MLB Player News

Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton tossed two innings during an extended spring training game Monday, the latest outing in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Morton, who underwent reconstructive elbow surgery last June, fired 29 pitches without any reported issue and mixed in his secondary pitches with his fastball.

"The velocity was very good," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "These innings are building up arm strength, the pitches, but he's not throwing a lot of pitches other than the sinker right now. That's something that we've got to add in from time to time and we want to incrementally put them in one at a time. He's in a very good place. He's still on schedule."

Pirates pitching prospect Gerrit Cole endured a shaky outing in his Triple-A season debut Friday.

Cole retired eight batters in a row after allowing a one-out first-inning single. The right-hander allowed three runs on five hits in four innings of work. He also struck out two in 63 pitches, 40 strikes.

Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez, on the 15-day disabled list with mild right shoulder inflammation, resumed his throwing program Sunday, MLB.com reports. Manager Mike Redmond said that he hopes to have the 22-year-old back on the mound throwing a bullpen session by the end of the week.

Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright bounced back Sunday with a dominant performance against the Giants.

Wainwright (1-1), who made his second start of the season, allowed a run-scoring double to Angel Pagan and a run-scoring single to Pablo Sandoval in the third for his only damage of the afternoon. The right-hander worked seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out six. He didn't issue a walk while throwing 101 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Wainwright has a 3.46 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP through his first two starts. He is slated to make his home debut Saturday against the Brewers. The 31-year-old went 1-2 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP in three starts last season against Milwaukee.

Dodgers rookie starter Hyun-Jin Ryu turned in a solid performance as he picked up his first major-league victory Sunday afternoon against the Pirates.

Ryu (1-1) gave up a first-inning, two-run homer to Andrew McCutchen before settling down and retiring 18 of the last 20 batters he faced. The left-hander worked 6 1/3 innings, giving up two run on three hits while striking out six. He also issued two walks while throwing 101 pitches, 67 for strikes.

The 26-year-old has a 2.13 ERA and 1.18 WHIP through his first two starts. He is slated to face the Diamondbacks on the road Saturday. Ryu has yet to pitch away from Dodger Stadium in his career.

Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels (0-2) struggled for the second-straight start, allowing eight runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings of a 9-8 loss to Kansas City in an interleague matchup Sunday. Hamels, who walked four and struck out two, opened the season by giving up five runs on seven hits in five innings in a loss to Atlanta.

The last time he failed to complete at least six innings in back-to-back outings came at the end of the 2010 season. The three-time All-Star has a 10.97 ERA after two starts. He will attempt to bounce back Saturday at Miami, which was shut out once in five games against Hamels last season.

Johnny Cueto earned a win and a quality start for the Reds in a 6-3 victory Sunday over Washington.

The ace allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out six and all his runs came on a three-run Kurt Suzuki homer.

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg (1-1) allowed six runs -- matching a career high -- and nine hits over 5 1/3 innings of a 6-3 loss at Cincinnati Sunday. Strasburg, who was charged with six runs only once in 28 starts last season, struck out five and walked four, one shy of his career high from his second career start.

The right-hander appeared shaky from the start and surrendered three runs in the first inning as he needed 114 pitches (73 strikes) to finish his outing -- just the 17th time in his career he failed to complete at least six innings.

Strasburg will attempt to rebound in his next start, Saturday at home against Atlanta. In five starts against the Braves last season, he was 3-1 with 4.10 ERA and 34 strikeouts.

Braves pitcher Julio Teheran will probably be one of the first players to attest that spring training stats are largely irrelevant. After posting a 1.04 ERA over six Grapefruit League starts, Teheran flopped in his regular-season debut Saturday against the Cubs and was charged with five runs in five innings.

Two of the eights hits he surrendered were homers as the hard-throwing righty struggled to carry over his refined arsenal of pitches from the spring, which includes improved breaking balls.

"He had a really good spring, but that's still his first outing under the lights," Braves catcher Gerald Laird told MLB.com. "He wants to make a good impression. Sometimes, you can try to do too much. But for the most part, I thought he threw the ball fine. I thought he just made some mistakes. He left some pitches up and those are the balls they hit hard."

Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard -- one of several heavily touted pitchers in the organization -- made his season debut Sunday, working four scoreless innings for Class A St. Lucie against Jupiter (Miami). Syndergaard, who was part of the package that sent catcher Travis d’Arnaud to New York in exchange for R.A. Dickey, allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five.

At just 20 years old, the right-hander is not expected to rise to the majors until at least the 2014 season.