MLB Player News

Cease (2-3) took the loss Thursday, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk over 6.1 innings against the Guardians. He struck out three.

Cease didn't get much help Thursday, as during the seventh inning Tim Anderson misplayed a groundball with the infield drawn in that allowed the go-ahead run to score. Gregory Santos then relieved Cease and gave up a single to plate Cleveland's third run. The righty has had a wild month of May, allowing 11 runs in his first two starts but just three in his last two outings. Cease is still sitting on a bloated 4.78 ERA as he tries to regain his form that led to a 2.20 ERA last season.

Allen did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk over 5.2 innings in a 3-1 win over the White Sox. He struck out five.

Allen nearly had a disaster outing, as he loaded the bases in the second inning with no outs. But the lefty induced a pop up before two strikeouts to strand all three runners. Allen has flirted with danger recently, allowing seven or more hits in each of his last three starts. His 29 strikeouts in 26.2 innings have helped him keep a 3.04 ERA in his rookie season.

Grove (groin) has joined the Dodgers in St. Louis after throwing a bullpen session in Arizona on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The 26-year-old might be an option to help fill Dustin May's (forearm) spot in the rotation, which comes around again Monday at Atlanta. That would mean skipping a minor-league rehab assignment. Grove had posted an ugly 8.44 ERA through 16 major-league innings (four starts) with Los Angeles prior to suffering a right groin strain in late April.

The Dodgers placed May on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right flexor pronator strain.

May suffered the forearm strain in the first inning of his start Wednesday against the Twins and is expected to miss at least a full month. He's going to try platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment in an effort to avoid surgery and expedite the healing process. Gavin Stone seems like the best bet to fill May's spot in the Dodgers' rotation, though Michael Grove (groin) could eventually be an option.

Rutledge has gone exactly six innings in each of his last five starts for Double-A Harrisburg, logging a 2.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 30 innings.

Given that Rutledge has a middling 14.7 K-BB% and a similarly mediocre 35.9 percent groundball rate, it's hard to project a high ceiling for the 6-foot-8 righty. The No. 17 overall pick in 2019, Rutledge had only two-thirds of an inning above Single-A under his belt coming into the year, so it's encouraging that he is having success while going deep into games in the upper levels of the minors.

Kloffenstein has a 2.31 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 46 strikeouts in 35 innings across seven starts for Double-A New Hampshire.

The 6-foot-5 righty was a prospect of note several years ago before logging a WHIP north of 1.55 in over 100 innings in both 2021 and 2022. However, at 22, Kloffenstein is age-appropriate for Double-A. He has been even more impressive over just his last five starts, during which he has a 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 38 strikeouts in 28 innings. His sinker has topped out around 95 mph this year, so there may not be as much upside as his stats indicate, but Kloffenstein's 55.8 percent groundball rate is a strong mark, and he could someday pitch in the middle or back of a big-league rotation.

DeSclafani (toe) is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Marlins in San Francisco, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants' decision to move Sean Manaea to the bullpen earlier in the week supported the notion that the right toe issue that bothered DeSclafani during his most recent outing last Saturday in Arizona wouldn't be anything that forced him to miss a turn through the rotation. Through eight outings this season, DeSclafani has churned out a 3.06 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB across 50 innings.

Schultz (forearm) will throw live batting practice Friday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

It will be the second live BP session Schultz has thrown since he went down with a left forearm strain in spring training. Once healthy, the young southpaw will likely be assigned to rookie ball.

Flexen, who fired three scoreless innings during which he allowed a hit and recorded a strikeout in a loss to the Red Sox on Wednesday, has yet to be scored upon in seven frames across four appearances since moving to the bullpen.

Wednesday's efficient 29-pitch outing marked Flexen's second-most voluminous relief appearance in that regard, as he'd thrown 43 pitches in just two innings against Toronto in his bullpen debut April 30. The one-time starter has issued just one free pass and scattered seven hits over his stint as a reliever thus far, and his versatility should continue to afford him multi-inning assignments that may occasionally allow him to qualify for a hold or decision.

Stripling exited his start Wednesday versus the Phillies in the fourth inning due to low-back tightness, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Given Stripling's worked out of the bullpen for parts of the season, seeing him fail to complete four innings wouldn't have been out of the ordinary. It's unclear at this time if he'll be able to make his next start on the road versus Minnesota next week. If Stripling is unavailable, Sean Manaea would likely temporarily rejoin the rotation in his place.