MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks moved Greinke up a day in the pitching schedule to start Thursday's series opener against the Nationals, Doug Padilla of MLB.com reports.

While Greinke will lose out on an extra day of rest with the adjustment in the Diamondbacks' pitching schedule, fantasy owners should be thankful that he'll avoid a head-to-head matchup with Nationals ace Max Scherzer and instead toe the rubber against Tanner Roark. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo indicated that Matt Koch would also be pushed up a day in the schedule to start Friday as Arizona waits until Saturday to welcome a new fifth starter into the rotation while Robbie Ray (oblique) remains on the disabled list. Triple-A Reno pitchers Troy Scribner, Taylor Clarke and Jake Buchanan are all considered options for the Saturday spot start.

Eflin will stick in the rotation for the time being after the pitcher he replaced, Ben Lively (back), was activated from the 10-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Eflin made it an easy decision for the Phillies to choose him over Lively (0-2, 6.85 ERA in five starts) after recording a 0.71 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB through his first two outings with the big club. It's worth noting that both of those turns came against weak offenses in the Marlins and Giants, but the right-hander nonetheless seems to have exhibited legitimate skills growth after struggling mightily across 22 starts in the big leagues the past two seasons. As Zolecki notes, Eflin's four-seam fastball is up to 94.4 miles per hour this season -- a gain of one and a half ticks from 2017 -- and was instrumental in generating a career-high 14 swinging strikes in his last outing Monday against the Giants. Eflin gets a tougher draw at home against the Mets in his next scheduled start Saturday, and he'll likely need to keep delivering serviceable outings if he's to maintain a rotation spot once Jerad Eickhoff (lat) is ready to come off the 10-day disabled list later this month.

Thompson was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

Thompson will take the place of Zac Curtis on the active roster as the Phillies look to replenish their bullpen ahead of Thursday's series finale against San Francisco. Over three long-relief appearances with the big-league club this season, Thompson has logged a 7.27 ERA and 1.62 WHIP with a 9:4 K:BB in 8.2 innings.

Flaherty struck out a career-high 13 batters while allowing two earned runs on six hits over 6.2 innings in Triple-A Memphis' win over Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Flaherty allowed a solo home run and RBI single to the Dodgers' Donovan Solano, but he was otherwise dominant, even recording seven straight strikeouts from the last out of the third through the fifth inning, Tyler Maun of MiLB.com reports. The promising right-hander has been solid in a pair of spot starts at the big-league level this season as well, generating a 3.60 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 10 innings. Flaherty has been even better with the Redbirds, posting a 4-1 record, 2.27 ERA, .190 BAA and 0.92 WHIP across 31.2 innings.

Wood gave up a run on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts through five innings in a no-decision Wednesday against Arizona.

Despite having an entirely fine season -- Wood has just three quality starts, but has allowed more than three runs just twice in eight outings -- Wood remains winless in 2018. His wildness caught up to him Wednesday, as he needed 94 pitches to get through five innings thanks in large part to three walks and just 12 first-pitch strikes to 22 hitters. Wood deserves far better than an 0-3 record, though, and he'll get another chance to prove it Tuesday against Miami.

Corbin allowed one run on three hits and four walks with seven strikeouts through five innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Corbin held opponents under two runs scored for the fourth time in eight starts, and he still hasn't allowed more than three runs all season long. That said, Corbin was wild Wednesday, as he needed 96 pitches to get through five innings, and just 50 of those were strikes. He threw just eight of his 27 sliders for strikes, five of which were swinging -- only three were actually in the strike zone, per Brooks Baseball. Wednesday's start from Corbin was essentially the definition of effectively wild. Still, it was effective, and Corbin will carry a 2.12 ERA into Monday's start against the Brewers.

Lucchesi allowed just one run on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts over five innings but was left with a no-decision Wednesday against the Nationals.

Lucchesi threw just 69 pitches, but was pulled after allowing a single and a walk to open the sixth inning. The leash seems short for Lucchesi, and the Padres may be looking to limit his innings, as his 139 minor-league innings last year were a career high. Lucchesi induced four swinging strikes with his curveball Wednesday night, but you really know he's on when he's missing bats with his sinker, which drew seven whiffs on 45 offerings (15.6 percent). His 2.98 ERA is best among rookies (minimum 25 innings pitched), but unfortunately, Lucchesi's fantasy value will be limited by both the Padres' lineup and the short leash on which the club has kept him thus far.

Anderson (2-1) took the loss against the Angels on Wednesday, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk over five innings while striking out three.

The left-hander threw 55 of 80 pitches for strikes but served up two home runs for the second straight start, pushing his ERA up to 4.23. Anderson will look to turn things around Monday on the road against the Padres.

Lively (back) was activated from the 10-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Wednesday.

Lively, who spent the past two weeks on the disabled list with a back injury, will join Lehigh Valley's rotation. He compiled a 6.85 ERA and 1.86 WHIP across five starts (23.2 innings) with the Phillies before landing on the disabled list. The 26-year-old will be an option to rejoin the big-league rotation should an opening emerge.

Quintana (4-2) picked up the win over the Marlins on Wednesday, giving up one run on five hits and two walks over six innings while striking out five.

The left-hander got more than enough run support in the 13-4 rout as he threw 61 of 108 pitches for strikes. Quintana has only three quality starts in seven outings so far in 2018 en route to a 4.40 ERA, but his 24:8 K:BB over his last 23.1 innings suggests he may have turned a corner. He'll next take the mound Tuesday in Atlanta.