MLB Player News

Matz (10-8) allowed four hits and three walks while striking out seven across six scoreless innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

The Mets gave Matz plenty of run support early by jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning. He proved capable of maintaining it, generating 15 of his 18 outs via strikeout or groundball. After being tagged for several blowup outings throughout the first half of the season, Matz has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 10 of his last 11 starts since a brief stint in the bullpen that ended on July 16. For the campaign, he now touts a 3.84 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 139 strikeouts across 145.1 innings. He's currently projected to make his next start in a tough matchup Monday at Coors Field against the Rockies.

Ray (12-8) allowed five earned runs on five hits and no walks while striking out one across two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Wednesday against the Mets.

Ray surrendered four extra-base hits -- including two home runs -- to the eight batters he faced before pulled from the disastrous outing. He had been battling a blister that developed during his last start, which could serve to explain some of his struggles. Even prior to that issue, however, Ray had struggled to work deep into games, lasting six innings only once in his last seven appearances. Assuming good health, Ray will look to get back on track on his next outing, currently expected to come Monday against the Marlins.

Cueto is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at Boston, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Cueto made his first outing of the season in Tuesday's win over the Pirates and delivered five scoreless innings, and he'll receive six days of rest before his next outing. The veteran right-hander needed only 69 pitches and could have an increased workload in his second start, though the Giants are likely to remain fairly cautious.

Anderson (knee surgery) will likely open the 2020 season on the injured list, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

He underwent left knee surgery in June, and it sounds like it will carry at least a 10-month recovery timetable. Anderson would not have been an appealing player to draft even if he were fully healthy. He had an 11.76 ERA in five starts this year.

Freeland (groin) will likely throw one more bullpen session before coming off the 10-day injured list, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

He has now thrown a couple bullpen sessions and could return sometime next week, although he likely won't be fully built back up as a starter. Freeland had a 6.75 ERA in eight second-half starts before landing on the shelf.

Woodruff (oblique) threw around 40 quality pitches against hitters Wednesday, Sophia Minnaert of FOX Sports Wisconsin reports.

He apparently got a fist bump from general manager David Stearns after the live batting-practice session, which Minnaert says could be the final step before he is activated off the injured list. Woodruff said he used all of his pitches Wednesday. Once activated, he'll likely return to the rotation, although he's not expected to go very deep in his first start back.

It is unclear when Gonsolin will pitch next after it was announced that Hyun-Jin Ryu will start Saturday's game against the Mets.

The Dodgers are piggybacking Ross Stripling and Dustin May on Wednesday and then Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Ryu and Walker Buehler will start the next four games. Gonsolin will likely be available to relieve Ryu on Saturday, but it's unclear if he will make any more starts in the near future.

Ryu will start Saturday's game against the Mets, Alanna Rizzo of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

He has convinced manager Dave Roberts that his recent struggles are more about mechanics than fatigue, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports. Ryu has a 9.95 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in 19 innings over his last four starts.

Wacha (6-7) took the loss against the Rockies on Tuesday, allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk over four innings while also recording three strikeouts.

Wacha was deployed as a conventional starter after working as a bullpen-day opener last Wednesday, and he did a reasonably good job keeping the Rockies at bay in the fertile hitting conditions of Coors Field. However, his one mistake, a mammoth 482-foot two-run home run off the bat of Nolan Arenado, proved to be all Colorado would need with the Cardinals ultimately limited to just one run in the contest. Wacha has settled in to an extent since mid-August, allowing no more than three earned runs in any of his last five outings. However, keeping the ball in the park has continued to be an issue, with Wacha surrendering five home runs over his last four trips to the mound and yielding a career-high 26 round trippers overall across 116 innings this season.

Walker (elbow, shoulder) threw a 14-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

This marked Walker's first bullpen session in four months, and it went well. He threw only fastballs and said he felt normal doing so, giving Walker hope that he can throw an inning in the regular season. "If I can get in there and just, kind of, for myself, mentally, and know, hey, I can still go out there and compete, know that everything is working good," he said. "And I can go into the offseason feeling good about the last two years of the work I've been putting in to get back." Manager Torey Lovullo said Monday the "window might be closing" for Walker to return during the regular season, so the right-hander may have to settle on a different setting for that inning of work.