MLB Player News

Wood (10-4) was tagged with the loss Friday against Oakland after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while fanning nine across five innings.

Wood limited the damage to just two runs, and he has given up exactly that amount in each of his last two starts, but he hasn't been pitching as well as he did earlier on the season. He has a 5.74 ERA over his last five appearances, even with home matchups against Arizona and Colorado sprinkled in there. His strong performances at the beginning of the year still show in his overall numbers, however; he still owns a 4.11 ERA, right around average for pitchers in the National League.

Corbin (7-12) allowed one run on three hits while striking out seven batters over 6.1 innings in a win over the Brewers on Friday.

Corbin was making quick work of the Brewers, firing off six shutout innings before Avisail Garcia eventually got to him with a solo homer with one out in the seventh. The 31-year-old southpaw's night ended there -- an admirable performance after he's endured so many struggles throughout the season. Corbin had entered Friday with six straight outings allowing four runs or more, so it was encouraging to see him have a bounce-back performance against a first-place team. He now owns a 5.82 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 107:41 K:BB over 133 innings and is set up for a favorable matchup against the Marlins next week.

Kikuchi (7-7) allowed seven runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two over just 2.2 innings in a loss to the Astros on Friday.

Kikuchi was hammered early and often Friday, allowing multiple runs in all three innings he pitched in before being pulled. Five of the seven runs he gave up came on a trio of long balls, marking the first time he's let up more than two homers in an outing this year. The 30-year-old southpaw has had little success against the Astros this year. In four games against the division rivals, Kikuchi is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 19:10 K:BB. Fortunately, he projects to have a softer matchup next week against the Royals.

Wacha didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 7-5 extra-innings loss to the White Sox, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits over five innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.

The nine whiffs tied his season high. Wacha hasn't pitched more than five innings in any of his seven starts since the All-Star break, but the tight leash hasn't led to better results as he has a 7.64 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 35:8 K:BB and 2.5 HR/9 in 33 innings over that stretch.

McCullers (10-4) earned an easy victory over the Mariners on Friday after allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings.

McCullers was given an early cushion with the Astros surging to a 7-0 lead by the end of the third inning, and he did his job limiting the damage the rest of the way. The 27-year-old allowed a solo home run to Kyle Seager in the fourth and then was scored against once more on a base hit in the sixth. McCullers has punched out at least eight hitters in eight of his last nine starts and is on pace for his best K/9 since 2016. He now owns a 3.21 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 144:56 K:BB over 120.2 innings this year. He projects for a favorable matchup at home against the Royals next week.

Giolito didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 7-5 extra-innings win over the Rays, allowing two runs on three hits over seven innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The right-hander seemed headed for his 10th win of the season when he exited the game with a 4-2 lead, but Aaron Bummer coughed it up in the eighth inning. Giolito has fanned exactly eight batters in three straight games and has five quality starts in seven outings since the All-Star break, posting a 2.86 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 44:9 K:BB through 44 innings over that stretch.

Gray (5-6) picked up the win Friday, allowing one hit and two walks over seven scoreless innings in a 5-3 victory over the Marlins. He struck out five.

The right-hander piled all his baserunners into the fourth inning as Miami loaded the bases on a single and the two free passes, but Gray escaped the jam by getting Brian Anderson to pop out to shallow center field and then fanning Lewis Brinson on three pitches. The quality start was only Gray's sixth of the season in 19 trips to the mound, and he'll carry a 4.15 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 118:39 K:BB through 97.2 innings into his next outing.

Gomber allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three across five innings in a no-decision versus Arizona on Friday.

The southpaw worked on a few extra days of rest after a stint on the paternity list earlier in the week. He managed only one 1-2-3 inning, which took place in his fifth and final frame, but kept the score close in an eventual Rockies win. Gomber has been inconsistent of late, and over his last five starts he's mixed two quality starts, in which he logged at least seven punchouts, with a trio of less effective outings that featured three or fewer strikeouts. He's scheduled to take the mound again on the road against the Cubs next week.

Mikolas (0-1) was tagged with the loss Friday against Pittsburgh, pitching five innings and allowing two unearned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out five.

Mikolas put together a solid outing, especially considering the fact that he hadn't pitched in a big-league game since May 22. The right-hander was dinged for two runs in the fourth inning -- partly as a result of a fielding error by Harrison Bader -- but he retired the last six batters he faced, including three by strikeout. Mikolas was allowed to toss 84 pitches in the contest, so he isn't likely to be on a significant pitch count moving forward. He's tentatively scheduled to make his next start in a rematch with Pittsburgh, this time on the road, next week.

Keller (4-10) hurled five scoreless innings to earn the win against St. Louis on Friday, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out six.

The right-hander scattered six hits in the outing, but none went for extra bases. He threw 56 of 89 pitches for strikes and issued only one free pass despite tossing a first-pitch strike to only nine of the 21 batters he faced. Keller snapped a streak of four straight losses and picked up his first win since May 29. He'll carry a 6.35 ERA into his next start, which is likely to come at home against Arizona next week.