MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said Woodford will be called up from Triple-A Memphis to start Monday's game against the Cubs, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Woodford will step into the rotation for his second career big-league start after getting stretched out in the minors following his June 28 demotion from the big club. The 24-year-old right-hander turned in mediocre results while working out of the St. Louis bullpen earlier this season, but he was sharper in his most recent two starts at Memphis. He covered 10 innings between the two outings while allowing only three runs (two earned) on seven hits and five walks. Woodford should be in store for a two-start week, with his second turn likely to come Saturday in Cincinnati.

Small (finger), who was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Nashville on Thursday, won't throw for at least two weeks before being re-evaluated, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Once he's cleared to throw again, Small will need additional time to ramp up for starting duty, so he could be on the shelf for more than a month due to a tendon strain of his left middle finger. Between stops at Nashville and Double-A Biloxi this season, Small has compiled a 1.77 ERA and 1.21 WHIP across 56 innings.

Brubaker allowed four runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 3.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Mets on Sunday.

Brubaker was spotted a six-run lead after the first inning, but he gave a large chunk of it back and wouldn't have qualified for the win even if the Pirates did hold on due to the short start. The right-hander has allowed at least four runs in each of his three July starts. For the year, he's posted a 4.68 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 93:22 K:BB through 92.1 innings. He's projected for a tough start in San Francisco next weekend.

Darvish (hip) completed a bullpen session Saturday and remains on track to start Monday against the Braves, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Darvish described the bullpen session as "strong" and indicated that he's "100 percent" and "ready to go Monday." The right-hander also explained that he was dealing with an illness prior to his last start, saying, "I felt it in my head. The next two days I was feeling good. But the day of my start, right before the game I went to the bullpen, I started to feel a little like achy in my body." The illness may have been a factor in his poor outing and the Padres' subsequent decision to place him on the injured list, though left hip inflammation was the official diagnosis. Now that the hip is better and Darvish is past the illness, he should have no restrictions when he starts at Atlanta on Monday.

Snell pitched four innings against Washington on Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks while striking out three. He did not factor in the decision.

The game was suspended in the sixth inning due to a shooting outside the park, but Snell had already departed and been ruled out of factoring in the decision. The left-hander struggled with his control, throwing only 42 of 74 pitches for strikes and walking more batters (four) than he struck out (three). Walks have been a major factor in Snell's struggles this season -- Saturday marked the second straight game in which he walked four batters, and he has issued multiple free passes in all but two of his 17 outings. In fact, his 5.81 BB/9 ranks second-worst among MLB hurlers who have tossed at least 50 innings. Snell will look to turn things around in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in Miami on Thursday.

Walker allowed six runs (five earned) on four hits and four walks while retiring just one batter in Sunday's game versus Pittsburgh. He did not factor in the decision.

It was arguably the worst outing of the year for the right-hander, but he was able to avoid taking the loss as the Mets rallied to win the game. Walker's ERA ballooned from 2.50 to 2.99 after the abbreviated start, and he has a 1.12 WHIP and 89:34 K:BB through 90.1 innings this season. The 28-year-old lines up to start next weekend versus Toronto after throwing just 35 pitches (17 strikes) Sunday.

Reds manager David Bell said after Sunday's 8-0 loss to the Brewers that Lorenzen (hamstring) will be placed on the 10-day injured list prior to Monday's series opener versus the Mets, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

After a prolonged stint on the 60-day IL due to a shoulder strain suffered in spring training, Lorenzen was finally cleared to make his season debut with the Reds coming out of the All-Star break. He tossed a clean inning out of the bullpen in Saturday's 7-4 loss, but he strained his right hamstring during the appearance and will face another shutdown. The Reds haven't revealed the extent of his injury, but hamstring strains often carry volatile recovery timelines.

Eickhoff will start Monday's game against the Reds, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Eickhoff served as the primary pitcher in his last appearance, but he'll make his third start of the season in Monday's series opener. Across three appearances (two starts) in 2021, the right-hander has posted a 4.97 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in 12.2 innings.

The Marlins promoted Garrett from Triple-A Jacksonville and will have him start Sunday's series finale against the Phillies, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

An injury-plagued Miami rotation took another hit earlier this weekend when Pablo Lopez (shoulder) hit the shelf, so Garrett could be in store for additional starts beyond Sunday, regardless of how he fares versus Philadelphia. Garrett was lit up for seven runs on 15 hits and five walks across 11.1 innings in his three other appearances at the big-league level in 2021, but he's been a more reliable performer over a larger sample of 10 starts at Triple-A (4.41 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8.6 K/9).

Strider struck out six while allowing one run on four hits and a walk over five innings for Double-A Mississippi on Saturday.

It's been a strong first pro campaign for the 2020 fourth-round pick, who's already on his third level of the minors this year. After pitching to a 1.50 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 16.8 K/9 across seven starts in Low-A and High-A, Strider got bumped up to Double-A, where he's seen a couple rough outings mar his stat line. The 22-year-old holds a 5.59 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across five starts with Mississippi because of those hiccups -- particularly his July 11 start, a five-run disaster in two-thirds of an inning -- but he's also turned in several sparkling outings in Double-A, including an 11-strikeout gem back on July 6. A cerebral pitcher with good stuff and an aggressive approach, Strider hasn't picked up a lot of hype in prospect circles yet, but that's likely to change as he approaches the majors.