MLB Player News

Kershaw (10-3) earned the win during Saturday's 6-2 victory over St. Louis, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Kershaw tossed five scoreless frames before running into trouble during his third time through the lineup in the sixth, permitting both runs on a Nolan Arenado two-run shot. The 34-year-old tossed an efficient 64 of 88 pitches for strikes with an impressive 18 of the swinging variety and has won three straight starts while sporting a 1.80 ERA across 30 innings in five turns since returning from a back injury Sept. 1. Kershaw's 2.42. ERA and 0.95 WHIP would both rank top seven in MLB if he had enough innings to qualify, and those numbers represent his best marks in a full season since 2017.

Peralta (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day injured list prior to his start Sunday against the Reds.

Given that Peralta last threw two innings Sept. 8 and has not gone on a rehab assignment, he may not be able to go deep enough to qualify for the win Sunday. If he stays on turn, Peralta should make one more start this season next weekend at home against the Marlins.

Smyly (shoulder) will not start a game in next week's series against the Phillies, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

He was scratched from this week's start due to shoulder fatigue and threw a bullpen session Sunday. It's unclear when Smyly will be able to return to game action, but we can rule out a start in the first series of next week.

Alcantara (14-8) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over eight innings against the Nationals. He struck out 11.

Alcantara's only blemish came from a solo homer from first baseman Joey Meneses to open the scoring with two outs in the first inning. In his last 11 games, the righty has posted a seemingly uneventful 3.30 ERA over 76.1 innings but allowed four runs or more four times and one run or fewer five times during that stretch. The 27-year-old has been particularly stifling at home, with a 9-4 record and 1.64 ERA over 121 innings compared to a 5-4 record and 3.16 ERA over 99.2 innings on the road.

Oviedo (4-2) earned the win Saturday, allowing three hits over seven scoreless innings against the Cubs. He struck out seven.

Oviedo did not allow an extra-base hit in his quality evening against the Cubs. The righty has been given the start in five straight appearances, recording a 3.05 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 20.2 innings. Even with this contest's seven strikeouts and zero walks, the 24-year-old has posted an unattractive 23:14 K:BB during the five starts.

Kelly is expected to get two more starts over the final nine games of the season, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Kelly fired seven innings Saturday, boosting his count to 189.2 for the season. He has a personal goal of reaching 200 innings, which was in jeopardy when manager Torey Lovullo went to a six-man rotation in September. However, following the game, Lovullo all but assured reporters that Kelly would get that chance. That suggests Kelly's schedule will be Friday at San Francisco followed by the season finale at Milwaukee on Oct. 5.

DeGrom (5-3) gave up five earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out five over four innings to take the loss in a 10-4 defeat against the Athletics on Saturday.

DeGrom had his worst start of the season in what appeared on paper like a very favorable matchup against one of the weaker lineups in baseball. He opened the game in an uncharacteristic fashion by loading the bases on a single and back-to-back walks. It was the first time that he allowed two or more walks over his past 13 starts. Dermis Garcia then hit a catchable line drive to left field that was played terribly by Jeff McNeil, who tripped and fell on the play, allowing two runs to score. DeGrom still boasts a 2.93 ERA and will look to bounce back into his usual form in his next expected start at Atlanta.

Falter gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out six over 3.2 innings in a 6-3 loss to Atlanta on Saturday.

Falter was done in by the long ball, as the biggest damage to his line came on a pair of home runs off the bats of William Contreras and Michael Harris. Falter has now made two starts in a row against Atlanta. He gave up only one run in the previous start, but it appears that the extra look at his stuff may have allowed the opposition to get a read on him as a pitcher. Falter's ERA has now risen to 4.21, and he will need to make an adjustment his next time out at Washington if he hopes to pick up his sixth win with only a couple of turns through the rotation left in the season.

Wright (20-5) gave up two earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out six over 5.1 innings to earn the win in a 6-3 victory over the Phillies on Saturday.

Wright held the Phillies scoreless into the sixth inning until Bryce Harper took him deep for a two-run shot. Nevertheless, Wright received enough run support and lasted long enough on 97 pitches to earn his 20th win of the season. Wright is the first MLB pitcher to reach 20 wins this year, and it appears that he may finish the season as the only hurler to reach that important milestone. He is tentatively expected to make his next start against the Mets.

Cobb (6-7) took the loss during Saturday's 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts in five innings.

Cobb permitted just one baserunner through three innings before falling apart in the fourth, surrendering all five runs on six baserunners to fall in line for his first loss since Aug. 3. The 34-year-old has now logged two poor starts, two excellent ones and one mediocre turn through five September starts with the numbers culminating to a 3.14 ERA across 28.2 innings. Cobb carries a 3.67 ERA and 1.27 WHIP into a rematch with Arizona next weekend.