MLB Player News

Nootbaar went 1-for-2 with a solo homer, three walks and two runs scored in Tuesday's loss to the Mets.

Nootbaar supplied a late home run in the ninth off Adam Ottavino to bring the Cardinals within two runs. It was his first long ball since his season debut April 12. His eye at the plate was magnificent, as he drew three walks for the first time since Sept. 15 after having walked just twice since April 20 entering Tuesday's game. The 26-year-old has yet to find a groove at the dish thus far, slashing only .183/.295/.329 with eight extra-base hits, eight RBI, seven runs and a 13:17 BB:K in 96 plate appearances.

Nelson (shoulder) underwent thoracic outlet surgery Monday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Nelson is expected is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Sewald allowed a run on one hit and struck out one over one inning in Tuesday's 6-2 win over the Reds.

Sewald made his season debut Tuesday in a non-save situation -- a low-key introduction after spending the first six-plus weeks on the injured list due to an oblique injury. He allowed a home run to Tyler Stephenson while mopping up in the ninth inning. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that Sewald would reclaim the closer's role from Kevin Ginkel.

Ottavino got the save in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Cardinals, allowing one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two in the ninth.

Ottavino was called upon to close the game out after Edwin Diaz had pitched back-to-back days Sunday and Monday. The right-hander surrendered a one-out home run to Lars Nootbaar and then allowed the next two batters to reach, but ultimately got himself out of trouble by striking out Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson to end the game. Ottavino has now given up three runs over his last 2.2 innings and is due for some rest having pitched three of the last four days. He now owns a 3.14 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 24:5 K:BB in 14.1 innings.

Alonso went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Cardinals.

Alonso finally showed some signs of life at the plate Tuesday night after breaking out of a slump. Before his two-RBI double in the fifth, Alonso had one hit over his last 41 at-bats. He later followed things up with a huge insurance home run in the eighth to put the Mets up 7-4. Alonso is now slashing just .212/.297/.445 with nine homers, 19 RBI, 22 runs and a 14:32 BB:K in 155 plate appearances, though Tuesday's outburst showed some welcoming signs that his offense could be emerging once again.

Nimmo went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer and a walk in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Cardinals.

Nimmo got the Mets going with a three-run blast off Miles Mikolas in the fifth to knot the game up at 3-3. He's now homered in back-to-back games and has at least a hit in six straight with seven RBI over that span. For the year, the 31-year-old is hitting .229/.377/.412 with five homers, 25 RBI, 20 runs and a 25:32 BB:K in 162 plate appearances.

Butto (1-2) got the win Tuesday over the Cardinals, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three over five innings.

Butto got off to a rocky start, surrendering a leadoff home run to Brendan Donovan and another two runs in the opening frame. He was able to settle in the rest of the way, tossing four shutout innings despite having shaky command all night. Butto only threw 47 out of 89 pitches for strikes and walked multiple batters for a fourth straight start while his three punchouts were a season low. Butto owns a 3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 34:17 K:BB in 33 innings and tentatively lines up for a rough start against the Phillies early next week.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Miller (shoulder) is coming up on a minor-league rehab assignment "pretty quickly," Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Miller threw a bullpen session Monday, his second since being placed on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder April 13. Roberts noted that the right-hander's velocity was "good" in the session and sounded optimistic about Miller's progress in his recovery from the injury. The second-year hurler will make at least one minor-league rehab start, though it's still unclear how many more bullpens he'll throw before he reaches that point.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stated last week that May (elbow) is getting close to throwing off a mound, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

May has been rehabbing from the right flexor tendon and UCL reconstruction revision surgery he underwent last July, and advancing to mound work will be a major step in his recovery. The right-hander has had two elbow surgeries in the past three years, so the organization is likely to be conservative in setting a timeline for his eventual return to game action. If his rehab continues to go smoothly, May could be ready to join Los Angeles sometime after the All-Star break, though there's no guarantee that the Dodgers will let him throw in big-league games this season.

Kershaw (shoulder) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

This was the second bullpen session Kershaw has thrown since undergoing shoulder surgery last November. The southpaw hurled 15 pitches in his initial bullpen Friday and increased that amount to 20 pitches Tuesday. He's throwing only fastballs at this point, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that the results have been "really encouraging" so far. Kershaw could next advance to including breaking pitches in his mound work and ramping up to more pitches as he slowly works his way back to game action. The future Hall of Famer isn't expected to make his season debut for the Dodgers until after the All-Star break.