Worth noting

By Tom Singer

April 24, 2014

• Wandy Rodriguez (right knee discomfort) on Thursday threw his first bullpen since being placed on the disabled list on Monday and is tentatively on target for an April 30 rehab start. In the interim, he's down for another side session Sunday in St. Louis.

• Hurdle is keeping close watch on another lefty, Jeff Locke, at Indianapolis. Locke has made two starts for the Indians, most recently allowing a pair of earned runs in six innings on Monday. "[That] outing was much better," Hurdle said. "Good fastball command, the ball down in the zone, some swing-and-miss stuff. It was a nice step in the right direction."

• Entering Thursday's game having homered in three straight, McCutchen's next target was Alvarez: He homered in four consecutive games last season, June 20-23.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.