MLB Player News

Strider (elbow) allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out 13 batters over 5.1 innings on Thursday in his third rehab start for Triple-A Gwinnett.

Just as Atlanta had planned heading into the day, Strider reached 90 pitches (62 strikes) in Thursday's outing and breezed through the start in dominant fashion. He struck out the first six batters he faced and punched out 13 of 21 batters overall while inducing 21 total swinging strikes and maxing out at 97 miles per hour with his fastball. Suffice to say, the 26-year-old right-hander looks ready to return from the 15-day injured list, and all that's left is for Atlanta to decide when to insert him into the rotation for his 2025 debut. He has been pitching on five days' rest during his rehab assignment, so if that trend holds, Strider would be lined up to pitch for Atlanta in Wednesday's series finale in Toronto.

Munoz will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis prior to Friday's game against the Phillies, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

It will be the corresponding move after Chris Roycroft was optioned to Memphis on Thursday. Munoz has yielded one run with a 7:5 K:BB over five innings with Memphis this season, recording one save. The righty is making a full-time move to a reliever role in 2025 after spending most of his career in the minors and in 2024 with the Marlins as a starting pitcher.

The Marlins reinstated Alcantara (personal) from the paternity list Thursday.

Alcantara will rejoin the Marlins for their home series with the Nationals this weekend after he was away from the team for the past three days following the birth of his child. He's slated to start Saturday's game in what will be his third outing of the season and his first since April 1, after his previously scheduled start last weekend against Atlanta was rained out.

The Marlins optioned Bellozo to Triple-A Jacksonville on Thursday.

Bellozo had a brief stay on the Marlins' active roster, as he'll head back to the minors just a few days after he was called up to make a spot start Monday. The right-hander took a loss against the Mets after giving up one earned run on five hits and two walks over 3.2 innings. He'll cede his spot to Sandy Alcantara (personal), who was reinstated from the paternity list and is on track to make his next start Saturday versus the Nationals.

The Pirates optioned Harrington to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Called up from Triple-A on April 1 when the Pirates temporarily expanded to a six-man rotation, Harrington was lit up for six earned runs over four innings while taking a loss in his MLB debut against the Rays. He shifted back to the bullpen following that start and piggybacked Carmen Mlodzinski in Monday's win over the Cardinals, earning a four-inning save while allowing three earned runs. The Pirates still envision Harrington filling a starting role in the long term, so he'll head back to Indianapolis and will presumably re-enter the Triple-A club's rotation this weekend. He could be back with the Pirates in short order, however, as Pittsburgh will begin a stretch of 10 games in 10 days Friday and could bring Harrington aboard for a spot start during that stretch to keep ace Paul Skenes on a five-day rest schedule between starts.

Senzatela (0-2) took the loss against Milwaukee on Wednesday, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits and one walk while notching three strikeouts over 4.1 innings.

Senzatela didn't allow an earned run over 9.2 frames across his first two starts of the campaign, but those results seemed quite misleading given that he gave up 19 hits during that span. The eight hits the righty allowed Wednesday remarkably registered as his fewest so far this season, but the parade of baserunners caught up to him this time around, as the Brewers pounded him for nine runs, five of which came via the long ball. Senzatela has posted an ERA below 4.38 just once in his eight big-league seasons, so his run-free first two starts never seemed likely to hold up, especially given his home ballpark. Senzatela will nonetheless look to bounce back the next time he takes the mound, which is tentatively slated to be in Los Angeles in a tough matchup against the Dodgers early next week.

Alexander didn't factor in the decision against Colorado on Wednesday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 3.2 innings.

Alexander was handed a 5-0 lead through three frames, but he wasn't able to go deep enough to qualify for the victory. The southpaw didn't allow Colorado to catch up, though he yielded constant traffic on the basepaths -- the Rockies put multiple runners on base in each of the four frames in which Alexander pitched. After impressing with 5.2 scoreless innings his previous trip to the mound, this was a bit of a disappointing step back for Alexander, though it was far from a disastrous outing since Milwaukee ended up winning in a 17-2 rout. There's a good chance Alexander will stick in the rotation, at least in the short term, given the Brewers have already been decimated by injuries to starting pitchers.

Holmes completed four scoreless innings against Philadelphia on Wednesday, allowing three hits and issuing four walks while striking out six batters in a no-decision.

There were definitely positives to take away from Holmes' performance, as he notched 12 whiffs en route to six punchouts while holding the Phillies scoreless. However, the right-hander was very inefficient -- he needed 104 pitches to get through four innings due in part to issuing four free passes. Holmes has struggled with his control early in the campaign, handing out eight walks across his first nine innings, though he's also racked up 11 strikeouts in that span. His inability to complete more than four innings in his first two starts (he also has a one-inning relief appearance) isn't promising, but Holmes will likely stick in the rotation even when Spencer Strider (elbow) returns to the big-league club, given Reynaldo Lopez is set for an extended absence after undergoing shoulder surgery Tuesday.

Walker tossed 4.2 scoreless innings against Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing five hits and three walks while striking out five batters in a no-decision.

Walker followed his six-inning scoreless outing in his first start of the campaign with another no-run effort Wednesday. This time around, though, he wasn't as sharp, as he needed 94 pitches (only 53 of which were strikes) to get through 4.2 frames. Walker departed with two outs in the fifth after loading the bases on a single and two walks, but reliever Jose Ruiz was able to continue the shutout bid by getting Austin Riley to pop out. Walker has hurled 10.2 frames without yielding a run across his first two starts, and he'll look to extend the scoreless-inning streak his next time out, which lines up to be a home matchup against the Giants early next week.

Alcantara will be reinstated from the paternity list Friday and is penciled in to make his next start Saturday against the Nationals, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Alcantara was originally set to start Sunday against Atlanta, but that game got rained out, and the right-hander went on the paternity list the next day. He'll get another day to rest after he returns to the active roster Friday, which will make Saturday's outing his first appearance in 12 days. He'll be welcomed back by a Washington offense that currently ranks 10th in the majors with a .722 OPS.