MLB Player News

Darvish (0-1) took the loss Tuesday night, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven in the 2-0 defeat to the Phillies in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Despite being charged with the loss, Darvish pitched a solid game, but he was outdueled by Zack Wheeler. The Phillies were just 3-for-24 against Darvish, but two of his hits allowed were solo homers by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. The Padres' ace is struggling to limit home runs in the postseason -- he has allowed six earned runs across three starts, and all six runs have come from solo homers. Nonetheless, Darvish has a 2.84 ERA in the postseason while striking out 18 batters across 19 innings.

Wheeler pitched seven scoreless innings to earn the win in Tuesday night's Game 1 of the NLCS, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out eight in the 2-0 victory over the Padres.

Wheeler put together a stellar performance, needing only 83 pitches as he mowed down the Padres for seven strong innings. Wheeler was attacking with his fastball in the strike zone all night, getting five of his six first-pitch outs by way of the heater. The Phillies' ace has only allowed three runs and nine hits through 24.1 innings of work in October. Wheeler's ERA on the road in 2022 was 3.84 -- more than double his 1.85 home ERA -- so it is even more impressive that he was able to silence the crowd in San Diego and help give the Phillies a crucial road victory.

Darvish will start Game 1 of the NLCS against the Phillies on Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Darvish has been relatively effective over his first two postseason starts, posting a 3.00 ERA, 11:2 K:BB and 1.25 WHIP in 12 innings. He would've started Game 5 of the NLDS on short rest if needed, but he'll have a few additional days to rest before the NLCS begins Tuesday.

Morton exited Saturday's NLDS Game 4 against the Phillies after a comebacker off the bat of Alec Bohm hit his elbow, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Morton was also struck by a comebacker during last postseason, fracturing his right fibula in Game 1 of last year's World Series. This injury doesn't appear to be as serious, but he didn't look good when warming up for the third inning and was removed from the game. It's possible he should have been removed even earlier, as he gave up a three-run home run to Brandon Marsh later in the second inning, three batters after suffering the injury. Whether or not he'll have the chance to pitch in the NLCS should Atlanta advance is not yet clear.

Wheeler is available in relief for Game 4 of the NLDS against Atlanta and could also start Game 5 on short rest if needed Sunday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Wheeler pitched well for most of his Game 2 start on Wednesday, though a two-out rally in the sixth inning involving a hit-by-pitch, a walk and a trio of singles wound up leading to a loss. The Phillies don't fully trust their back-end starters, as they'll only ask Noah Syndergaard to go through the order once in Game 4. Whether Wheeler is used in Game 4 or saved for a potential Game 5 may depend on how the game plays out.

Syndergaard is only scheduled to go through the order once in his start in Game 4 of the NLDS against Atlanta on Saturday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

While the Phillies could always adjust their plans based on Syndergaard's performance, his numbers since his mid-season move to Philadelphia suggest that he's unlikely to do much to change his manager's mind. In 10 appearances for his new team, he owns a mediocre 4.12 ERA, though his very low 13.7 percent strikeout rate suggests things could be meaningfully worse. The Phillies could hope to get multiple innings from Bailey Falter following Syndergaard's exit, though they could also turn to high-leverage options very early in the game. Even using Zack Wheeler in relief appears to be on the table.

Syndergaard will start Game 4 of the NLDS on Saturday against Atlanta, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

After their win in Game 3 on Friday, Syndergaard will have the chance to send the Phillies to the NLCS with a strong performance. He entered Game 2 of the NLDS as a reliever and threw one inning -- his only appearance of the postseason. Bailey Falter was another option to draw the start in Game 4, and he could still serve in a multi-inning relief role if Syndergaard has a short outing.

Morton will draw the start in Saturday's Game 4 matchup in the NLDS with the Phillies.

The 38-year-old will have his next expected start pushed back a day after Spencer Strider was confirmed as Friday's Game 3 starter. Morton has yet to pitch in the postseason after having posted a 6.23 ERA in his final five outings of the regular season. He will look to produce a better performance in Saturday's contest, which could be an elimination game for Atlanta.

Strider (oblique) will start Game 3 of the NLDS on Friday against the Phillies, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Strider will return to the mound for the first time since Sept. 18 following an oblique injury. It's unlikely that he'll see a full workload in the contest, but the right-hander is a welcome addition for Atlanta after having posted a 2.67 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with a 12.8 K/9 this season. As a result of Strider starting Game 3, Charlie Morton will now toe the rubber in Saturday's Game 4 matchup.

Painter pitched 103.2 innings across three levels in 2022, posting a 1.56 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 155:25 K:BB in the process.

The 19-year-old rose from Single-A to High-A to Double-A without the transitions to higher-level competition seeming to affect him much at all. The No. 13 pick in the 2021 draft, Painter might go No. 1 if they could do it all over again. There's a very solid argument to be made that he's become the best pitching prospect in baseball.