MLB Player News

Castillo (5-10) earned the win Thursday against the Cubs after allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks while fanning eight across six innings.

Castillo has been nothing short of dominant in recent weeks, and he hurled his ninth quality start in 11 appearances since the beginning of June. The right-hander, who endured a tough start to the campaign, has won his last two decisions and owns a 1.95 ERA and 1.11 WHIP through that 11-game stretch.

Freeland (1-6) lost Thursday's 3-0 affair with the Padres, allowing one run on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts in six innings.

Freeland allowed his lone run on back-to-back doubles to leadoff the game and only encountered trouble again in the sixth when San Diego ran into two outs at the plate. Freeland has pitched to a superb 2.40 ERA in five July starts, though he's been tagged as the loser in his last four turns thanks to receiving an anemic six total runs of support in July.

Walker (7-5) allowed five earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven across five innings to take the loss Thursday against Atlanta.

Walker held Atlanta scoreless through three innings. However, he fell apart late in the outing, highlighted by a pair of home runs in the fourth frame. Since maintaining a 2.50 ERA and 1.03 WHIP across his first 16 starts this season, Walker has allowed 16 earned runs across his last three outings -- spanning 9.1 innings. That's inflated his ERA to 3.71 on the campaign.

Musgrove (7-7) won Thursday's 3-0 victory over Colorado, allowing three hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in seven innings.

Musgrove required just 91 pitches to last seven frames, retiring the last eight Rockies he faced and striking out five in a row at one point. The excellent showing lowered his ERA to 2.94, a top-15 mark in MLB. The 11 whiffs are Musgrove's most since June 12.

Smyly allowed three earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out six across four innings Thursday against the Mets. He did not factor into the decision.

Smyly was gifted a 5-1 lead by the midpoint of the game, though he failed to record an out in the bottom of the fifth inning and failed to qualify for the win. Though he survived without a disastrous final line, Smyly allowed multiple runners to reach base in all but one of the frames he worked. He covered at least five innings in six consecutive starts spanning from June 13 to July 18, though he has now lasted only four frames in two consecutive starts. With the disappointing outing, Smyly now owns a 4.40 ERA with an 83:34 K:BB across 92 innings for the season.

Wheeler (8-6) allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across seven innings to take the loss in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

Wheeler dueled with Max Scherzer throughout the contest, and he held the Nationals to one run through six innings. However, he allowed a leadoff double and then a two-run home run to begin the seventh inning -- ending his outing on a sour note. Even so, Wheeler continues to show the ability to work deep into games, as he's completed seven or more innings in four of his last six starts. For the season, he has a 2.45 ERA with 165 strikeouts across 139.2 innings.

Peralta (8-3) picked up the win Thursday after blanking the Pirates across six innings. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Peralta continued his nearly unhittable season by allowing two or fewer hits for the 13th time. The 25-year-old displayed strong command to get the job done while needing only 68 pitches to complete six innings during the blowout victory. Peralta will bring a stellar 2.17 ERA and 0.87 WHIP into a projected rematch against Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Gray will be traded from the Dodgers to the Nationals on Thursday along with Keibert Ruiz, Gerardo Carrillo and Donovan Casey in exchange for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner (COVID-19), Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Gray was widely considered the top prospect in the Dodgers' system and recently made his major-league debut. He should slot right into the Nationals rotation, which is now missing both Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg (neck). Prior to getting the call to the majors, Gray posted a 2.87 ERA and 0.66 WHIP across 15.2 frames with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Cueto (7-5) picked up the win Thursday after holding the Dodgers scoreless across 5.2 innings. He allowed four hits and a pair of walks while striking out five.

Cueto turned in one of his best starts of the year against a volatile Dodgers lineup. After coughing up 11 home runs in his last eight starts, the right-hander turned things around by blanking his opponent for just the third time this year while running his fastball up to 95 mph. With the successful outing, Cueto improves to a 3.84 ERA and 1.25 WHIP on the season. He's tentatively slated to take the mound again in a favorable matchup on the road at Arizona on Tuesday.

Strasburg's thoracic outlet surgery went well Wednesday, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Persistent health problems have limited Strasburg to just seven starts over the last two seasons. The latest issue, neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, is one of the more worrisome issues a pitcher can go through. It's good news that the procedure went well, and the Nationals remain hopeful that the righty will be ready for the start of spring training, but his health history makes it tough to be optimistic about his outlook.