McFarland (2-0) allowed no hits and a walk in a scoreless third inning to earn the win over the Pirates on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

McFarland has performed quite well in the month of August, as he's allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two in 5.1 scoreless frames across his five appearances since the month began. He entered Thursday's game after starter Wade LeBlanc (elbow) was removed, and he picked up his second win of the year in the 7-6 victory.

McFarland, who fired a scoreless eighth inning in a loss to the Royals on Sunday, has an unblemished ERA over the 4.1 innings covering his four August appearances.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran reliever has allowed just one hit and garnered one hold during that span, although he's also rang up just two strikeouts. McFarland has largely proven effective in what are typically lower-leverage scenarios thus far in St. Louis, pitching to a 3.27 ERA and 0.82 WHIP across 11 innings overall (10 appearances).

McFarland fired a scoreless eighth inning during which he issued a walk and recorded a strikeout during a win over the Cubs on Thursday.

EDGE Analysis

The veteran left-hander has quickly taken to his new St. Louis digs, now putting together three straight scoreless appearances and notching both a win and Thursday's hold along the way. McFarland has already made four trips to the mound in less than a week with the Cardinals, which would seem to bode well for fantasy managers who've taken a flyer on him in deep formats.

McFarland (1-0) won Wednesday's 3-2 contest with the Cubs, pitching a scoreless 10th while allowing a walk.

EDGE Analysis

After John Gant permitted a Javier Baez single to lead off the 10th, McFarland entered and induced a momentum-killing double play followed by an intentional walk and a fly out to neutralize the threat. When St. Louis scored in the bottom of the inning, the lefty became the winner. This was McFarland's first win of the season in only his third appearance.

McFarland's contract was selected by the Cardinals on Friday.

EDGE Analysis

McFarland joined the Cardinals on a split contract at the end of June. He'll give the team another left-handed option out of the bullpen, but he's unlikely to be of much interest in most fantasy formats. It would be a surprise to see him pitching in high-leverage innings, and he gets very few strikeouts, whiffing 13.6 percent of opposing batters over the course of his eight-year career.

McFarland agreed to a split contract with the Cardinals on Wednesday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

The 32-year-old was granted his release by the Nationals earlier Wednesday, and he apparently had a deal with the Cardinals lined up. McFarland struggled in 18 appearances at Triple-A Rochester with a 5.25 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 26:5 K:BB over 24 innings. He'll report to Triple-A Memphis for his new organization.

Washington granted McFarland his unconditional release from his minor-league contract Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post speculates that McFarland asked for his release after the Nationals bypassed the lefty for a call-up earlier this week in favor of another southpaw reliever at Triple-A Rochester in Kyle Lobstein. McFarland made 18 appearances out of the Rochester bullpen, posting a 5.25 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 24 innings.

The Nationals returned McFarland to their alternate training site in Fredericksburg on Monday.

EDGE Analysis

Released by Washington on March 27, McFarland re-signed with the organization two days later on a minor-league deal. McFarland joined Washington as a member of the taxi squad for its road trip in Los Angeles over the weekend, but he'll head back to the alternate site with the Nationals electing to replace him on the taxi squad with infielder Luis Garcia.

McFarland was released by the Nationals on Saturday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

McFarland was in camp as a non-roster invitee but was unable to secure a spot on the Opening Day roster after posting a 3.60 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 10 innings this spring. He'll now be able to seek out other options as a free agent ahead of the regular season.

McFarland signed a minor-league contract with Washington on Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

EDGE Analysis

McFarland has struck out fewer than 15 percent of opposing batters in each of the last seven seasons, but he's managed a perfectly respectable 4.05 ERA thanks in large part due to a 63.8 percent groundball rate. His ERA came in at 4.35 last season, a number which would likely earn him a middle-relief role, though he struck out just 9.8 percent of opposing batters, which may be approaching the lower bound for what a big-league pitcher can do while still having some degree of success.