MLB Player News

Sims threw a shutout inning against the Pirates in Thursday's loss, striking out two. He also picked up a win earlier in the week, prompting manager David Bell to suggest that Sims could end up in higher-leverage situations soon, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

This outing wasn't particularly high-leverage, as the Reds were trailing 9-5 in the ninth. With this inning, Sims now has a 0.96 ERA and 13:4 K:BB over 9.1 innings so far, with the one run he's allowed coming on a homer.

Diaz allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning during Thursday's 8-2 win over the Nationals.

It marked Diaz's sixth straight scoreless outing. Diaz's strong performance of late could lead to a return to the closer role eventually. Seth Lugo has earned the Mets' last three saves.

Hudson will start Sunday's game against the White Sox, assuming the Cardinals are cleared to resume their season this week following their team-wide COVID-19 outbreak, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The Cardinals will go with Adam Wainwright and a bullpen game for their Saturday doubleheader should they get the green light to resume their season. St. Louis will then follow with Hudson on Sunday. The right-hander allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk over 4.1 innings pitched in his lone start against the Pirates on July 26.

Howard is expected to start Friday's game against the Mets after Vince Velasquez entered Thursday's game against the Orioles in relief, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Howard and Velasquez were both preparing to start the series opener against New York, but the nod appears to be going to Howard after Velasquez entered Thursday's tilt in the sixth inning. Howard will look to improve on his performance in his MLB debut, in which he allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk over 4.2 innings against the Braves on Sunday.

Perdomo (illness) was activated from the injured list Thursday.

Perdomo is ready to make his big-league debut after a positive COVID-19 test prior to camp set him back to start the season. The southpaw reached Triple-A for the first time in 2019 and posted a 5.17 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 86:38 K:BB across 54 innings. Eric Lauer was sent to the team's alternate camp site in a corresponding move.

The Phillies added Hammer to their 60-man roster pool Thursday.

Hammer attending spring training with the Phillies but was an early cut, as he was outrighted off the 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Feb. 11. The Phillies didn't bring Hammer back for summer camp, but the reliever will now head to Lehigh Valley to train regularly with the other minor-league players in the organization's 60-man pool. Hammer made 20 appearances for the big club in 2019, posting a 3.79 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 19 innings.

Treinen (1-1) earned the win Wednesday against the Padres, striking out three across 1.1 scoreless innings.

Treinen is yet to allow an earned run this season, posting five straight scoreless appearances and fanning eight in five innings across that stretch. The right-hander looks to be getting back to his 2018 form after an injury-plagued 2019 season.

Gsellman allowed three runs on four hits over two innings in a no-decision against the Nationals on Wednesday. He struck out one batter.

Juan Soto tagged Gsellman for a three-run homer in the first inning, though the Mets did even more damage against opposing starter Anibal Sanchez in the bottom of the frame. Gsellman was making his first start since 2017 and will have to build up on the job after missing the start of the season with a triceps injury, with the Mets down several pitchers in the starting rotation. He threw only 33 pitches Wednesday.

Matzek (2-1) took the loss Wednesday versus the Yankees, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out two in 2.1 innings.

Matzek served in a primary pitcher role Wednesday, but the two runs he allowed in the fourth inning were enough to stick him with the loss. It's the first appearance where Matzek has allowed runs this season -- he has a 1.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in 10 innings while primarily working in the middle innings.

Yamamoto allowed four earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across 3.1 innings Wednesday against the Blue Jays. He did not factor into the decision.

Yamamoto was given an early eight-run cushion, but couldn't work deep enough into the game to qualify for a chance at the win. He worked two scoreless frames, but was then derailed by a pair of two-run home runs. The result was a short outing, and he failed to work efficiently by racking up 75 pitches in order to retire just 10 batters. It's unclear if he will get another turn through the rotation, pending the status of the Sandy Alcantara (illness), Caleb Smith (undisclosed), Jose Urena (illness) and Robert Dugger (undisclosed).