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha is expected to stick around after his Saturday start, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

 The team didn't announce Wacha's promotion until just before the series with the Dodgers, but had it in the works for about a week. There's a chance the club will move forward with a six-man rotation. 

In three starts in the majors, Wacha has a 4.58 ERA. 

Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez has been on a nice run recently, but he has limited upside. 

Alvarez has seen improvement in his strikeout rate, but he still has a long way to go. Alvarez is striking out 12.9 percent of batters, which is a big upgrade over his 9.8 percent from 2012. Overall, however, it's still pretty bad compared to the average NL pitcher. National League pitchers have averaged a strikeout rate of 19.7 percent this year, according to FanGraphs.com. 

The other issue is that Alvarez has yet to allow a home run. Last season, Alvarez gave up his fair share of dingers, but has been great in his seven starts this year. While some of that is due to his move to the Marlins park, he will obviously start giving up homers. He may not be as homer-prone as he was last year, but it doesn't seem likely he'll continue to severely depress that number. 

In seven starts, Alvarez has a 2.80 ERA. 

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu (11-3) bounced back with a dominant outing as he picked up his 11th win of the season Thursday night against the Cardinals. The left-hander yielded an unearned run on five hits and no walks while striking out seven over seven innings of a 5-1 victory.

Ryu has permitted only three earned runs over his last 19 1/3 innings pitched. He is 5-0 with a 3.06 ERA in his last eight starts. He is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at home against the Mets. He is 5-1 with a stellar 1.83 ERA in 10 starts at Dodger Stadium.

Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez left Thursday's start early due to muscle cramps in his right hand, MLB.com reports.

Martinez , who made his first start of the season, allowed a sacrifice fly to Adrian Gonzalez in the third and a three-run home run to A.J. Ellis in the fifth for his only damage of the night. He was quickly removed after Ellis's home run. The right-hander yielded four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two over 4 2/3 innings pitched.

Martinez owns a 6.19 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 16 innings pitched this season. He is not expected to remain in the rotation.

The Cardinals have retooled the rotation for this weekend's series against the Cubs, MLB.com reports.

Lance Lynn will take the mound for Friday's opener, while Michael Wacha will start Saturday. Adam Wainwright will be pushed back to Sunday's series finale. The Cardinals have not announced Tuesday's starter against the Pirates, though Shelby Miller expects to be ready. 

Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha will be called up from Triple-A Memphis to make Saturday's start at home against the Cubs, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wacha has made four starts this season for St. Louis. He is 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 14:4 K:BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings. He went 5-3 with a stellar 2.65 ERA in 15 starts at Triple-A this season.

Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole was pulled after five innings Thursday against the Marlins, despite throwing only 73 pitches (49 strikes). Cole left trailing 4-2, but was off the hook for the loss after Pittsburgh tied the game in the seventh inning.

Cole struggled from the start Thursday, as Giancarlo Stanton had an RBI double and Placido Polanco had an RBI single in the first inning. Christian Yelich extended the lead to four runs with a two-run homer off Cole in the fifth inning.

Cole has one win in his last seven starts, going 1-5. He allowed a career-high four runs during Thursday's no-decision.

The rookie right-hander will be back on the hill Wednesday at St. Louis. He is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA in three road starts.