MLB Player News

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.

Padres pitcher Anthony Bass entered Monday's series opener against the Cubs leading the majors in innings pitched by a reliever. The right-hander has thrown 18 innings over eight appearances and owns a 3.00 ERA.

"Obviously I've thrown a lot," Bass told MLB.com. "But I kinda like that. I've started and relieved. Most of my time in the minors, I've started. It's nothing new to me to kind of do something like that. But I think the team watches over how much I've thrown. Especially having two long guys in the bullpen now definitely helps, so my workload doesn't get to be too much."

Pirates pitcher Jeanmar Gomez will replace Jonathan Sanchez for Wednesday's start against the Brewers, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Sanchez will pitch out of the bullpen.

Gomez is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA through five relief appearances.

Cardinals starter Shelby Miller turned in a decent outing but suffered his second loss of the season during Sunday's series finale against the Pirates.

Miller, who made his sixth start of the season, surrendered a solo home run to Russell Martin in the second and another solo shot to Jose Tabata in the fifth. The right-hander touched up for three runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 9-0 defeat.

Miller has not allowed more than three runs in an outing. He has a 2.05 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. The 22-year-old is scheduled to start Friday at Milwaukee. He is 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in three starts away from Busch Stadium.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman finished off a 5-2 win Sunday against the Nationals for his fifth save. The left-hander issued a walk and struck out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning, lowering his ERA to 0.68.

Chapman has allowed one run in 12 1/3 innings, while striking out 21. He's issued just three walks.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said Sunday he's still mulling his starting-pitcher options for Wednesday's game at Milwaukee, which is Jonathan Sanchez's turn in the rotation. Sanchez is appealing a six-game suspension for hitting the Cardinals' Allen Craig with a pitch Friday, but he might be skipped regardless because of his poor performance (0-3, 12.71 ERA), according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Hurdle said Francisco Liriano, who is rehabbing an arm injury in the minors, is not an option to start Wednesday. Hurdle said no final decision has been made, but Jeanmar Gomez might be an option to make a spot start.

Gomez, who is 14-16 with a 5.32 ERA in 38 career starts, has been strong out of the Pirates' bullpen this season. He is 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.

Mets manager Terry Collins said the team chose proximity when optioning pitcher Josh Edgin to Double-A Binghamton on Saturday instead of Triple-A Las Vegas. New York is also hoping the struggling left-hander can restore his confidence after he posted a 9.64 ERA in his first 11 appearances this season.

"If something happens, I want to be able to get him here fast," Collins told MLB.com. "I just said, 'Go to Binghamton. You're close. Go work and get your confidence back.' Again, that's what it's all about. When you're on that mound, you need to know you're going to make the pitch."

The Mets activated starter Shaun Marcum from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday and optioned pitcher Josh Edgin to Double-A Binghamton.

Marcum will star for the Mets against Philadelphia at Citi Field Saturday.

The 26-year-old Edgin appeared in 11 games and allowed 10 runs on 13 hits over 9 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts.

Despite not allowing a run over his last six appearances, Brewers reliever John Axford wants manager Ron Roenicke to stick with Jim Henderson as the team's closer for the time being, MLB.com reported Friday.

Henderson, who replaced Axford as Milwaukee's closer, is 5 for 5 in save chances and has only allowed one run over his first 10 appearances, while racking up 147 strikeouts compared to just two walks.

"You want to keep with what’s going well. I think that’s the biggest thing," Axford said. "Things are going good right now, winning nine in a row. Losing that tough one [on Wednesday] in San Diego, we had a shot of winning that one at the end, too. You really want to keep with what’s strong and what’s working, I think."

Axford has racked up four holds to go along with six strikeouts and no walks over his last six outings and opponents are hitting just .118 (2 for 17) off him over that span.