MLB Player News

Stripling (0-5) allowed two runs on five hits and struck out three without walking a batter over five innings Friday, taking the loss versus the Rangers.

The Giants put just four men on base and were lucky to scrape together one run. Stripling was also solid, but he gave up solo home runs to Nathaniel Lowe and Mitch Garver on back-to-back pitches in the sixth inning. While the right-hander has given up just 10 runs over his last 26.2 innings, he's taken three losses in five outings over that span. He has a 5.10 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 58:11 K:BB in 72.1 innings over 18 appearances (11 starts) this season. Stripling is tentatively lined up for a home outing versus the Rays next week.

Megill (6-6) yielded six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk over 5.1 innings Friday, striking out three and taking a loss against Atlanta.

Megill looked solid through three shutout innings before Atlanta broke open a scoreless tie in the fourth. He's been tagged with 22 earned runs over his last 22 frames, driving his season ERA up to 5.64. The 28-year-old has allowed at least four runs in seven of his 17 MLB appearances in 2023. Megill is lined up to face the Pirates at home next week.

Morton (11-10) allowed three hits and seven walks over five scoreless innings Friday, striking out four and earning a win over the Mets.

Morton threw just 52 of 105 pitches for strikes and struggled with his command all night, but New York couldn't take advantage. He'd coughed up 16 runs over his previous four starts but dropped his ERA back down to 3.71 after Friday's win. Since the start of July, the veteran right-hander's recorded a 3.50 ERA with a 36:26 K:BB through 43.2 innings. Morton's expected to face the Yankees at home next week.

Oviedo (6-12) absorbed the loss Friday versus the Reds, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out four.

Things looked ominous right away for the big right-hander, as the first four batters of the game reached base and three of them scored. Oviedo looked like he might settle in after that, retiring 10 of the next 11, but then light-hitting catcher Luke Maile clubbed a three-run shot in the fourth inning. He needed 93 pitches to cover his five frames. Oviedo came into this one with a 2.32 ERA since the All-Star break, but this was certainly a step back.

Abbott (7-3) earned the win over the Pirates on Thursday, allowing two runs on four hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out nine.

Coming off back-to-back clunkers against the Cubs and Nationals which saw him yield a combined 10 runs over nine innings, Abbott produced a much sharper effort Friday. He cruised through five shutout frames, but the lefty was chased one out short of a quality start after giving up a sixth-inning home run to Ke'Bryan Hayes and then a double and RBI single. Abbott collected 10 swinging strikes on 98 pitches in the outing.

Luzardo (8-7) took the loss versus the Yankees on Friday, yielding seven runs on nine hits and a walk over 3.1 innings. He struck out two.

It's the shortest outing of the season for Luzardo, and it's also the most hits he's permitted this year. He served up a pair of home runs and now has surrendered five long balls across his last two outings. Luzardo fanned 13 in a gem against the Rockies last month but has turned in three clunkers since then. It's possible he's tiring, having already reached his career high in innings with 131.2.

Winans will start for Atlanta in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Michael Soroka was also an option for Atlanta, but the club will go with Winans against his former organization. The 28-year-old allowed two runs over 4.1 innings versus the Brewers last month in his major-league debut.

Lodolo (lower leg) began a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Friday.

Lodolo will begin rehabbing in rookie ball before progressing his way up the minors. The 25-year-old lefty put up a 6.29 ERA and 1.75 WHIP over 34.1 innings across seven starts and is expected to return to the Reds' rotation before the end of August.

Buehler (elbow) will return as a traditional starting pitcher if he is able to make it back this season, manager Dave Roberts said Friday on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM.

The right-hander would be able to rejoin the Dodgers' staff more quickly if the goal was to use him initially in shorter stints, either as an opener or reliever, but Roberts said in this interview that the plan will be to build him up to four innings and/or 60 pitches. In his first time facing live hitters Wednesday since undergoing his second Tommy John surgery, Buehler touched 93 mph with his fastball during a one-inning sim game. He won't be ready at the beginning of September, but Roberts said a return sometime that month is still a viable option.

Irvin will have his workload managed for the remainder of the season as the Nationals deploy a six-man rotation, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The 26-year-old right-hander has thrown 106.1 innings between Triple-A and the majors this season, which already tops the 103.1 frames Irvin worked the year before in his return from Tommy John surgery in October 2020. Shifting to a six-man rotation will cost the Nats' regular starters a turn or two over the remainder of the season, and if younger arms like Irvin or MacKenzie Gore show serious signs of fatigue in August, the team could re-evaluate the situation when rosters expand in September. Irvin has a 5.20 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 31:11 K:BB through 36.1 innings since the beginning of July.