MLB Player News

The Dodgers activated starting pitcher Stephen Fife (shoulder) off the 15-day disabled list Sunday to start against the Dodgers, which means Zack Greinke was pushed back to Monday at St. Louis. Greinke is 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA in eight road starts.

Mets manager Terry Collins announced Saturday the Mets are reverting to a five-man rotation until Jonathon Niese (shoulder) returns from the disabled list. Collins made the decision to move pitcher Carlos Torres back to the bullpen after Torres tossed two scoreless innings and picked up the win Friday. 

The Mets will return to a six-man rotation once Niese is healthy, but for the time being the rotation will consist of Matt Harvey, Dillon Gee, Jeremy Hefner, Zack Wheeler and Jenrry Mejia. After Wheeler pitches Sunday against the Royals, the Mets will use Mejia, Harvey and Gee during a three-game series against the Rockies before Hefner opens a series at Arizona Friday.

Diamondbacks pitcher Patrick Corbin fell to 12-3 in his team's 5-2 loss to the Red Sox Saturday, allowing three earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out six in six innings.

Most of the damage came in the seventh inning, when Corbin put the first three runners on base before exiting the game, with two coming around to score. Corbin takes a 2.33 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 129:38 K:BB ratio next weekend's start against the Mets.

Though it still appears likely, the Dodgers stepped back from an earlier report that Stephen Fife would come off the disabled list in time to start Sunday's series finale against the Cubs. Manager Don Mattingly spoke hypothetically prior to Saturday's game about the team's plans, however, hinting that Fife is still a possibility for Sunday.

"If we push them back, there's no other reason than to give everybody an extra day," Mattingly said, via MLB.com. "We want to give guys extra days when we can. Hypothetically, this would be a good time."

If Fife is activated Sunday, he would bump Zack Greinke to Monday's game against the Cardinals, though that announcement is not expected to come until prior to Sunday's game. 

Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole will not face a straight innings cap this season, despite having a career high of just 150 thrown in his career. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told MLB Netwrok radio Friday that he thinks Cole can throw into October if the team needs him, but they will be monitoring him closely to see if he shows signs of fatigue.

Manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Saturday the team has a "systematic plan in place" to keep Cole on the mound, but he declined to give any details. In fact, Cole himself isn't clear what the team has in store for him.

"I don't have any information on that. It's something that I almost don't want to know because I don’t want to think about, he said. "I'm sure they are talking about something, Id have to assume. It's been brought quite a bit to my attention by the press. As far as I'm concerned I'm just preparing to start every fifth day."

Cole has thrown 61 innings with a 3.69 ERA at the major-league level so far, after tossing 68 at Triple-A prior to his callup.

With Carlos Torres pressed into relief duty Friday in an extra-inning win over the Royals, the Mets will push the remainder of their rotation up a day for the rest of the series.

That means Jeremy Hefner will pitch Saturday and Zack Wheeler will follow Sunday, according to ESPN. Both pitchers will be throwing on regular rest, as the Mets have been using a six-man rotation. Monday is a team off day, so Wheeler moves up from his scheduled start Tuesday. 

Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole failed to complete six innings for the first time in three starts Friday, in a 4-2 loss to the Rockies.  

Cole fell just short of a quality start in the outing, as he ran into trouble in the sixth inning. Holding on to a 1-1, Cole walked the leadoff hitter in the sixth, and was pulled with one out after allowing a single.

Though he left with the game tied, the bullpen ultimately allowed both inherited runners to score, leaving Cole charged with three runs in 5 1/3 innings. He threw 66 of 102 pitches for strikes, while striking out six and walking two batters.

Cole is now 5-5 through 10 starts, with a 3.69 ERA. He will try to get back over .500 with his next start, scheduled for Thursday against the Marlins. 

The Dodgers announced a change to their rotation Friday, as they will have six starting pitchers for at least one turn in the rotation, according to MLB.com.

The Dodgers will activate Stephen Fife from the disabled list in time for Sunday's game against the Cubs, which will move Zack Greinke back to Monday against the Cardinals.  

Beyond that, the team has not announced their plans beyond those two games, and it is not clear whether the team plans to drop someone out of the rotation. Fife has been on the disabled list since July 7 with right shoulder bursitis. 

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu struggled to keep the Cubs off the basepaths Friday, but still pitched well enough to pick up his fourth win in a row, 6-2.

Ryu gave up 11 hits in the outing, matching a season high, but was able to limit the Cubs to just two runs in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked none, while throwing 69 of 101 pitches for strikes.

Ryu is now 10-3 on the season with a 3.15 ERA heading into his next start, scheduled for Wednesday against the Cardinals. 

Dodgers pitcher Ricky Nolasco (7-9) had a had time keeping the ball in the park as he allowed three solo home runs but hung on for his seventh win of the season Thursday night against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Nolasco served up two homers to Junior Lake and one to Anthony Rizzo. The right-hander permitted three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six over five innings pitched in a 6-4 win.

Nolasco is 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA through his first five starts with the Dodgers. He is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at St. Louis. He gave up one run over seven innings pitched during his previous meeting against the Cardinals on June 16 as a member of the Marlins.