MLB Player News

Hendricks allowed two runs on five hits across five innings but did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Pirates. He walked one and struck out five.

Hendricks may have been able to earn his 15th and final win of the season if he was allowed to work later into the game, but the 68-90 Cubs capped the righty at 78 pitches with little to play for. It was at least good to see Hendricks pitch better, as he had allowed 11 runs (10 earned) across 9.1 innings in his previous two starts. The 31-year-old will finish the year with a 14-7 record, 4.77 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 131 strikeouts across 181 innings. That's a down campaign by Hendricks' standards, as he had registered an ERA below 3.50 in each of the last five seasons. His track record suggests that he's a good candidate to bounce back in 2022.

Mikolas (2-3) allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk with seven strikeouts through 5.2 innings, taking the loss in Wednesday's 4-0 defeat to the Brewers.

Well, all good things must come to an end. One night after clinching a playoff berth with a franchise-record 17th consecutive win, the Cardinals suffered their first loss since Sept. 10. Mikolas was beyond solid for the majority of the night, allowing a run in the first before holding the Brewers scoreless through his next five innings pitched. But, with two outs in the sixth, Daniel Vogelbach took the right-hander yard for a two-run shot. After Lorenzo Cain followed that up with a base hit, manager Mike Shildt made a call to the bullpen. Even though it will be Mikolas' name affixed with an "L" in the box score of the game that ended the Redbirds' historic streak, he recorded season highs in strikeouts (seven) and pitches thrown (96). As the Cardinals look to make a run into October, look for Mikolas to pick up some work. He is the proud owner of a 1.50 ERA over 12 postseason innings.

Houser (10-6) allowed three hits and two walks with one strikeout over five shutout innings, picking up the win in Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Cardinals.

If anybody were to end the Cardinals' joyous 17-game winning streak, it would be Houser. Though he did have to wriggle out of a couple jams, he allowed just a trio of hits en route to his 10th win of the season. Through four starts against St. Louis this year, the right-hander is 3-0 with a microscopic 0.36 ERA over 25 innings. If the Brewers are to renew hostilities with the Redbirds in the postseason, they have a Cardinal killer in Houser at their disposal.

Fried (14-7) went seven innings and picked up the win Wednesday against the Phillies, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out six.

Fried captured his third consecutive win after limiting the Phillies to a Ronald Torreyes RBI single in the second inning, a play that resulted in an additional unearned run after Ozzie Albies' throwing error. They're the only two runs Fried has given up over 23 innings during his three-game winning streak, and the 27-year-old hasn't lost a decision since July 28. He finished the regular season with a 3.04 ERA in 28 starts, posting a 158:41 K:BB over 165.2 innings.

Nola (9-9) took the loss Wednesday against Atlanta, surrendering three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks over six innings. He had four strikeouts.

Atlanta jumped on Nola for a pair of runs in the first inning with an Austin Riley RBI single and an Adam Duvall run-scoring groundout. Nola settled down after that, giving up just one run the rest of the way, but it wasn't enough to avoid the loss. The 28-year-old finishes a disappointing 2021 regular season with a 4.63 ERA -- his highest since 2016 -- despite a sparkling 223:39 K:BB over 180.2 innings.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Overton (shoulder) is expected to resume throwing in early-to-mid November, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Overton was shuttered for the season on Tuesday after being diagnosed with a right shoulder strain, but after taking the next month or so to rest up and recover, he should be in store for a relatively normal offseason. In nine big-league appearances (three starts) between Toronto and Pittsburgh this season, Overton submitted a 4.70 ERA and 1.24 WHIP across 15.1 innings.

Paddack received an injection in his right elbow earlier this week and is expected to make a full recovery from a slight UCL sprain in 6-to-8 weeks, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Paddack had his elbow checked out by Dr. Keith Meister, who previously oversaw the right-hander's Tommy John surgery in 2016. Fortunately for Paddack, he was recommended to treat the elbow injury through non-surgical means this time around, setting him up for what should be a relatively normal offseason. Before being shut down for good Sept. 13, Paddack turned in a 5.08 ERA across 108.1 innings.

Manager Gabe Kapler said Cueto (elbow) will be activated from the injured list at some point this weekend and is likely to be used out of the bullpen, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Scott Kazmir will start Thursday's contest for the Giants, while the team plans to utilize Cueto in relief to help determine whether he'll be included on the playoff roster. Cueto has been on the injured list since suffering the elbow strain Aug. 31, and he covered only 1.2 innings during his lone rehab outing last week. The veteran righty was operating as San Francisco's No. 5 starter when healthy, so he may have been shifted to the bullpen for the postseason regardless of the injury.

Brubaker (shoulder) won't return prior to the end of the regular season, Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com reports.

Brubaker will increase his throwing distance by playing catch off flat ground from 120 feet in the coming days, and he'll use all of his pitches during the throwing session. Although the right-hander is making progress and should have a relatively normal offseason, he won't have enough time to return by the end of the regular season. Brubaker made a career-high 24 major-league starts this year and posted a 5.36 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 124.1 innings.

The Brewers selected Rea's contract from Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday.

Milwaukee cleared room for Rea on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster by designating utility man Tim Lopes for assignment and by placing Devin Williams (hand) on the 10-day injured list. Rea should fill a long-relief role for Milwaukee over its final five games of the regular season after he submitted a 2.27 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in seven starts for Nashville upon joining the Brewers on a minor-league deal in August.