MLB Player News

Perez (3-5) picked up the win Wednesday against the Pirates, allowing one earned run on five hits and one walk while striking out eight in 5.1 innings.

Aside from a solo home run given up to Joey Bart in the sixth inning, Perez was outstanding Wednesday, racking up a season-high eight strikeouts en route to his third win of the season. Perez has excelled since being acquired by San Diego at the trade deadline, compiling a 1.96 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 21:3 K:BB in 18.1 innings (three starts). However, the 33-year-old has surrendered four long balls during that stretch and his 1.5 HR/9 (17th percentile) remains a concern moving forward.

Keller (10-7) took the loss Wednesday against the Padres, allowing eight earned runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out two.

Keller never found his footing in this one, as he failed to record an out before surrendering a three-run home run to Jake Cronenworth in the opening frame. The right-hander found himself down 8-0 in the third inning following a two-run blast by David Peralta. Keller has now given up a combined 15 earned runs over his past two starts, causing his ERA to balloon from 3.20 to 3.95. He now owns a 3.95 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 125:40 K:BB across 141.1 innings (24 starts) this season. Keller will look to get back on track in his next start, currently scheduled for early next week against the Rangers.

Manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday that Glasnow's next start will be pushed back to Saturday's game against the Cardinals, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Glasnow had originally been in line to start Friday's series opener, but the team will instead opt to give him an extra day of rest after he lasted seven innings in his most recent start. Justin Wrobleski is a likely candidate to come up from the minors to make a spot start Friday.

The Dodgers optioned Knack to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

After recording a four-inning save against the Brewers on Tuesday, Knack will head back to the minors in order to make room for Walker Buehler (hip), who was reinstated from the IL to start Wednesday's contest. The 27-year-old Knack has turned in a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 48 innings during his first season in the majors and would be a likely candidate to return to Los Angeles if the Dodgers' starter depth is tested down the stretch.

Buehler (hip) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start against the Brewers on Wednesday.

Right hip inflammation forced Buehler onto the injured list June 19, but he's now set to return to the Dodgers rotation for the first time in nearly two months. During his rehab assignment, the 30-year-old righty allowed nine earned runs in 12.2 innings across three starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City, though he gave up only one run in 5.1 frames during his most recent outing. Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Horton recently suffered a setback in his rehab for a right lat strain and isn't expected to return from Triple-A Iowa's 60-day injured list this season, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Though Horton is expected to resume throwing before Iowa's season comes to an end Sept. 22, the 22-year-old right-hander won't have enough time to get ramped up for a return to game action. The setback is a tough development for Horton, who is one of the Cubs' top pitching prospects and looked like a candidate to make his MLB debut at some point in 2024 before suffering the lat injury in late May. Over his nine starts with Double-A Tennessee and Iowa this season, Horton compiled a 4.46 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 40:13 K:BB over 34.1 innings.

Wicks (oblique) covered 1.2 innings and struck out two batters while giving up six earned runs on four hits and three walks in his first rehab outing Saturday with Triple-A Iowa.

In his first game action since landing on the injured list in mid-June with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, Wicks looked rusty, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that the left-hander came out of the 43-pitch outing feeling healthy, per MLB.com reports. According to Brett Taylor of BleacherNation.com, Wicks' fastball velocity hovered around 91 mph in the rehab outing, a couple ticks below his average for the season. The Cubs are hopeful that Wicks can gradually ramp up both his velocity and volume of pitches during his rehab assignment, which will most likely include at least two more starts. Wicks could still be on track to return from the 60-day IL before the end of August.

Blackburn (5-3) took the loss Tuesday, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on six hits and two walks over four innings as the Mets fell 9-4 to the A's. He struck out four.

After two quality starts in his first two outings for the Mets following a trade from Oakland, Blackburn ran into trouble against his former squad, with the big blow against him being a three-run homer in the third inning by former batterymate Shea Langeliers. Blackburn exited after 82 pitches (48 strikes), and Tuesday's stumble has left him with a 4.43 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 54:20 K:BB through 67 innings on the season. The veteran righty will look to bounce back in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come at home this weekend against the Marlins.

Morton did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's win over the Giants, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over six innings.

The Giants scratched across a run against Morton in the second and Tyler Fitzgerald took him yard in the third for the only major damage against him. Morton racked up eight strikeouts, which tied his season-best mark. His final strikeout of the evening, which came against Mike Yastrzemski in the sixth, was the 2,000th strikeout of his career. Morton has been alternating good and bad starts over his last four outings. He's allowed 13 runs, seven homers and struck out just five batters combined over the two bad starts, while allowing two runs and striking out 14 batters combined over his two good starts. It's been a struggle for the 40-year-old to find consistency over a longer stretch this season, and he now owns a 4.40 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 120:44 K:BB in 120.2 innings. He lines up to complete a two-start week against the Angels on Sunday.

Harrison did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's loss to Atlanta, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings.

Harrison surrendered two runs in the second, with one coming on a solo home run from Ramon Laureano. Travis d'Arnaud would then get a hold of one in the third for another solo blast to put Atlanta up 3-1. Harrison worked through another two scoreless frames before his night was over after 89 pitches. Since returning from injury July 6, Harrison has made it to six innings just once in seven starts and has given up six home runs over his last three outings. For the year, the 23-year-old lefty owns a 4.14 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 103:36 K:BB in 111 innings and lines up for a favorable matchup against the White Sox to begin next week.