Brad Penny gets the win in first start since 2011 - MLB

Marlins pitcher Brad Penny made his first appearance in the major leagues since 2012 and his first start since 2011 and went home with the win as the Fish won 4-3 over the Reds in Cincinnati. Penny went five innings, allowed four hits, walked four, and struck out three.

Penny, 36, has been well-traveled since his last appearance in the majors in 2012 with the Giants as a reliever. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals in January and was released in early March. The Marlins decided to pick him up on a minor league contract in June. He made two starts at Single-A Jupiter in early July and five with Triple-A New Orleans between July 13 and August 4, posting a combined 3.05 ERA with a 30/9 K/BB ratio over 38 1/3 innings.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”