MLB Player News

Cubs reliever Neil Ramirez was shaky but managed to pick up his second save of the season Friday night against the Phillies in Philadelphia.

Ramirez served up a run-scoring single to Dominic Brown in the ninth inning to cut the lead in half. He allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out two over one inning of work. He owns a 1.13 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP in 16 innings of relief.

Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright, who received an anti-inflammatory injection in his elbow Wednesday, is expected to do some throwing on Saturday, general manager John Mozeliak told STLBaseballWeekly.com on Friday. It's still uncertain if Wainwright will make his next scheduled start Monday.

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole is expected to throw a side session on Sunday, manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Friday. The session was described as a "big day," according to the manager.

Cole completed a bullpen session on Thursday without any issues. He was limited to only fastballs in his session. He has been sidelined since June 8 because of shoulder fatigue.

Pirates pitcher Vance Worley has been scratched from Friday's minor-league start.

There's some speculation Worley will replace Francisco Liriano in the rotation for Sunday's start. Worley has posted a 4.30 ERA over 46 innings. 

Diamondbacks pitcher Wade Miley was not at his best but managed to escape his outing with a no-decision Thursday night against the Astros. The right-hander yielded four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out eight over five innings of a 5-4 loss in extras.

Miley owns a 4.71 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 15 starts (93 2/3 innings). He will try to get back on track Tuesday at home against Milwaukee.

Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole, who was scheduled to throw Friday, completed a bullpen session instead on Thursday, MLB.com reports. Cole threw 20 fastballs and did not report any setbacks. He has been sidelined since June 8 because of shoulder fatigue. 

I had only recently come around to Jason Hammel, bumping him up to 68th in my starting pitcher rankings (which is basically must-own) at last update. No chance I'm backing off after one rocky start. And neither should you.

What if you had when he allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings at St. Louis May 15? What about when he followed it up with two more less-than-quality starts, pitching 5 2/3 innings in each? You would have missed him pitching seven shutout innings in his next two starts, which affirmed, at least to me, that he's here to stay.

Which isn't to say he won't regress at all. If I honestly expected him to finish with a 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings, I wouldn't rank him only 68. For his numbers to normalize, he'll need to have occasional starts like Wednesday's.

But consider where he fell short exactly. He didn't issue a bunch of walks, which has been the biggest key to his success far. He still struck out six in nine innings. He gave up 11 hits, sure, but that happens from time to time for pitchers who throw as many strikes as he does and isn't necessarily a reflection of how well he pitched. If it continues, it's a problem, but after one start, it's no reason to sound the alarm.

Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke was sensational Thursday in Cincinnati - after the first three hitters he faced.

The only problem was that those two batters singled, homered and doubled, which was enough to lower his record to 8-3. The blast was courtesy of Todd Frazier.

Greinke settled down after the first inning to shut out the Reds through six, facing just one batter over the minimum in his last five innings. He finished having surrendered two runs on four hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

The Dodgers co-ace has struggled a bit in recent starts. He is 0-2 and has yielded 12 earned runs in 26 2/3 innings over his last four starts. He will try to turn it around Tuesday against Colorado.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels is not concerned about his high workload, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Heading into Wednesday's start, Hamels had tossed at least 115 pitches over his last four outings. He had a chance to get an extra day of rest, but elected to remain on schedule to make Wednesday's start. Though the workload has been high, both Hamels and manager Ryne Sandberg are not concerned moving forward. "He likes to be around that number," Sandberg said. "He likes to be around 120, 125."

Hamels has a 3.07 ERA over 67 1/3 innings.

Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel was charged with a loss Wednesday, giving up four earned runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings while striking out six in his team's 4-2 defeat against the Pirates.

Hammel (6-4) was coming off back-to-back scoreless performances before struggling through his second start with more than three earned runs this season. Even with the mediocre outing, he still owns a 2.81 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 76:18 K:BB ratio in 83 1/3 innings. Hammel is slated to face the Marlins Monday.