MLB Player News

Yamamoto will make his first start of the second half Tuesday against the Padres, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

The Marlins will pare down their rotation to five men to begin the second half, with Elieser Hernandez getting the boot to the bullpen while Yamamoto and fellow rookie Zac Gallen maintain starting spots. In Yamamoto's case, there wasn't much doubt he would stick in the rotation after allowing just four runs while striking out 30 through his first 29 big-league innings. Yamamoto's 13.5 BB% is a red flag, but his ability to keep the ball in the yard and deceive hitters with his four-pitch mix should continue to aid his run-prevention efforts.

Clarke (back) is scheduled to make a rehab start start for High-A Visalia on Saturday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

The Diamondbacks are hoping the right-handed Clarke can get up to six innings or 75 pitches. If he can hit those benchmarks, Clarke would be a possibility to make a start for Arizona next Friday, the first time the team will need a fifth starter in the second half.

Hader blew his second save of the season in Friday's 10-7 extra-inning loss to the Giants, giving up two runs on two home runs over two innings while striking out three.

Entering the game in the eighth inning to protect a 5-4 lead, Hader served up a pinch-hit solo shot to Tyler Austin and another homer to Brandon Crawford in the ninth to put the Brewers behind, only for Christian Yelich to bail the Milwaukee closer out in the bottom of the ninth with a triple and eventual tying run off Will Smith. Hader was dealing with back stiffness prior to the All-Star break that cost him a chance to appear in the Midsummer Classic, and his first appearance after the break suggests he may not be 100 percent yet.

Smith (2-0) picked up the win in Friday's 10-7 extra-inning victory over the Brewers, giving up one run on one hit and striking out one over one inning of relief.

The left-hander blew his first save of the season after Christian Yelich led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple and then scored, but Smith prevented any further damage and was rewarded when Buster Posey launched a grand slam in the top of the 10th. Smith now sports a 2.17 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 54:8 K:BB through 37.1 innings and remains the top bullpen arm most likely to be available at this year's trade deadline.

Jackson picked up the save Friday against the Padres after allowing one run on a hit and a walk with two strikeouts over one inning.

Jackson gave up a leadoff walk to Manuel Margot, then punched out Greg Garcia and Fernando Tatis Jr. before allowing an RBI single to Eric Hosmer to make the score 5-3. Fortunately, that was the final run of the night for the Padres as Jackson got Manny Machado to ground out and end the game. The 27-year-old now owns a 2.80 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 61:16 K:BB with 15 saves over 42 appearances.

Lamet (0-2) took the loss Friday against Atlanta after allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings.

Making just his second start since 2017, Lamet put together a decent showing against the Braves. The 26-year-old started off strong by punching out Ronald Acuna Jr., but surrendered a double to Dansby Swanson, a walk to Freddie Freeman and a three-run homer to Josh Donaldson to give the Braves the lead. Acuna Jr. then hit a solo shot off Lamet in the fifth for the final damage of the night. Despite the loss, the right-hander has a good chance at remaining in the Padres' rotation. Over two starts this year, Lamet owns a 6.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 14:4 K:BB.

Pivetta (4-4) allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts across five innings while taking a loss against the Nationals on Friday.

The 26-year-old pitched much better than he did in any of his last three outings. Pivetta didn't give up a homer Friday, which is a big deal because he had tossed up nine homers in his last four appearances. However, he was still saddled with his third loss in his last four starts, and his ERA barely decreased. Pivetta now has a 5.81 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .293 batting average against and 54 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. He is schedule to pitch next at home against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Ponce de Leon didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on three hits over 6.2 innings while striking out seven.

A solo shot by Christian Walker was the only blemish on the right-hander's line, but Ponce de Leon hit the showers after 105 pitches (69 strikes) with the score tied 1-1. He now boasts a 1.99 ERA and 38:11 K:BB through 31.2 big-league innings this season, but he'll likely return to a relief role with Adam Wainwright (back) not expected to miss much time.

Hernandez allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Rockies.

It's the third blown save of the season for the reliever, who now sports a 6.28 ERA and 1.45 WHIP on the year. Hernandez has allowed 11 runs over his last six outings, with all of the damage Friday coming on solo shots from David Dahl and Daniel Murphy.

Kimbrel set the Pirates down in order during the ninth inning to record his third save in a 4-3 victory Friday afternoon.

He didn't register a strikeout, but Kimbrel induced a flyout and two groundouts to nail down the one-run win. Since yielding five runs over two outings against the Pirates last week, Kimbrel hasn't allowed a hit and walked one batter with three strikeouts in his last two appearances, both of which were saves. It's still a very small sample size, but Kimbrel is 3-for-4 in save chances with a 9.64 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and six strikeouts in 4.2 innings this season.