MLB Player News

Braves starting pitcher Shelby Miller has been on fire to start the season.

Miller (5-1) will get the start on Saturday against the Brewers, where he will look to extend his excellent start to the season.

Through eight starts, Miller has a 1.33 ERA.

Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen tossed a perfect ninth inning to earn his second save of the season during Friday's 2-1 win over the Padres.

Jansen entered with a one-run lead and he shut the door on the Padres. He struck out Will Middlebrooks to end the game.

Pirates pitcher Mark Melancon recorded his 10th save of the season in Friday night's 4-1 win over the Mets. 

Melancon took over for starter Gerrit Cole in the ninth inning and recorded the game's final two outs. This marked Melancon's fourth appearance in a row without allowing an earned run. He now holds an ERA of 3.15 this season. 

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said pitcher David Hernandez will likely re-join the club next week, according to the team's website.

Hale said Hernandez's next stop will be with Double-A Mobile before returning to Arizona. Hernandez has been dealing with an elbow injury and has been unable to pitch for the Diamondbacks yet this season. 

Brewers left-hander Will Smith has been suspended eight games by Major League Baseball. Smith is being disciplined for having a foreign substance on his arm during Thursday's game against the Braves.

Smith will appeal the suspension, MLB announced, meaning he should be available for Friday's game. He was ejected from the game on Thursday in the seventh inning when Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez noticed the substance and asked the officials for Smith's removal.

Thanks to a strong start to the season, teams have begun to eye Braves starting pitcher Shelby Miller as a potential trade target, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

However, Heyman writes it is hard to see the Braves moving Miller since he is still under team control through 2018.

The right-hander, who was acquired in an offseason trade with St. Louis, is coming off a two-hit shutout against the Marlins. He is 5-1 with a 1.33 ERA through eight starts.

Brewers reliever Will Smith is likely facing a suspension for being ejected Thursday night for having a foreign substance discovered on his forearm, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel.

"That's pretty real," said manager Craig Counsell, when asked if he is expecting a suspension. "We know that's probably likely."

Smith was tossed by crew chief Jim Joyce in the seventh inning of Thursday's 10-1 loss to the Braves after Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez asked officials to examine the glistening substance on his forearm.

After the game, Smith revealed that he had a mixture of sunscreen and rosin on his arm while warming up in the bullpen, and acknowledged he forgot to wipe it off after he was summoned to replace Matt Garza in the seventh inning because he was in a hurry.

Counsell noted that players everywhere in the league, including some on the Braves do the same thing to improve their grip on the ball.

"It happens everywhere in the league, and it happens on (Gonzalez's) team, too," Counsell said.

In 2012, Joel Peralta, who was with the Rays at the time, was slapped with an eight-game suspension for using pine tar to improve his grip. Last season, Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball after he was caught using pine tar in an April game against Boston. Because Pineda's incident was more recent, Smith could be facing a suspension close to 10 games.

"Who knows? That's MLB's decision. It's not my call," Smith said.

Brewers pitcher Will Smith was ejected from Thursday's game against the Braves after a foreign substance was discovered on his arm.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez called upon the officials to examine Smith, and crew chief Jim Joyce ejected the pitcher after checking for the substance. Smith was replaced by Neal Cotts, who immediately surrendered an RBI single.

"It was chilly and kind of windy," Smith said after the game, per the Braves Radio Network. "I had sunscreen rosin on my arm. Just forgot to wipe it off before I went out and pitched."

Smith, who didn't complete the at-bat of the second batter he faced on Thursday after hitting the first batter with a pitch, came into the game with a 2.13 ERA and 18:6 K:BB ratio in 12 2/3 innings. He was visibly angry and appeared to say something to the Braves bench before he left.

"I'm a competitor," Smith said, per the Journal Sentinel. "You want to stay in the game and pitch. It was a big situation.  I was pissed I got thrown out."

Mets relievers Bobby Parnell and Vic Black are expected to move their rehab assignments to Double-A Binghamton after each player makes one more outing for Class A St. Lucie on Thursday, manager Terry Collins said, per ESPN.com.

Parnell is 0-2 with a 12.71 ERA through six outings (two starts) for St. Lucie. He has four strikeouts and six walks in 5 2/3 innings.

Black is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in three relief outings with St. Lucie. He has two strikeouts and three walks in three innings.

The Diamondbacks plan to have pitcher David Hernandez pitch at Double-A sometime over the weekend, manager Chip Hale said, according The Arizona Republic.

Hernandez is suffering from an elbow injury and he has not pitched for the Diamondbacks this season. He pitched a scoreless inning during a rehab assignment in Class A on Monday.

"He wont be back at least until after the weekend," Hale said to MLB.com. "I think that's something we talked about, but I don't think we do. I think we can do it up here if we had to after he had a few outings. I think we could give him every other day for a while until we're ready to do that."