MLB Player News

Morton didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 8-1 win over the Angels, allowing two hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

The veteran right-hander was locked in a pitchers' duel with Shohei Ohtani through six innings, as neither hurler gave up a run. Morton then exited having tossed 105 pitches (65 strikes), and Atlanta promptly got to a fading Ohtani in the bottom of the seventh. Morton has delivered three quality starts in four trips to the mound in July, posting a 2.52 ERRA, 0.92 WHIP and 30:10 K:BB through 25 innings on the month as he continues to turn things around following a shaky beginning to the campaign.

Steele (4-6) yielded one run on four hits and four walks over five innings Friday, striking out two and earning a win over the Phillies.

Steele served up a solo homer to Kyle Schwarber on his first pitch of the night. He put seven more Phillies on base but held them off the board for the rest of his outing. Since the start of June, Steele is 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA through eight outings; he's allowed two or fewer runs in six of those. The 27-year-old southpaw will carry a 4.02 ERA into his expected start in San Francisco next week.

Gibson (5-4) allowed six runs on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings Friday. He failed to record a strikeout while taking a loss against the Cubs.

Gibson turned in three shutout frames before Willson Contreras led off the fourth inning with a solo homer. The Cubs then piled on six runs in the fifth with five of them being charged to Gibson. It was the third time in his last five starts that he gave up at least five runs, raising his season ERA from 4.06 to 4.69 during that span. The veteran righty will carry an 80:29 K:BB into his projected start at home against Atlanta next week.

Darvish (9-4) picked up the win Friday in a 4-1 victory over the Mets, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out nine.

The right-hander took a shutout into the seventh inning before New York finally squeezed across a run. Darvish fired 68 of 99 pitches for strikes before exiting and his splitter was particularly effective, generating a 50 percent swinging strike rate on the night. The quality start was his third in a row and 14th in 18 trips to the mound this season, and Darvish will take a 3.28 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 109:23 K:BB through 115.1 innings into his next outing.

Davies (shoulder) threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Friday, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports.

This was the second bullpen session of the week for Davies, who also threw a 20-pitch session Tuesday. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said the right-hander came out of Friday's session feeling "very good." Davies' next step will be to face live batters, although Lovullo did not provide a timeline for the pitcher's full return. Davies, who has a 3.94 ERA over 15 starts, landed on the injured list June 28 with shoulder inflammation. Since his injury and another to Humberto Castellanos (elbow), the back end of Arizona's rotation has been wobbly.

Webb allowed a run on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts in six innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Friday.

The four walks were a season high for Webb, but he was able to navigate the danger fairly well. He threw 63 of 103 pitches for strikes, though his control was not as sharp as usual. The right-hander still picked up his eighth straight quality start while lowering his ERA to 2.77 with a 1.12 WHIP and 103:32 K:BB across 123.2 innings in 20 starts. He's projected for a road start in Arizona next week.

Anderson allowed an unearned run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six innings in a no-decision versus the Giants on Friday.

Anderson has limited opponents to one run or less in three of his last four starts, though he's only gone 2-0 in that strong span. The southpaw continues to enjoy a stellar season with a 2.79 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 87:19 K:BB across 103.1 innings in 18 outings (16 starts). He'll carry a 10-1 record into his next start, tentatively set to be a favorable home matchup versus the Nationals next week.

Corbin (4-13) took the loss Friday versus the Diamondbacks. He allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Corbin has allowed at least four runs in each of his last three starts after briefly appearing to have turned a corner in late June and early July. The southpaw continues to put up solid strikeout totals -- he's posted 35 punchouts in his last 31 innings -- but that's about the only bright spot in his performance. He owns a 6.02 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 98:36 K:BB across 104.2 innings in 20 starts this year. Corbin's projected for a difficult road start versus the Dodgers next week.

Ashcraft allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out eight across 4.2 innings Friday against the Cardinals. He did not factor into the decision.

Ashcraft was given five runs of support but he squandered the chance to earn a win by surrendering a two-run home run to Paul Goldschmidt in the fifth inning. On the positive side, he did manage to match his season high in strikeouts while generating 16 called strikes and 13 swinging strikes across 112 total pitches. Ashcraft owns a 4.70 ERA and a 40:15 K:BB across 59.1 innings on the season.

Gallen (5-2) allowed two hits and struck out seven without walking a batter in seven innings Friday, earning the win over the Nationals.

Gallen opened the second half of the campaign with his most dominant performance of the season. Considering he issued multiple walks in each of his prior five starts, his control was a standout part of this win. The stellar outing improved his ERA to 3.31 with a 1.02 WHIP and 96:28 K:BB across 100.2 innings in 18 starts this year. The 26-year-old right-hander is projected for a home start versus the Giants next week.