MLB Player News

Matz isn't expected to make his second start of the season until next week's series in Cincinnati, when the Cardinals will shift back to a six-man rotation, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Matz had made his first five appearances of the season out of the bullpen before manager Oliver Marmol elected to expand the rotation to six men last week during a busy portion of the schedule. The southpaw was sharp in his first start April 16, claiming a win while limiting the Astros to one run on two hits and no walks over five innings. Despite Matz's strong outing, the Cardinals moved him back to the bullpen to begin the current week, with an off day Thursday allowing the team to temporarily condense the rotation to five men. Matz was called upon in relief in the Cardinals' 10-4 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday, when he recorded his second win of the season while tossing 2.2 scoreless innings. St. Louis will likely stay away from Matz for this weekend's series versus Milwaukee before reinserting him into the rotation early next week.

Mayza (shoulder) will be shut down from throwing for roughly six weeks, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

A strained left shoulder sent Mayza to the injured list Saturday, and he appears to be in store for a multi-month absence. He'll be re-evaluated at the end of his six-week rest period, at which point he may be cleared to begin a throwing program.

Alcantara (2-2) took the loss Wednesday, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings as the Marlins were downed 5-2 by the Reds. He struck out four.

The quality start was the first of the season for Alcantara, who needed 102 pitches (68 strikes) to cover six innings for the first time in 2025. The 29-year-old righty is still trying to regain his form after Tommy John surgery, and he'll carry a 6.56 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 17:12 K:BB through 23.1 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road early next week against the Dodgers.

Wynns went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Marlins.

The 34-year-old backstop isn't known for his bat -- Wynns came into the season with a career .609 OPS in 673 big-league plate appearances -- but he's gone yard in back-to-back starts while piling up an incredible nine hits and eight RBI between the two games. Tyler Stephenson (oblique) began a rehab assignment Tuesday and should return next week, but Wynns is trying to make the case that he should stick around over Jose Trevino as the Reds' No. 2 catcher. That's an uphill battle for Wynns given that Trevino inked a three-year, $15 million extension in March and himself is batting .308 this season.

Pagan worked a perfect ninth inning with no strikeouts Wednesday to record his fifth save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Marlins.

The veteran right-hander needed only nine pitches (eight strikes) to dispatch the heart of Miami's order on three fly balls to right field. Pagan continues to get the job done as Cincinnati's closer, posting a 2.38 ERA, 0.44 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB through 11.1 innings while converting five of six save chances.

Singer (4-0) picked up the win in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Marlins, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The right-hander delivered his second quality start in five trips to the mound on 88 pitches (61 strikes), including 31 called or swinging strikes. Wednesday's outing was also the first this season in which Singer didn't issue a walk. He'll take a 3.62 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 32:9 K:BB through 27.1 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Cardinals.

Fitzgerald is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Fitzgerald is slashing .406/.441/.719 with two homers, six RBI and eight runs across the Giants' last nine games, but the team will give him a day off Wednesday. Christian Koss will fill in at the keystone and bat ninth against Freddy Peralta.

Suzuki was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers due to right wrist discomfort, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The 30-year-old started the previous five contests after sitting out three games due to the same issue last week, but he presumably aggravated the injury during Tuesday's win while going 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run. Justin Turner will step into the lineup at designated hitter while Suzuki is considered day-to-day.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Snell (shoulder) experienced a setback after playing catch Tuesday and will be shut down from throwing, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Roberts said that Snell will be re-evaluated once the Dodgers return to Los Angeles on Friday, at which point more should be known about how much this latest setback will delay his return. The 32-year-old initially landed on the injured list April 6 due to shoulder inflammation and was cleared to begin throwing bullpen sessions Saturday, but it now seems unlikely that he returns from the IL anytime soon.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs after sustaining a left wrist injury in Tuesday's 11-10 extra-inning loss, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Smith sustained the injury while tagging out Ian Happ at the plate in the sixth inning Tuesday, though the issue didn't stop him from hitting a double in his next at-bat in the top of the seventh and playing the final four frames behind the plate. The 30-year-old backstop apparently didn't experience any soreness until waking up Wednesday morning, but he isn't too concerned about his availability moving forward. Austin Barnes will draw the start at catcher Wednesday, but Smith expects to be ready to start Friday's series opener versus the Pirates following a team day off Thursday.