MLB Player News

Kershaw (back) is feeling much better thanks to his epidural injection, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Kershaw hit the injured list with lower-back pain in early August. The injury isn't thought to be particularly serious, and he was able to resume throwing earlier this week, but the Dodgers have a very comfortable lead atop the NL West, so they can focus on getting him ready for the postseason rather than maximizing his number of regular-season starts.

Severino (lat) will throw a bullpen session Monday, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

Severino has been out with a strained right lat since mid-July. He won't return for over a month, as he's been placed on the 60-day injured list, but it's nevertheless a clear positive to see him getting back on a mound.

Rogers (back) will make his second rehab start Sunday with a yet to be determined minor-league affiliate, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old lefty made his first rehab start Tuesday with Double-A Pensacola, and he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits with five strikeouts and zero walks over 3.1 innings. Rogers will continue building up his workload Sunday, and it's unclear if he'll require any additional rehab outings before being cleared to rejoin Miami's starting rotation. If not, he could make a start for the Marlins late next week.

Zulueta was placed on the 7-day injured list at Double-A New Hampshire on Friday due to right knee inflammation and shoulder soreness, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Zulueta hasn't seen the field for the Fisher Cats since Aug. 2, and he'll now be sidelined for at least another week. The 24-year-old was promoted to Double-A in late June and has a 4.35 ERA and 16:10 K:BB across 10.1 innings. It's unclear if he'll spend more than the minimum of seven days on the shelf.

Stripling (hip) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Friday and is expected to throw about five innings, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It was originally reported the veteran right-hander would make the rehab start Wednesday, but the outing was instead pushed back a couple days. If all goes well Friday with Buffalo, Stripling could return from the injured list for Toronto sometime next week.

Battenfield's contract was selected from Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

Battenfield will join the Guardians for their weekend series in Toronto after James Karinchak (personal) was placed on the restricted list Friday. Battenfield hasn't yet made his major-league debut but has posted a 3.19 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 121.1 innings over 21 starts in Columbus this year, although if he sees any action for Cleveland it will likely come out of the bullpen.

Skubal (arm) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Friday.

The 25-year-old originally landed on the shelf with arm fatigue after his last start Aug. 1. He can technically be activated in early October, but with only a couple games left on the schedule at that point the move to the 60-day IL will likely end his 2022 campaign. Skubal was able to quickly resume a throwing program after being shut down, but he apparently had some type of a setback over the past week. He came on strong for the Tigers this year with a 3.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 117:32 K:BB across 117.2 innings.

Lodolo (3-4) took the loss against the Cubs on Thursday, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out six batters over 4.2 innings.

Lodolo threw a first-pitch strike to 19 of the 24 batters he faced, yet he issued four free passes and hit one batter. The rookie gave up three runs in the first inning, struck out the side in the second and allowed three baserunners in each of the third and fourth frames in the uneven performance. Lodolo has walked multiple batters in each of his past five starts, and he's added five hit batsmen over that stretch. He's registered a strong 12.1 K/9 over 47.2 innings on the season, but his control issues have led to an unsavory 4.72 ERA and 1.66 WHIP.

Smyly (5-6) earned the win over Cincinnati in the Field of Dreams game Thursday, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out nine batters over five scoreless innings.

Smyly's nine punchouts came out of nowhere -- he hadn't fanned more than five batters in any of his 14 appearances coming into Thursday. The veteran racked up 18 swinging strikes and didn't allow any extra-base hits in the dominant outing. This was Smyly's second consecutive scoreless appearance, and he's allowed one run or fewer in four of his past five starts. Over that stretch, the southpaw has posted a 2.42 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 26:6 K:BB over 26 innings while picking up three victories.

Kremer (4-4) took the loss against Boston on Thursday, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out six batters over 5.2 innings.

Kremer picked up a win with 6.1 scoreless innings against Pittsburgh in his previous start, but he couldn't build on that momentum Thursday. The right-hander fell behind 3-0 after three innings before Baltimore tied the score in the sixth. However, Kremer couldn't capitalize on the comeback effort, as a two-out walk in the bottom of the frame resulted in his removal from the contest, which was followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Eric Hosmer. Kremer has lost three of his past four starts and has given up a combined 14 runs over 15.1 innings in the trio of defeats.