The Reds activated Burns (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Burns wound up missing a month of action with a Grade 1 right flexor strain. He did not go out on a rehab assignment, and the Reds' plan is to deploy the rookie flamethrower as a reliever down the stretch. While Burns is likely to be quite successful in a relief role, he will not be used as the team's closer, so it will be difficult for him to churn out much fantasy value in the final weeks.

Painter struck out six over five scoreless innings Wednesday while allowing three hits and zero walks for Triple-A Lehigh Valley against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

This was arguably Painter's best start of the season, which isn't saying much, as he's thrown two quality starts on the year and this was his lone instance with five-plus innings, zero runs and zero walks. Indeed, he'd given up 12 earned runs on 19 hits and six walks over his last two starts, so it's hard to say with confidence that Painter has righted the ship. Painter sat 94-97 mph with his four-seamer (touched 98 mph) in this start, with his changeup, slider and curveball each getting whiffs over 35 percent of the time. The 22-year-old righty has a 5.35 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and a 105:44 K:BB in 102.2 innings for the IronPigs.

Sproat is slated to start Saturday's game against the Rangers at Citi Field.

Called up from Triple-A Syracuse last weekend, Sproat turned in a largely impressive MLB debut in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Reds. The 24-year-old righty held the Reds hitless through the first 5.1 innings but unraveled a bit thereafter, finishing the contest with three earned runs allowed on three hits and four walks while striking out seven across six frames. He spotted 58 of his 88 pitches for strikes in the outing and averaged 96.1 miles per hour with his fastball, though he didn't induce many whiffs (six swinging strikes). With the Mets recently dispatching the struggling Kodai Senga to the minors and with Sean Manaea's standing in the rotation on shaky ground, Sproat should have a good chance to make three more starts with the big club through the end of the regular season.

The Phillies will call up Buehler from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start Friday's game against the Royals in Philadelphia.

Just as Matt Gelb of The Athletic had reported Aug. 31 when the Phillies signed Buehler to a minor-league deal, the right-hander will end up joining the big club for the final 15 games of the regular season as the team expands its rotation to six men. Before he was cut loose by Boston, Buehler had submitted a 5.45 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 84:55 K:BB in 112.1 innings on the season, but the Phillies are hoping that the change of scenery can help the two-time All-Star rediscover his prior form. After being assigned to the minors following his signing, Buehler made one start for Lehigh Valley this past Saturday, striking out five over three innings while allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks.

Vasquez is slated to start Thursday's game against the Rockies at Petco Park.

The Padres activated Michael King from the injured list earlier this week, but with Nestor Cortes (biceps) still stuck on the shelf, Vasquez will get at least one more turn through the rotation. After being recalled from Triple-A El Paso last weekend, Vasquez delivered a quality start in the Padres' win over the Rockies at Coors Field, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and no walks while striking out three over six innings. He'll take a 3.91 ERA and 1.38 WHIP into Thursday's rematch with the Rockies in San Diego.

Skenes came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Orioles, allowing only two hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The young ace was lifted after just 64 pitches (43 strikes), but that still gave Skenes plenty of time to rack up his 200th strikeout of the season -- becoming the eighth pitcher in Pirates history to accomplish the feat. Through 178 innings in his first full season in the majors, he's posted an MLB-leading 1.92 ERA, while his 0.92 WHIP is second to Detroit's Tarik Skubal and his 203 Ks are third behind Boston's Garrett Crochet (228) and Skubal (222). Skenes will look to keep burnishing his NL Cy Young Award resume in his next start, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Cubs.

Burns (elbow) will initially pitch out of the bullpen upon his expected activation Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Burns will be limited in his innings and usage but could make a serious impact as a reliever. The right-hander can pair a triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider in short outings. Burns has worked his way back from a flexor tendon strain that's kept him on the injured list since Aug. 15 (retroactive to Aug. 12).

Sale (5-5) was charged with the loss Wednesday against the Cubs, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out nine.

Sale continues to rack up the strikeouts, as he's now fanned nine in three consecutive outings since coming off the injured list. The three runs allowed were his most since his April 13 start in Tampa Bay, but the All-Star southpaw has registered at least seven punchouts in 11 of his last 12 appearances dating back to the end of April. On the year, he has a stellar 2.52 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 141:28 K:BB across 107 frames. Sale is next slated to face the division-rival Nationals, who have a paltry .574 OPS against left-handed pitching since the All-Star break.

Taillon didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against Atlanta, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

Taillon appeared to have a slight limitation on his workload in his return from the injured list, as he threw just 79 pitches Wednesday. The veteran right-hander still managed to put in 4.1 serviceable frames, although the two strikeouts represented his second-lowest total of the season. Taillon will be aiming to handle a full starter's workload in his next appearance, which lines up as a favorable matchup against the last-place Pirates. Through 110.2 innings, he has a 4.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 83:23 K:BB.

Freeland (4-15) took the loss against the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing four runs (one earned) on nine hits and one walk while striking out five batters over 5.2 innings.

All four of the runs Freeland allowed came in the second frame, though an inning-opening Rockies error meant that only one of those runs was earned. Nonetheless, Freeland was hardly sharp -- he gave up at least one hit in all but one of the frames in which he pitched and was pulled with two outs in the sixth after loading the bases. The southpaw's loss was his 15th of the campaign, tied for most in the majors with teammate Antonio Senzatela and Washington's Mitchell Parker. Freeland will look to avoid another defeat the next time he takes the mound, which is slated to be next week against Miami.