MLB Player News

Lopez fell to 2-3 on the season after giving up six runs (five earned) in 5.1 innings Monday against the Braves. He allowed six hits, including one home run, while walking a pair and striking out five.

Lopez allowed a leadoff homer to Ronald Acuna and didn't improve much from there. He allowed a run on back-to-back doubles to lead off the fourth, an unearned run in the fifth and was pulled with one out in the sixth after allowing three baserunners, each of whom would come around to score. The poor start comes on the back of two good ones for the rookie. He'll get the chance to rebound Sunday in Washington.

Toussaint (1-0) picked up the win in his first career major-league start Monday against the Marlins, lasting six innings and allowing just one run on a pair of hits and a pair of walks while striking out four.

Toussaint could certainly have been handed a tougher assignment for his debut outing, but you can only beat what's in front of you and Toussaint did just that. Outside of the second inning, in which he gave up a run after letting the first three batters reach base, the 22-year-old never allowed a Marlin to reach second. The rookie was only up as the Braves' 26th man for Monday's doubleheader, so his time in the majors this time around is likely to be short-lived, but he certainly did enough to merit another look sometime soon.

Martinez (shoulder) will work out of the bullpen initially after he returns from the disabled list, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

Martinez was expected to miss three or four starts when he was placed on the disabled list back on July 31. It's possible that working as a reliever could allow him to beat that time, but he hasn't yet resumed throwing bullpen sessions, so his return date remains unclear.

The Marlins selected Gonzalez's contract from Double-A Jacksonville ahead of his scheduled start for the second game of Monday's doubleheader with the Braves.

Miami is expected to designate Gonzalez as their 26th man for the twin bill, likely meaning that the right-hander will be bound for Jacksonville immediately after making his first MLB start. Gonzalez owns an unremarkable 4.32 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 73 innings at Jacksonville this season, but he has been sharp over his past three Southern League outings. The 22-year-old has covered exactly seven innings while allowing only one run in each of those starts.

A primary driver of Nola's big season has been his success after the first time he goes through the lineup, The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

Hitters typically get better after seeing a pitcher once in a game, but against Nola this season, they've done worse. In his first time through the lineup, Nola has held hitters to a .226/.291/.339 line; hitters who have already seen him have hit just .182/.242/.259, good for a .223 wOBA, the lowest figure since times through the order stats began begin tracked in 2002. A big part of that success is due to his changeup, which he throws more often as the game progresses. The pitch is an excellent one in its own right, but also keeps hitters off his fastball. Batters slug just .178 against Nola's fastball after they've already seen him once. The next-best pitcher in that regard (Sean Newcomb) holds hitters to just a .312 slugging percentage.

Fried (groin) is close to joining Triple-A Gwinnett for a minor-league rehab start, David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta reports.

Fried landed on the disabled list last week with a strained left groin. He's apparently further along in his rehab than expected, and the southpaw could be cleared to rejoin the big-league club after one start with the Stripers if all goes well. It's still unclear if Fried will return to a starting role or transition to the bullpen once healthy.

Toussaint's contract was selected by the Braves ahead of his major-league debut start Monday afternoon against the Marlins.

In a somewhat complicated series of bureaucratic maneuvers, the Braves selected Toussaint's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett, optioned him back there and then brought him back up as their 26th man for the day's doubleheader, where he's scheduled to start the first game. That likely means that he'll only be around for one start at this time, but now that he's on the 40-man roster he's likely to be a September call-up and could be up again later in August if the Braves need another spot starter. Toussaint has a 2.68 ERA in 21 starts split between Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett this season, posting an impressive 10.7 K/9 and a 1.19 WHIP. Scout's opinions on Toussaint range from future no. 2 starter to future bullpen piece, as he has very good stuff (including an excellent curveball) paired with questionable command.

Anderson allowed four runs on five hits and two walks across four innings in a no-decision Sunday against the White Sox. He struck out four.

Anderson's struggles mainly came in the early stages, when he allowed a pair of runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning before Ronald Acuna's two-run home run in the second. He retired seven of the next eight men he faced, but he was already up to 82 pitches by that point and was removed in favor of the bullpen prior to the fifth. Anderson allowed four earned runs without completing five innings for the second straight start, bringing his season ERA up to 3.97. He hadn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his previous eight outings before this rough patch and will look to get back on track this weekend against the Cardinals.

Syndergaard (8-2) allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks across seven innings to earn the win Sunday against the Marlins. He struck out seven.

Syndergaard allowed singular runs in three different innings, but he did well to limit the damage each time and still came away with a quality start. He threw 68 percent of his pitches for strikes and induced 10 groundball outs to help his cause. Luckily, Syndergaard got just enough run support to escape with a victory and has now done so in four of his last five starts. His strikeout totals are also trending upward after recording just 11 in his first 17 innings since returning from the disabled list, and he'll look to continue his recent form this weekend against the Phillies.

Lugo worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless inning of work to earn his first save of the season Sunday against the Marlins.

Spotted a one-run lead, Lugo allowed the leadoff man to reach before inducing a double-play ball. The following batter reached as well, but the right-hander was able to induce another goundball out to close out the victory. The save was also the first of Lugo's career, and he could continue seeing opportunities to close with the Mets bullpen lacking a clear pecking order at the moment.