Stripling (elbow) pitched a live batting practice session before Wednesday's game against the Angels, the Associated Press reports.

Stripling's session seemed to have gone off without any issues, and he's now thrown a pair of bullpen sessions and Wednesday's batting practice in the last eight days. Manager Mark Kotsay previously indicated Stripling would likely begin a rehab assignment if he didn't experience any setbacks while facing live hitters, so the veteran right-hander could be heading to Triple-A Las Vegas to begin that phase of his recovery in the coming days.

Blackburn (foot) threw live batting practice before Wednesday's game against the Angels, the Associated Press reports.

The right-hander has now completed two bullpen sessions and Wednesday's live batting practice in the last eight days, meaning his rehab program has started to pick up the pace. Manager Mark Kotsay previously stated Blackburn would head out on a rehab assignment if there were no residual effects from Wednesday's activity, and the coming days should confirm whether that's still the plan of action.

Cabrera (shoulder) was spotted in the Marlins' clubhouse Thursday and could be activated from the 60-day injured list to start Sunday versus the White Sox, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins said previously that Cabrera would make one more rehab start. However, the club has an opening in its rotation Sunday after optioning Valente Bellozo, and that's the first day Cabrera is eligible for activation. Cabrera -- who has been out since early May with a right shoulder impingement -- has posted a 4.50 ERA and 15:4 K:BB over 10 innings in three rehab starts. He would be relatively limited from a pitch-count perspective Sunday after throwing 67 pitches in his last rehab outing.

Senga (shoulder) is expected to make his next rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

The 31-year-old threw 35 pitches over 2.2 frames in his previous outing with High-A Brooklyn on Wednesday, and he's expected to build up to about 50 pitches in his next start. The Mets want Senga to be built up to around 75-to-80 pitches before he returns from the injured list, and he's trending toward making his season debut in late July.

Festa (1-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Tigers, allowing seven runs on nine hits and no walks. He struck out six over five innings.

Festa allowed three home runs on the day, including a grand slam to Carson Kelly in the third inning, which opened up the scoring frenzy for the Tigers. Wenceel Perez took him long in the same inning and then Riley Greene also went deep in the fifth for a two-run blast. The one encouraging stat line for Festa in this one was he had six strikeouts and no walks while piling up 13 whiffs. Still, the 24-year-old has now allowed 12 runs over his first 10 major-league innings. If he sticks around for another turn in the rotation, he'll line up to face the White Sox early next week.

Mena did not factor into the decision in a win over the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks over three innings while striking out two.

Mena got off to a brutal start, allowing the first two batters to reach before surrendering back-to-back home runs in the opening frame. The right-hander then hurled two scoreless frames before being relieved by Bryce Jarvis to open the fourth, though the former also issued two walks over that final stretch, in addition to being charged with a balk. It was an uninspiring debut for the 21-year-old Mena, though perhaps Arizona will take it with a grain of salt considering the lineup he was up against in his first major-league start.

The Pirates placed Jones on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a strained right lat, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

The injury caused Jones to be removed early from Wednesday's start against the Cardinals. It does not appear to be a significant strain, but the Pirates undoubtedly will exercise caution with the talented young right-hander. Luis Ortiz would seem to be a good bet to slide into the Pirates' rotation in Jones' place.

Stone did not factor into the decision in a loss to Arizona on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks over three innings while striking out three.

Stone battled with Arizona's lineup from the jump, allowing three of the first four batters to reach in the opening frame before allowing another three baserunners in the second. He then surrendered three runs on four hits in the third, including a two-run homer off the bat of Gabriel Moreno as the Diamondbacks evened the score at 4-4. The right-hander would not return for the fourth after needing 77 pitches to get through three frames, marking his shortest outing since April 7 against the Cubs. Stone had gone at least five innings in 11 consecutive starts coming in, though he's now walked multiple batters in five of his last six.

Gilbert (5-5) took the loss against the Orioles on Wednesday, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks over 5.1 innings while striking out six.

Three of the four runs charged to Gilbert came across in the third inning when he walked two of the first four batters he faced, and he then surrendered three consecutive two-out hits. The right-hander gave up a solo shot to Ryan O'Hearn in the fifth, marking the first time he's given up four or more runs in his last six outings. Gilbert had gone at least six innings in nine consecutive starts coming into Wednesday's loss, while the three walks were the most he's issued since May 14 against the Royals, which covers a span of nine starts.

Senga (shoulder/triceps) struck out six over 2.2 scoreless innings in his first rehab start with High-A Brooklyn on Wednesday.

The only runner to reach base against Senga did so on an error, and he induced two groundouts in addition to his six punchouts. It was an encouraging performance from Senga, who threw 35 pitches over his 2.2 frames. He will need at least a couple more rehab starts before rejoining the Mets' rotation for his season debut.