MLB Player News

Greinke (7-5) picked up the win in Saturday's 7-2 victory over the Pirates, giving up only two hits over six scoreless innings while striking out seven.

The right-hander's relatively short outing was due to having to work around two rain delays rather than any inefficiency, and Greinke eventually threw 53 of 88 pitches for strikes as he played the strike zone like a piano en route to his eighth quality start of the season. He'll carry a 3.66 ERA into his next outing Thursday in Miami.

Mikolas (8-2) allowed two earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five across 6.2 innings to earn the win Saturday against the Brewers.

Mikolas allowed both of the earned runs in the first inning and then proceeded to record 16 outs without allowing a hit. While he has been able to bounce back on both occasions, Mikolas has allowed six earned runs in the first inning across his last two starts, a concerning trend. Otherwise, he continues to turn in strong results, allowing only 0.7 HR/9 on the strength of a 51 percent groundball rate.

Nola (9-2) struck out five and picked up the win in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Nationals, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over six innings.

The right-hander settled down after Washington jumped on him for two runs in the bottom of the first inning, throwing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes en route to his 12th quality start of the season. Nola will carry a 2.58 ERA into his next outing Thursday, a rematch with the Nats back in Philadelphia.

DeGrom (5-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings in a loss to the Dodgers on Saturday.

The three walks matched his season high and the six strikeouts tied for his third-lowest total in a start this season. Afterward, deGrom expressed frustration with how he threw the ball, telling Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that he wasn't able to locate, but even deGrom's off nights are better than most starters' good nights. He will take a 1.69 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 126:27 K:BB into next weekend's outing in Miami.

Anderson (4-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over six-plus innings while striking out eight in a 6-2 loss to the Marlins.

The left-hander was solid through six innings, but after running into trouble to begin the seventh he got the hook and had to watch Bryan Shaw allow his inherited runners to score. Anderson will take a 4.62 ERA into his next outing Friday on the road against the Dodgers.

Flexen will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Jason Vargas (calf) is headed to the disabled list and Flexen will come up to take his spot on the roster. Flexen is also an option to start Sunday's series finale against the Dodgers in place of Vargas, although he's not a lock for that assignment according to DiComo. Flexen had a poor outing with the big club earlier in the year (three earned runs, eight hits over two innings) and he's mostly struggled with Las Vegas, posting a 5.43 ERA and 1.76 WHIP in 12 appearances.

Kershaw allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four over three innings in a no-decision against the Mets on Saturday.

Kershaw was limited to 55 pitches in his return from a back strain after the Dodgers decided to have him skip a minor-league rehab start. While not exactly dominant -- he induced just four swinging strikes -- Kershaw's fastball velocity was up from the last time we saw him, sitting 91-92 mph according to Ryan Walton of SB Nation. The lefty will presumably face a pitch count in next week's start (likely Thursday against the Cubs), but his restrictions figure to be mostly lifted after that outing.

Farrell (2-3) allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out four across 2.2 innings to take the loss Saturday against the Reds.

Farrell made his first start of the season and quickly stumbled, allowing a two-run homer to the second batter he faced. He was forced into the rotation as the result of a doubleheader Tuesday, so he isn't likely to see many more starts throughout the season. As a member of the Cubs' bullpen, he has managed 30 strikeouts in 20 innings but has failed to record a save or hold.

DeSclafani (3-1) allowed two earned runs on three hits and four walks while striking out three across 6.1 innings to earn the win Saturday against the Cubs.

DeSclafani managed his longest outing of the season -- in terms of both number of pitches and outs recorded -- against the dangerous Cubs lineup. However, he wasn't especially deceptive as he generated only three strikeouts and allowed two home runs. The long ball has emerged as a concern as he has now allowed five home runs in 22 innings. However, he is trending in the correct direction as he has seen improved results in each of his starts since coming off the disabled list on June 5.

Buehler (ribs) threw off flat ground Saturday, but his scheduled bullpen session was pushed back to Sunday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Buehler was apparently still feeling pain in his ribs, which isn't a great sign, though if the session only ends up being postponed by one day it won't change his overall return timeline by much. The young righty hasn't pitched since June 8 after being shut down with a rib microfracture.