MLB Player News

Wheeler (4-4) picked up the win in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Atlanta, scattering three hits and a walk over eight scoreless innings. He struck out 12.

It was the most dominant performance of 2023 for the veteran right-hander; the innings and strikeouts were both season highs, and Wheeler generated 22 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. It was his sixth quality start of the year, including three in his last four outings -- a stretch in which he's posted a 2.67 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 30:4 K:BB through 27 innings. Wheeler will look to stay locked in for his next start, which is likely to come on the road next weekend against the Nationals.

Gray did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over four innings during a 4-2 win over the Royals. He struck out four.

Gray needed 91 pitches (57 strikes) to make it through a season-low four innings Saturday. He continues to struggle with walks, allowing multiple free passes in six straight games, but despite a less-than-ideal 26:21 K:BB during that stretch (34 innings), he has served up only 10 earned runs. Since giving up five runs in his first appearance of the year, Gray has surrendered two or fewer runs in nine of his last 10 outings and sports a 2.77 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 51:31 K:BB on the season.

Burnes did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over seven innings during a 3-1 loss to the Giants. He struck out eight.

Despite allowing a first-inning run, Burnes still completed seven frames, his most since pitching an eight-inning shutout against Arizona on April 11. The 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner allowed 10 earned runs over his first two starts of 2023, but he's been better since then, posting a 2.65 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 53:19 K:BB over his last nine appearances (54.1 innings). The right-hander will look to maintain his strong play next time out, which is tentatively scheduled for the opener of a four-game set in Cincinnati.

Webb (4-5) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk over seven innings during a 3-1 victory over Milwaukee. He struck out 11.

Webb's start was pushed back from Thursday to Saturday to give him extra time to recover from lower-back soreness, and it appears to have paid off, as he dominated the Brewers across seven innings. The right-hander's 11 strikeouts were his most since recording a season-high 12 during his first start of the year, and he's now allowed one or fewer earned runs in four straight appearances. During that stretch, Webb holds a 1.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 28:7 K:BB across 27 innings. He'll look to make it eight straight quality starts his next time out, which is tentatively scheduled for the opener of a three-game weekend set versus Baltimore.

The Diamondbacks will work with Pfaadt in the minors to correct the issues they spotted during the pitcher's five-start run in the majors, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.

Pfaadt was sent back to the minors Saturday after posting an 8.37 ERA over 23.2 innings. Command was the number one issue that haunted Pfaadt in the majors. He didn't miss many bats, gave up too much loud contact and was in the 15th percentile in strikeout percentage (16.8). The club identified a mechanical issue that consisted of Pfaadt transferring his weight too early, causing his arm slot to drop, which led to wavering command. Additionally, the right-hander had heavy usage of his fastball. "I don't know of anybody that lives at 65% fastball rate and is a starting pitcher and gets away with it for six or seven innings," manager Torey Lovullo said. The Diamondbacks viewed that fastball usage as a red flag, but he could get away with it in the minors. Not in the majors, however, where patient hitters waited for fastballs over the middle of the plate. Pfaadt will likely need to correct the mechanical issue and introduce all his pitches if he's going to reach his potential.

Matz will be available out of the bullpen for the Cardinals' upcoming two-game series versus the Royals, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matz remains winless at 0-6 with a 5.72 ERA through 10 starts this season. With a scheduling quirk leading to consecutive days off (Wednesday and Thursday), the Cardinals won't need a fifth or sixth starter for a while. It's possible Matz could rejoin the rotation during a road series in Texas from June 5-7. With Matthew Liberatore up in the majors, Matz may eventually be ticketed for the bullpen on a more permanent basis if he can't get his season on track.

Cabrera allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Saturday.

Cabrera came up an out short of his third quality start, but this was far from a good performance. Walks continue to be an issue for the right-hander, who has issued at least four free passes in six of his 11 outings this season. He's now at a 5.02 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 66:35 K:BB through 52 innings. Cabrera is lined up for a favorable home start versus the Athletics next week.

Davies (0-1) took the loss against Boston on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 3.1 innings.

Davies didn't figure to go deep into Saturday's start given that he hadn't pitched in the majors since April 8 due to an oblique injury, but he made his outing even briefer due to control issues. The right-hander threw just 41 of 75 pitches for a strike and walked a pair of batters, though he navigated out of trouble until giving up three singles to the first four batters he faced in the fourth. Davies was replaced after the third hit and went on to take the loss. The veteran figures to retain a spot in Arizona's rotation, but he has neither the ratios nor the strikeout numbers to be worth consideration in a majority of fantasy formats.

Verlander allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two over five innings in a no-decision versus the Rockies on Saturday.

Verlander left the game in line for the loss before the Mets rallied to tie the game in the sixth inning. This is the second time in five starts that Verlander's allowed six runs but he's also had a pair of very good starts and one average one after missing the first month-plus of the season with a shoulder strain. The 40-year-old is at a 4.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB across 30 innings. He's lined up for a home start versus the Blue Jays.

Flaherty allowed one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out four batters over seven innings in a no-decision against Cleveland on Saturday.

Flaherty has struggled mightily with free passes this season -- he entered Saturday with 33 walks over 51 innings -- so it was a a big step in the right direction for him to walk just one batter in the outing. The improved control helped the right-hander tie his season high with seven innings, and he picked up just his third quality start over 11 appearances. Flaherty induced only six swinging strikes and posted a modest four punchouts, but this was nonetheless one of his best starts of the campaign. Though his 4.81 season ERA is nothing to celebrate, it's trending in the right direction again after ballooning to 6.29 following a 2.1 inning, 10-run blowup against the Angels on May 4.