MLB Player News

Keller (3-10) took the loss Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader against the Brewers, surrendering two runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 4.1 innings.

It was death by a thousand cuts for Keller, who allowed at least two baserunners in each of the five innings in which he appeared. He was able to keep the Brewers off the board through three before allowing a trio of singles -- one of them plating a run -- and a run-scoring groundout in the fourth. Keller notched one out in the fifth before being lifted with his pitch count at 77. Keller has lost all three of his starts since rejoining the rotation at the beginning of August, logging a dismal 6.28 ERA and 2.02 WHIP in 14.1 innings during that stretch. Those numbers aren't far off of the 6.86 ERA and 1.85 WHIP he's posted in 61.2 innings overall this season.

Lauer will start Sunday's game against the Pirates, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

He has not started a game since Aug. 2 due to COVID-19 protocols. Three of his last five starts have come against the Pirates, and he has logged a 1.78 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 25.1 innings while facing mostly poor offenses over that five-start stretch.

Rea signed a minor-league deal with the Brewers on Saturday.

He has been assigned to Triple-A Nashville and is likely to start Sunday's game for the Sounds. Rea had a 2.03 ERA over 40 innings in Japan this season before leaving the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks earlier this month. He primarily worked as a starter when he was pitching stateside, and it seems possible that the Brewers could use him to eat up innings down the stretch.

Kim's elbow inflammation will sideline him for more than the minimum 10 days, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Kim will be eligible to return Aug. 18, but he's evidently not in the mix to do so. Tests cleared him of any structural damage in his elbow, but he'll still wind up missing more than one turn in the rotation.

Urias hit the injured list with a left calf contusion Saturday.

The specific diagnosis doesn't sound like it should keep Urias out for long, though whether or not he'll need to miss more than one turn in the rotation remains unclear. His total of 139.2 innings this season already blows out his total of 78.0 from last season, so this may be little more than a convenient way for the Dodgers to avoid overworking the young lefty. The team will need to call up a replacement to take his turn in the rotation Wednesday against the Pirates, as it will be utility man Zach McKinstry who earns the call-up in a corresponding move Saturday.

Kershaw (forearm) is expected to begin playing catch Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

This will mark the first step of Kershaw's throwing program as he works through left elbow inflammation, with hopes of making a late-season return. More updates on the lefty's status and throwing progression should become available in the next week or so.

Darvish (back) may not make his next scheduled start as he deals with back tightness, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Manager Jayce Tingler said Darvish didn't recover from Thursday's short start as quickly as they hoped. The righty hasn't been placed on the injured list, but that remains a possibility if he doesn't improve in the coming days. More information about Darvish's back and when he might pitch next should become clear in the coming days.

Kershaw (forearm) may not have time to build up to a starter's workload before the end of the regular season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports. "I think that will be kind of contingent on where the ramp-up goes," manager Dave Roberts said. "I don't want to say, 'No.' That's the goal. But if it comes to be a two-, three-inning monster out of the 'pen, then that's what it will be."

Kershaw is not traveling with the Dodgers on their current road trip and won't re-start his throwing program until at least next week. He hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 and figures to need substantial time to ramp back up once he's able to start throwing from a mound again. The southpaw is currently on the 60-day IL and isn't eligible to return until Sept. 5, though it appears the team isn't banking on him rejoining the club on that date. Kershaw's greatest value to the organization -- and to fantasy managers -- would be as a starter, so the hope is that the future Hall of Famer will be able to start throwing again soon.

The Phillies reinstated Falter (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list Saturday.

As expected, the lefty reliever rejoins the Phillies after being on the virus-related IL since July 20. Falter has a 4.50 ERA in 18 relief innings with the big-league club this season and may get some middle-innings work Saturday with Matt Moore starting.

Luzardo (4-5) picked up the win in Friday's 14-10 win over the Cubs, coughing up five runs on six hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out six.

The southpaw tossed only 60 of 106 pitches for strikes and was hit hard when he was in the zone, getting taken deep twice while also giving up a double and a triple among his six hits allowed, but an 11-run second inning by the Marlins made Luzardo's struggles somewhat moot. The 23-year-old has a 9.20 ERA through his first three starts for Miami and has walked 11 batters in 14.2 innings, and the control and command issues he displayed earlier in the year with Oakland don't appear to be solvable simply via a change of scenery.