Player Notes

Adam Wainwright limited the Padres to one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings to pick up his sixth win Tuesday.
Advice: Wainwright had a 5.77 ERA on this day a year ago before finally turning around his season with a shutout of the Padres on May 22. This year, he's been on target since day one; he ranks in the top 10 in the NL in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts.

Wade Davis allowed three runs over five innings but escaped with a no-decision as the Royals beat the Astros on Tuesday.
Advice: Davis was fortunate to hold the Astros to just three runs, as he gave up eight hits and four walks on the night. After a strong start to the season, Davis now owns a 5.91 ERA and has won just one start since April 17. Fortunately for Davis, the Royals don't have any better options to replace him in the rotation at this point. His next start will come Sunday against the Angels.

Troy Patton holds a 4.05 ERA over 18 appearances.
Advice: The left-hander put up a 2.43 ERA over 54 appearances last season in his first full year in the majors. His encore isn't going as smoothly due to an increased rate of walks (more than double what it was last season) and decreased strikeouts (he's punching out 3.4 less batters per nine innings). Being increasingly hittable doesn't help either. After a 1.02 WHIP in 2012, Patton sits at 1.55 today.

Clayton Richard (illness) gave up two runs in six innings Tuesday in his second minor league rehab start with Triple-A Tucson.
Advice: Richard, out since May 4 with an intestinal virus, gave up five hits and no walks while striking out four. The southpaw threw 65 out of 94 pitches for strikes. It should be enough for the Padres to activate him from the disabled list.
More: San Diego Padres on Twitter

Matt Belisle tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Tuesday's victory over Arizona.
Advice: The veteran has notched a 3.86 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 21/7 K/BB rate in 21 games. He's also sixth in the National League with eight holds.

Rangers optioned RHP Cory Burns to Triple-A Round Rock.
Advice: Wednesday's starter, Ross Wolf, will replace him on the active roster. Burns allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings during his brief stint with the big club and should get another shot in the Rangers' bullpen later this year.

Glen Perkins blew his first save of the season in Tuesday's 5-4, extra-innings loss to the Braves.
Advice: Minnesota is having about as much success in Atlanta as they did during the 1991 World Series. Perkins was summoned in the ninth inning and recorded two quick outs before Evan Gattis blasted a 412-foot bomb over the left-field fence. The 30-year-old lefty remains a lighthouse in the dark night that is Minnesota's pitching corps. Perkins saved 16 games last year while registering a 2.56 ERA and now has eight saves, a 3.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 25/5 K/BB rate over 16 appearances in 2013.

Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said Wednesday that Kyle Lohse began feeling discomfort in his right elbow "two or three starts ago" and was recovering slower than usual between starts.
Advice: As a result, the Brewers have scratched him from his next scheduled start on Saturday. The Brewers are hopeful that it's not a major issue, but this isn't what you want to hear from someone who is in the first year of a three-year, $33 million contract.
More: MLBlogs.com

J.P. Howell's first season in Los Angeles is off to a strong start, as the left-hander has a 2.89 ERA through 19 appearances for the Dodgers.
Advice: Coming off a stellar 2012 campaign, having posted a 3.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 42/22 K/BB ratio in 55 appearances for the Rays, Howell inked a one-year, $2.85 million contract with the Dodgers. Howell is allowing a few more base runners this season (1.34 WHIP compared to 1.21 in 2012), but his strikeout rate is slightly up and, more importantly, he hasn't surrendered a home run yet.

Matt Guerrier struck out a pair over two scoreless innings of relief Tuesday against the Rockies.
Advice: He entered the contest with just four punch outs, so last night's performance qualifies as an outburst. Guerrier used to be a holds machine for the Twins, but he's posted just 19 over the past three seasons for the Dodgers, four less than he had in his last year in Minnesota. An elbow injury cost the veteran most of last season. He owns a 3.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and ugly 6/6 K/BB rate over 18 appearances.

Rafael Soriano took his third blown save after giving up a run in the ninth against the Giants on Tuesday.
Advice: Soriano also took a blown save on Friday, but that was aided by a Ryan Zimmerman throwing error and he ended up notching the win in the 10th. Soriano still has nothing to worry about as far as job security -- he's more trustworthy than Drew Storen right now -- but the Nationals can't afford to continue being let down by their pen when their offense has been so poor.

Andrew Miller is proving his 2012 breakout was no fluke, posting a 3.86 ERA and 24/8 K/BB rate over 20 appearances.
Advice: The sixth overall pick in 2006 has successfully saved his career in Boston's bullpen. Miller went 21-29 with a 5.79 ERA between 2006-2011, mostly as a starter for the Tigers, Marlins and Red Sox. He hasn't started a game in the last two seasons and has rewarded Boston with a 3.48 ERA over 73 appearances. Miller's current strikeout rate is by far the best of his career.

Nick Masset (shoulder) is throwing from a distance of 120 feet.
Advice: Masset had shoulder surgery last September and was shut down in April after experiencing a setback with his throwing program. While he's making progress, he has yet to throw from a mound. There's no clear timetable for his return.
More: Cincinnati Enquirer

Padres reliever Anthony Bass was charged with four runs in his second inning of work Tuesday against the Cardinals.
Advice: Bass was ripped off tonight. The first hitter to reach against him did so on a strikeout/wild pitch. The second had a clean single, but Yadier Molina followed with a double-play ball, only Everth Cabrera vacated second base way too early on the relay and wasn't given credit for the out. With runners on second and third with one out, Bud Black had Bass intentionally walk Jon Jay, and Daniel Descalso followed with a grand slam. That was certainly a mistake for Bass, but he could have been out of the inning before then and he didn't deserve for his ERA to jump from 2.60 to 3.64 tonight.

CBS Sports' Scott Miller reports that the Cardinals are hoping that Chris Carpenter (shoulder, neck) is able to join the starting rotation in late June or early July.
Advice: Carpenter was originally considered unlikely to pitch this season due to a lingering nerve condition in his shoulder and neck. However, he has been encouraged by his throwing program and has suddenly progressed from an option for the bullpen to the starting rotation. The 38-year-old has already stretched himself out to 80 pitches and could begin facing live hitters next week if all goes well. The Cardinals aren't counting on anything, but his unexpected return would provide a major boost for a club which will likely be missing Jaime Garcia (shoulder) for a while.
More: CBSSports.com

Casey Fien struck out two in a perfect inning of relief Tuesday against the Braves.
Advice: The 28-year-old right-hander has a 4.19 ERA over 11 appearances. After getting pounded in limited run for the Tigers between 2009-2010, Fien has rejuvenated his career up north, posting a stingy 2.87 ERA and 1.01 WHIP over 56 games since the Twins called him up on the Fourth of July, 2012.