MLB Player News

Kershaw (5-1) allowed one earned run on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven across six innings to earn the win Thursday against the Reds.

Kershaw surrendered his only run in the fourth inning, when he allowed the first three batters he faced to reach base. He was dominant otherwise and worked efficiently, needing only 80 pitches to record his 18 outs. This was also Kershaw's longest start since being activated from the injured list June 11, and he's given up only four earned runs across 15 innings in three starts since. Overall, Kershaw has maintained a 2.00 ERA with an impeccable 47:7 K:BB across 45 frames on the season.

Lodolo (back) threw four scoreless innings while allowing two hits, walking none and striking out five in a rehab outing with Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Lodolo was effective across 58 pitches. It wasn't a significant increase from his 49-pitch effort in his last rehab outing, so he may need one more turn through the rotation in Louisville before being activated. Regardless of exact timing, Lodolo appears set to rejoin the Reds rotation within the next week or two.

Eflin (knee) played catch, did agility work and caught fly balls prior to Thursday's game against San Diego, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Eflin also completed a bullpen session Wednesday, though his status for a potential start Saturday remains unclear. Interim manager Rob Thompson said the team expects to make a decision soon, and if Eflin does take the mound it will be without any workload restrictions.

Lugo was reinstated from the paternity list Thursday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Lugo has been away from the team since Monday for the birth of his child and was expected back in time for the team's weekend series against the Marlins. Now that he's officially back, Lugo should return to a setup role, working in front of Edwin Diaz. On the season, Lugo has maintained a 3.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 27:7 K:BB across 28.1 innings.

Montas allowed two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over eight shutout innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Thursday.

Montas got through 7.2 no-hit innings before allowing two-out singles to Adam Frazier and Luis Torrens. In the ninth, Zach Jackson and A.J. Puk combined to walk four batters, which combined with two wild pitches to waste Montas' gem of a start. The right-hander had one of his worst outings of the year last week versus the Royals, so it was encouraging to see him bounce back quickly. He has a 3.21 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 92:22 K:BB through 89.2 innings in 15 starts this year. He's projected for a tough road start versus the Yankees next week.

Ray allowed a run on four hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out six over six innings in a no-decision versus the Athletics on Thursday.

Ray gave up an RBI single to Christian Bethancourt in the first inning. For much of the game, it looked like that would lead to a hard-luck loss, but the Mariners scraped together two runs in the ninth inning to get the southpaw off the hook. Ray has turned in three straight quality starts, allowing two runs, 10 hits and four walks across his last 20 innings. For the season, he's trimmed his ERA to 4.07 with a 1.18 WHIP and 97:31 K:BB across 90.2 innings in 15 starts. He'll look to keep things rolling in a projected home start versus the Orioles next week.

Musgrove (undisclosed) was activated from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of his start against the Phillies on Thursday, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Musgrove landed on the COVID-19 injured list following his previous start last Thursday, but he quickly cleared the necessary protocols and will start versus Philadelphia. The right-hander has produced a quality start in al 12 of his outings this year and has a 1.59 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB across 79 innings.

Triple-A Louisville placed Lively on its 7-day injured list Thursday with a right flexor strain, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Though Lively isn't on the Reds' 40-man roster, he had put himself in the conversation for a potential call-up after turning in a 3.77 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 73:26 K:BB across 62 innings. Given the nature of his injury, Lively will likely be sidelined beyond the minimum seven days and shouldn't be expected to surface in the big leagues at any point in the near future.

Slaten (undisclosed) has been placed on the 7-Day injured list at High-A Hickory.

Slaten, the No. 86 overall pick in the 2019 first-year player draft, has struggled since his professional debut. He had a 6.46 ERA in rookie ball in 2019 and has a 6.40 ERA and 44:30 K:BB in 32.1 innings at Double-A this season.

Milone fired two scoreless innings during a win over the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing one hit.

Milone mopped up in the Mariners' blowout win, getting his six outs on 27 pitches. The veteran southpaw has been highly effective over two appearances with the big-league club after fashioning a 1.13 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in seven starts with Triple-A Tacoma, as he's allowed just one run on three hits over six innings in his first pair of outings in Seattle.