MLB Player News

Brewers reliever John Axford took his third loss as he allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits in 2/3 of an inning Wednesday against Pittsburgh.

Axford was on a hot streak entering the appearance, with eight strikeouts against no walks and just one earned run allowed in his last 7 1/3 innings. However, Starling Marte touched him up for a two-run homer and a couple of softly-hit balls snuck through for hits. The Brewers have talked about him leapfrogging Jim Henderson and regaining the closer's role, but this appearance will likely stall those thoughts.

Pirates pitcher Jeanmar Gomez allowed four hits and three runs (two earned) in a no-decision in a spot start against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Gomez struck out three but walked two and served up two home runs. With the returns of Francisco Liriano and Charlie Morton, expect Gomez to move back to the bullpen sooner rather than later.

Mets pitching prospect Rafael Montero took his first loss in his last start for Double-A Binghamton, but the right-hander still had a strong performance. Montero allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings, while tying a season-high with eight strikeouts.

Montero is tied for second in the Eastern League with 35 strikeouts. He's also 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA and .188 opponents' batting average in five starts. Montero has walked just three batters and allowed one home run in 27 2/3 innings.

Brewers pitching prospect Jimmy Nelson is tied with White Sox prospect Erik Johnson and Mariners prospect Taijuan Walker for the Southern League (Double-A) lead in strikeouts with 32. 

Nelson improved to 3-0 in his last start for Huntsville, striking out six in six innings. He has managed less than six strikeouts just once in five starts. Nelson has a 1.30 ERA and .178 opponents' batting average through 27 2/3 innings. He also has walked just five batters.

Both Matt Reynolds and David Hernandez ended Tuesday night as two of the five most-viewed players in CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues. That is because Diamondbacks' closer J.J. Putz's struggles to close out games continued yet again, as he blew his major-league leading fourth save of the season.

So far, it has been Reynolds -- not Hernandez -- who has gotten the excess save opportunities, however Hernandez is widely considered the closer of the future. He has huge potential as a shutdown closer, with 189 strikeouts in 150 1/3 innings since joining the Diamondbacks in 2011.

Hernandez has the greater upside as a Fantasy option, but whichever pitcher ends up getting consistent save opportunities will be the one to snag. The Diamondbacks have a lot of money tied up in Putz, but his struggles continue to make it hard for them to trust. Fantasy owners looking for saves on the wire will definitely want to keep an eye on the situation in Arizona. 

Reds manager Dusty Baker told MLB.com that a couple of his pitchers at the back end of the bullpen might not be available Tuesday against the Cardinals due to allergies.

One of them was Aroldis Chapman, who has worked two days in a row and earned back-to-back saves. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati's setup man, was another.

“Chapman looked like hell. I don’t think he’s available tonight,” Baker said. “I don’t know if [Jonathan] Broxton is available tonight. We may have to close with somebody else. He’s gone two days in a row and he threw 30 pitches the day before. I was a little apprehensive about using him last night. It’s not the innings sometimes, but the workload of that inning.”

The Marlins announced on Monday that Marcell Ozuna and Brad Hand will be recalled from Triple-A New Orleans. 

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman entered Monday's series opener against the Cardinals in the ninth inning with a one-run lead. The left-hander needed 13 pitches to retire the side in order and secure a 2-1 win.

Chapman lowered his ERA to 0.68 while collecting his sixth save.

Diamondbacks pitcher Daniel Hudson threw two innings of live batting practice on Monday as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery, MLB.com reports. Manager Kirk Gibson said the right-hander threw around 55 pitches and Gibson was impressed with what he saw.

"He looked good," Gibson said. "He was overthrowing in the first inning but he came back in the second and had much better location. Overall, it was good."

Hudson will begin throwing every fifth day with bullpen sessions scheduled in between.

"I think he's ready in his mind to progress into games and compete," Gibson said. "We'll see how it goes now that he's getting into more innings and competing in games; he might get sore. We'll try to get him into what he would be doing if he were with us."

Braves closer Craig Kimbrel entered Monday's series opener against the Nationals in the ninth inning with a one-run lead. The right-hander needed 10 pitches to retire the side in order and secure a 3-2 win.

Kimbrel also struck out one while collecting his ninth save.