MLB Player News

The Cardinals are likely to decide Sunday whether Donovan (toe) needs to go on the 10-day injured list, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Donovan has missed three straight games with a sprained left big toe and it sounds like he's a long shot to return to action Saturday. The Cardinals are willing to play a man short through the weekend if it means Donovan can avoid the IL and play Tuesday following Monday's off day, but an IL stint remains a possibility. Nolan Gorman will continue to fill in at second base while Donovan is shelved.

Encarnacion-Strand isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Tigers.

In seven games since returning from the injured list, Encarnacion-Strand has gone 9-for-19 (.310) with three home runs, seven RBI and five runs scored. The Reds will give him a chance to rest Saturday while Spencer Steer starts at first base and Gavin Lux mans third.

Gibson is slated to serve as Miami's opening pitcher for Saturday's game against Washington, Stephen Strom of Marlins Radio Network reports.

Gibson has maxed out at 3.1 innings over his 19 outings between Miami and Triple-A Jacksonville this season, but the Marlins will likely pull him from Saturday's contest after the opening frame or two after he tossed 1.1 innings and 20 pitches in relief during Friday's 11-9 win. Janson Junk will be available on four days' rest and could work in bulk relief Saturday, though the Marlins haven't clarified their plans for once Gibson exits the game.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Nootbaar will not be in the lineup Saturday in Milwaukee, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

For the second time in three games, Nootbaar went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Friday. Across the last five contests, Nootbaar is 0-for-23 with 13 strikeouts, dropping his season OPS below .700 (.690) for the first time this season. Marmol indicated that he is considering moving Nootbaar out of the leadoff spot for a while, although he didn't commit to it.

Montas (lat) surrendered eight earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out one batter over 1.2 innings in his rehab start Friday with Triple-A Syracuse.

Montas made the fifth start of his rehab assignment but had his roughest showing yet. He needed 53 pitches just to record five outs and gave up five extra-base hits while also hitting a batter. After tossing 76 pitches in his previous rehab start with Syracuse last weekend, Montas is stretched out enough to be a viable rotation option for the Mets, but the ugly performance Friday means that he'll likely need at least one more outing in the minors to knock off some rust before he returns from the 60-day injured list. Paul Blackburn will get a start Wednesday in place of the injured Kodai Senga (hamstring), but a better performance from Montas his next time out could set him up to take over that rotation spot.

Frelick went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base in Friday's 3-2 win over the Cardinals.

The 25-year-old sparked the Milwaukee offense from the leadoff spot for a second straight game, with a struggling Brice Turang (.188/.290/.237 over his last 22 games) bumped down to the seventh spot in the order. Frelick, by contrast, has been locked in since mid-May, slashing .344/.384/.441 over his last 25 contests with two of his four homers and five of his 13 steals on the season. As long as he keeps delivering at the plate, Frelick figures to remain at the top of the lineup against right-handed pitching.

Peralta (6-4) picked up the win in Friday's 3-2 victory over the Cardinals, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.

The 29-year-old right-hander needed 93 pitches (56 strikes) to extend his quality start streak to three, and Peralta collected his first win since May 18 in the process. He hasn't been tagged for more than three runs in six straight trips to the mound, delivering a 2.51 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 32:14 K:BB over 32.1 innings during that span. Peralta will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to be a tough road matchup against the Cubs next week.

Blackburn retired one batter and was charged with four earned runs on four hits in a relief appearance in Friday's 7-5 loss to the Rays.

Prior to the contest, manager Carlos Mendoza told Mike Puma of the New York Post that Blackburn would enter the rotation Wednesday in Atlanta in place of the injured Kodai Senga (hamstring), but the Mets still elected to make Blackburn available out of the bullpen for one more game. He replaced starter Clay Holmes to begin the sixth inning and promptly squandered the Mets' 5-1 lead. Despite the poor showing, Blackburn still remains on track to start Wednesday, but his spot in the rotation will be in flux after that. Frankie Montas (lat) had a rough rehab start at Triple-A Syracuse on Friday, but he's on the same pitching schedule as Blackburn and could be activated from the 60-day injured list to replace Blackburn in the rotation later this month.

Fedde (3-6) took the loss Friday as the Cardinals fell 3-2 to the Brewers, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk over 5.1 innings. He struck out five.

It was a solid performance from the right-hander, who tossed 55 of 86 pitches for strikes before exiting the game, but a lack of run support extended Fedde's winless streak to six starts. During that stretch, he's posted a more-than-respectable 3.34 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 22:13 K:BB over 32.1 innings. Fedde's odds of ending that drought seem good in his next outing, however, as he lines up for a road start next week against the White Sox.

Wrobleski struck out five and allowed one earned run on four hits and no walks over 4.1 innings out of the bullpen in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Giants.

After he made his second start of the season with the big club in his previous appearance June 6 in St. Louis, Wrobleski was initially listed as the Dodgers' starter for this past Wednesday's game against the Padres. However, the Dodgers ultimately made a late change and had Ben Casparius make a four-inning start, while a slew of relievers finished out the contest. It's unclear what the Dodgers' plans were heading into Friday, but Wrobleski ended up effectively piggybacking starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who racked up 102 pitches over 4.2 innings before giving way to the southpaw. The Dodgers kicked off a stretch of 10 games in 10 days Friday, and with the likelihood that the team expands its rotation to six men during the upcoming week, Wrobleski could soon be in line for another start or bulk-relief appearance.