MLB Player News

Kershaw (2-2) allowed four hits and a walk over six shutout innings Sunday, striking out two and earning a win over St. Louis.

Kershaw allowed just one Cardinal to reach scoring position and forced a pair of double plays in his smooth outing. It was his first quality start of the year, and he appears to be settling in after missing the first half due to his offseason shoulder surgery. Over his last three outings, Kershaw has produced a 1.10 ERA with a 13:3 K:BB over 16.1 frames. Through five starts, he owns a 2.63 ERA. Kershaw is currently lined up for a home matchup with the Rays next weekend.

Gray (11-8) allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings Sunday, striking out six and taking a loss against the Dodgers.

Gray danced around a few threats through four shutout frames before allowing a pair of runs in the fifth inning. He's been tagged for eight runs in 10 innings over his last two starts, bumping his season ERA from 3.72 to 3.91. Sunday also marked the first time he lost a second straight start since June 6. Gray produced a 2.81 ERA through 14 starts but has registered an unsightly 5.68 ERA in nine starts since then. His next outing is projected to be in Minnesota.

Rea (11-4) allowed two hits over seven-plus scoreless innings Sunday, striking out five and earning a win over Cleveland.

Rea hit Jhonkensy Noel twice on top of yielding a pair of hits but allowed only one Guardian to reach scoring position. Rea worked through 5.2 innings of no-hit ball before giving up two straight singles in the sixth. He's given up two or fewer runs in six of his eight outings since the start of July but has coughed up a combined 14 runs in the other two. During that span, Rea owns a 3.38 ERA, lowering his season mark to 3.52 through 135.1 frames. His next start is projected to be in Oakland.

Bellozo did not factor into the decision in Sunday's win against the Mets, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out four in 5.1 innings.

Coming off consecutive scoreless starts, Bellozo wasn't quite as dominant Sunday, allowing seven hits, including a solo home run by Brandon Nimmo in the sixth inning. Still, Bellozo was effective and now sports a 2.45 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 27:8 K:BB in 33 innings (six starts). The 24-year-old owns a modest 7.4 K/9, but his ability to consistently induce weak contact has allowed him to thrive in his rookie season. He will look to keep rolling in his next start, currently scheduled for next weekend against the Cubs.

Musgrove allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out six over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Rockies on Sunday.

Musgrove continues to be brought along slowly in his recovery from a bone bruise and bone spur in his throwing elbow. He stretched out to 73 pitches (47 strikes) and limited the damage to an Aaron Schunk RBI double in the third inning. Musgrove has allowed one run on five hits and three walks over 8.2 innings since his return. The veteran right-hander has a 4.97 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 51:18 K:BB through 58 innings over 12 starts this year. Musgrove will likely still have a slight workload restriction for his next start, which is tentatively projected to be at home versus the Mets.

Lopez (forearm) will start Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Lopez has been sidelined since July 28 but recently reached 71 pitches in a rehab outing. He shouldn't have significant limitations as a result, though he will face a tough Phillies lineup, so he may struggle to work efficiently.

Blackburn pitched six innings of one-run ball in Sunday's loss to the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.

Coming off a brutal outing where he allowed six runs and took the loss against the Athletics, Blackburn fared much better Sunday, yielding just one run on a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly in the third inning. Blackburn turned in his seventh quality start of the season and now has three quality starts in four outings since being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 20:7 K:BB in 22 innings with his new club. He is currently lined up to face the Padres next weekend.

Imanaga (9-3) allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Blue Jays.

Imanaga was good aside from a Joey Loperfido solo home run in the second inning, but that ended up being the lone run of the game. Imanaga has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) over 23.2 innings across four starts in August, though his 26:3 K:BB in that same span paints a more encouraging picture. For the year, the southpaw has a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 137:20 K:BB through 133.1 innings over 23 starts. He's lined up for a favorable road start in Miami his next time out.

Woodford (0-5) took the loss Sunday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and one walk over four innings against the Mariners. He struck out four.

Woodford was tagged early when Cal Raleigh blasted a two-run homer with one out in the first inning and was never able to find his footing as he was let down both by his own performance and by poor defense. After showing well in a spot start against San Diego, Woodford was given another crack but was lit up for seven total runs by a Mariners squad that had failed to score more than three runs in any game during the five-game losing streak that they carried into the contest. While a better performance may have altered the Pirates' mindset a bit, with Jared Jones (lat) slated to make at least one more rehab start early this week, Woodford appears to be the most likely to lose his spot in the rotation once jones is ready to make his return.

Atlanta hasn't officially announced a starter for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, but manager Brian Snitker previously indicated the Lopez (forearm) was expected to be re-inserted into the rotation early this week, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach are penciled in to pitch Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, potentially leaving Tuesday open for Lopez to make his return from the injured list. The right-hander threw 71 pitches over four innings during his rehab start last Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett, so he shouldn't have significant workload limitations in his return to Atlanta's rotation.