MLB Player News

The Dodgers optioned Grove to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Los Angeles brought up Caleb Ferguson to join the bullpen as a replacement for Grove, whom the organization likely wants to continue making regular starts at Triple-A. Grove was summoned from the minors Saturday when the Dodgers were in need of a multi-inning arm out of the bullpen, but he made just one appearance during his latest stint in the big leagues. He was charged with three earned runs on three hits and a walk in an inning of relief in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Pirates.

Freeland (ankle) is listed as the Rockies' starting pitcher for Saturday's game against Atlanta in Colorado.

Freeland appeared to be at risk of landing on the injured list after he was diagnosed with a left ankle impingement following his most recent outing Sunday in Washington, but he apparently checked out fine following his between-starts bullpen session and looks like he'll be ready to return to the mound on five days' rest this weekend. The southpaw owns a 6.25 ERA and 1.67 WHIP across 31.2 innings at Coors Field this season.

Strider is listed as Atlanta's starting pitcher for Saturday's game in Colorado.

Though Strider failed to escape the fifth inning and allowed five runs -- one shy of the total he surrendered in his first 11 relief appearances -- in his first MLB start Monday in Arizona, the hard-throwing rookie had some positive takeaways from the outing. He retired 11 of the 19 batters he faced via strikeout or groundout, and Mark Bowman of MLB.com notes that defensive misplays by Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall that didn't go down in the scorebook as errors contributed to Strider's ERA ballooning from 2.22 to 3.45. A trip to Coors Field isn't ideal for Strider as he attempts to whittle down his ERA, but he still looks like Atlanta's best option for the No. 5 starter role with the team having already cycled through a number of other pitchers at the back end of the rotation, to little success.

Denaburg (elbow) has given up four earned runs on four hits and seven walks while striking out seven over five innings across two starts with Single-A Fredericksburg since being activated from the 7-day injured list May 24.

A 2018 first-round pick, Denaburg is back pitching in games again for the first time since 2019 after he underwent shoulder surgery in the winter of 2019 and then had Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2021. Because of his extensive arm injuries, the 21-year-old's workload is expected to be monitored carefully this season.

Greene (2-7) took the loss Wednesday, allowing four runs on six hits and zero walks over 3.2 innings against Boston. He struck out eight.

After striking out seven and allowing just one baserunner through the first three innings, the rookie got into trouble in the fourth after the first four batters of the inning reached safely. Eventually, all four of those baserunners would come around to score, setting Greene up for his seventh loss of the season. Across 10 starts and 48 innings, the right-hander has 64 strikeouts, but he's allowed 15 home runs and sports a 6.19 ERA.

Herz struck out a dozen Dayton hitters over five innings in his start Wednesday for High-A South Bend, allowing no runs on a hit and a hit by pitch. He now has a 1.45 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 53:17 K:BB across 37.1 innings.

Herz has been nearly impossible to hit in the minors going back to last season, as he allowed a composite batting average of .157 last year and has been even better with a microscopic .120 average against him this year. The main caveat for the 21-year-old is that Wednesday marked the first time in 10 starts this season that he's finished five innings, so he's never had to go through a lineup three times. His 4.1 BB/9 is a bit concerning as well. All in all, while Herz still has the potential to become a big-league starter, there's a strong probability that he ends up in a relief role -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing, as he could be a shutdown lefty out of the pen.

Nola (3-4) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-5 victory over the Giants, giving up five runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The right-hander took a shutout into the sixth inning but hit the wall hard, as the first five Giants batters in the frame all reached base, capped by a three-run blast from Wilmer Flores. Fortunately for Nola, the Phillies responded with four runs on the bottom of the inning to hand him back his win. He'll take a 3.92 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 79:10 K:BB through 66.2 innings into his next start, with a 1.35 HR/9 souring his ERA despite his otherwise ace-like numbers.

Rodon didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Phillies, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.

The southpaw fired 64 of 98 pitches for strikes and was still the pitcher of record when the Giants took a 5-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning, but the bullpen quickly squandered it. Rodon has seen his season-opening hot streak fade and has completed six innings only once in his last four starts, leaving him with a 3.44 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 70:21 K:BB through 55 innings.

Wright (5-3) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-0 victory over Arizona, giving up three hits and five walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out five.

The right-hander fought his control but was able to prevent the Diamondbacks from cashing in any of their chances, exiting after 101 pitches (64 strikes), Wright delivered his seventh quality start of the season, and he'll carry a 2.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 66:23 K:BB through 59.2 innings into his next outing.

Quintana pitched 4.1 innings against the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three. He did not factor in the decision.

Quintana started the outing strongly, retiring the side in order in the first inning. However, Los Angeles gradually chipped away against the left-hander, and he was lifted after allowing six of the final nine batters he faced to reach base between the fourth and fifth frames. The Dodgers managed only two runs against him, however, allowing Quintana to log a no-decision. He's pitched well for the Pirates this season, logging a 2.32 ERA across 10 starts despite recording only one win. He's expected to make his next start at home against Detroit next week.