MLB Player News

Buehler (finger) threw an 80-pitch simulated game Wednesday but will throw another before returning from the injured list, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Buehler battled a blister during his previous outing and was placed on the injured list. He would have been eligible to start at some point against the Rockies this weekend, but the Dodgers can afford to be cautious, so they'll give him another simulated outing before he returns to action. He's expected to make one start in the final week of the regular season as a tune-up for the playoffs.

May (foot) will be available out of the bullpen Wednesday against the Dodgers and is expected to throw a few innings, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Initial reports indicated that May had been scratched, presumably due to the foot injury that forced him to exit his previous start early. He's seemingly not still injured, as he's been cleared to pitch in some capacity. This could just be a case of the Dodgers testing out different arrangements for the playoffs. Brusdar Graterol will be the team's first pitcher Wednesday, though he's yet to record more than five outs in a game this season, so this will likely be a bullpen game.

May was scratched from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Padres for undisclosed reasons, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

While the Dodgers didn't initially provide a reason for the move, it's quite likely related to the comebacker that struck him on the foot in his previous outing, forcing him to exit after just one inning. Tests revealed no fracture, and he was previously listed as the expected starting following a successful bullpen session, but the Dodgers have evidently changed plans. Brusdar Graterol will start in his place in what will likely be a bullpen game.

Gray (shoulder) was shut down for the year by the Rockies on Wednesday, Nick Groke of The Athletic reports.

Gray hit the injured list in early September with right shoulder inflammation. There hasn't been any indication that the diagnosis is worse than initial reports suggested, but he simply doesn't have time to build back up before the end of the year. He'll finish the campaign with a very poor 6.69 ERA and a strikeout rate that collapsed to 12.6 percent, barely more than half of his 23.5 percent mark from 2019.

The Braves reinstated Hamels (triceps) from the 45-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday in Baltimore.

Atlanta demoted reliever Jasseel De La Cruz to its alternate training site to make room on the active roster for Hamels, who had been bothered by the shoulder/triceps injury dating back to spring training. Since Hamels just started up his throwing program in late August, he isn't yet ready to handle a normal starter's workload. As a result, Atlanta will allow Hamels to build up his pitch count with two or three starts over the final week and a half of the regular season, with the hope that he'll be able to handle a more normal workload during the postseason. Since he tossed three innings in his most recent simulated game, Hamels is aiming to throw around 55-to-60 pitches Wednesday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com.

Darvish allowed three earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out seven across seven innings Tuesday against Cleveland. He did not factor into the decision.

Darvish surrendered a season-worst nine hits but still managed to last seven frames and turn in a quality start. He also maintained his control -- 77 of his 100 total pitches went for strikes -- so it appears he was just missing some feel for his pitches. For the season, Darvish still has a stellar 2.00 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP while maintaining a 79:12 K:BB across 63 innings. He currently lines up to take his next turn through the rotation Sunday against Minnesota.

Flaherty (3-2) gave up nine runs on eight hits and two walks during the Cardinals' 18-3 loss on Tuesday. He struck out six.

In what was an unusual outing, Flaherty matched his season high with six strikeouts despite only recording nine outs. Seemingly punished for every mistake pitch, Flaherty was taken deep multiple times in a start for the first time in 2020. Tuesday also marked his first 2020 outing in which he gave up more than three runs. The ugly performance will balloon his marks, while Flaherty will take the mound against a poor Pirates lineup in his next start to try to get them more toward the levels he's accustomed to.

Lorenzen (2-1) recorded the win Tuesday versus Pittsburgh after giving up one run on four hits with six strikeouts and zero walks across five innings.

The 28-year-old received his first start since 2018 with Sonny Gray (back) on the injured list and performed well, inducing 15 swinging strikes on 76 pitches. Lorenzen has a 4.56 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 23:14 K:BB over 25.2 innings and seems likely to return to the bullpen role despite the strong showing as a spot starter.

Musgrove (0-5) took the loss Tuesday in Cincinnati after allowing four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and one walk over five innings.

The 27-year-old ran into most of his trouble during the first inning as he loaded the bases before recording an out, and the Reds pushed across three runs via a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly and a single. Musgrove has a 5.74 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 34:14 K:BB across 26.2 innings and is on track to face the Cardinals on Sunday.

Alcantara (2-2) took the loss Tuesday against the Red Sox after giving up one run on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks across six innings.

The right-hander pitched well Tuesday but was saddled with the loss as the Marlins mustered only four hits. Alcantara has a 3.45 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 26:11 K:BB through 26.2 innings and lines up to pitch one of the games during Sunday's doubleheader versus the Nationals.