MLB Player News

Marlins starting pitcher Henderson Alvarez begain a rehab assigment Thursday by pitching five shutout innings for Class A Jupiter, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out one.

Alvarez is recovering from a shoulder injury that has kept him out the entire season. He'll be eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list whenever he's deemed ready, which shouldn't be for at least a few more starts.

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton, who is scheduled to start Thursday against the Giants, was officially reinstated from the 60-day disabled list Thursday, the team announced.

Morton made nine starts at three minor-league levels during his rehab, going 1-2 with a 3.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings. Thursday's start will be his first in the majors since May 29, 2012.

Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright threw seven shutout innings in a 2-1 victory over the Mets Thursday.

Wainwright (10-3) allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six. It was the first time this season he walked more than one batter in a game. Wainwright now has a 2.18 ERA and a 1.78 FIP in 103 innings this year. 

The Cardinals will decide whether Michael Wacha or Tyler Lyons will start Sunday by Friday, according to MLB.com.

Both pitchers threw bullpen sessions Thursday, and will start Sunday -- one in the big leagues, the other at Triple-A Memphis. Lyons will not start Friday with Jake Westbrook scheduled to return but could go Sunday if the team elects to keep him. 

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg threw a normal bullpen session Thursday and is on pace to start Sunday, according to the Washington Times. 

Strasburg has been sidelined with a lat injury and is only going to miss the minimum amount of time. After the session, Strasburg was cleared by trainers to make his Sunday start.

Strasburg has a 2.54 ERA and 3.20 FIP in 74 1/3 innings. 

Mets pitching prospect Zack Wheeler will be capped at 85 pitches in Thursday's Triple-A game, according to ESPN.

Wheeler will be called up to start Game 2 of the Mets' double-header Tuesday, and the team wants him to be fresh. Manager Terry Collins explained why an 85-pitch limit is ideal. 
"That way we know he's thrown enough, but not overdone it," Collins said. 

Wheeler has a 4.14 ERA through 12 starts at Triple-A.

Dodgers starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu got out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning to get a quality start Wednesday night against the Diamondbacks, allowing three earned runs on 11 hits and two walks in six innings while striking out two. He did not factor into the decision.

The three runs were the most Ryu's allowed since giving up four May 5 against the Giants. He goes into next week's start against the Yankees with a 6-2 record, 2.85 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 75 strikeouts in 85 1/3 innings.

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Patrick Corbin surrendered four earned runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out two in five innings Wednesday against the Dodgers. He left trailing 4-3 but avoided his first loss when Arizona tied the game in the seventh inning.

Corbin (9-0) allowed four earned runs for the second time in his last three starts. He takes a 2.28 ERA into Tuesday's start against the Marlins.

The Mets will go to a six-man rotation once top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler is promoted Tuesday, the New York Daily News reports.

"What you end up doing, with the doubleheader Tuesday... what we are gonna do, most likely, when Zack comes, we will go with an extra starting pitcher for a turn so everybody can stay in line," manager Terry Collins said Wednesday. "We’ll see how those games come out certainly we have no intention of jerking anybody out (of the rotation) at this time."

The Mets could eventually remove Dillon Gee or Jeremy Hefner from the rotation if the team decides to return to the conventional five-man rotation.

For the most part, Gerrit Cole's major-league debut Tuesday against the Giants was a successful one. Some will quibble over the lack of strikeouts, especially since he underwhelmed with only 6.2 per nine innings in his 12 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis, but I liked his response to the naysayers:

"When you have a lead, it allows you to be aggressive," Cole said. "If there's no one on base, I'm going to just challenge guys."

I think most Fantasy owners, myself included, would like to see the young Pirates hurler get more strikeouts, and it's not like he's saying he won't. But when he has a sizeable lead and isn't at risk of giving up a two- or three-run homer, why not keep the pitch count low? He threw just 81 pitches over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday, which is phenominal for a major-league debut.

Cole hit 99 mph with his fastball a couple times in that game, so he clearly has the stuff to get strikeouts when he needs them. And he'll probably need them more often in the majors than the minors. He just didn't need them Tuesday, to his credit.