MLB Player News

Blanco (9-4) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings.

All the damage against Blanco came in the first inning, when Josh Smith launched a two-run home run. However, the Astros managed to score only one run until the ninth inning, sticking Blanco with the loss despite logging a quality start. The 30-year-old has been outstanding this season, owning a 2.56 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 109.0 innings at the All-Star break. Before 2024, Blanco had a career 4.78 ERA in 58.1 innings and had primarily been utilized out of the bullpen, making him one of baseball's biggest breakouts so far.

Lively (8-5) yielded two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings Sunday, striking out seven and taking a loss against the Rays.

Lively turned in a strong performance aside from serving up solo homers to Jose Siri and Brandon Lowe. The Rays threw a combined shutout and stuck Lively with the tough-luck loss. His seven punchouts matched a season best, and he's now hit that mark four times in 2024. Lively will begin the second half with a strong 3.58 ERA and 78:25 K:BB through 16 starts. In eight outings since the start of June, he's registered a 4.40 ERA.

Pepiot (6-5) yielded two hits over six scoreless frames Sunday, striking out four and earning a win over the Guardians.

Pepiot gave up a pair of singles and plunked one batter but never faced much of a threat Sunday. He generated 12 swinging strikes, with six coming via the fastball. Pepiot has been fairly inconsistent in the first half of 2024 but owns a solid 3.92 ERA with a 94:31 K:BB through 17 appearances. Over his last four outings, he's registered a 1.71 ERA but has turned in just one quality start.

Paddack allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings in a no-decision versus the Giants on Sunday.

Paddack put in another decent effort, but he couldn't match Blake Snell's seven innings of one-hit ball. Paddack has allowed four runs (three earned) over 10 innings across two starts since he returned from a bout of arm fatigue. The right-hander has a 4.99 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 79:21 K:BB over 88.1 innings through 17 starts this season. While his results aren't great, Paddack's spot in the rotation doesn't appear to be in any immediate danger since he's stabilized his pitching following his injured-list stint.

Bello (10-5) picked up the win Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.1 innings against the Royals. He struck out three.

Bello's day started by allowing a leadoff homer to Adam Frazier, but he was quickly staked to a 4-1 lead and scattered only two additional runs the rest of the way while working into the seventh inning for the second time in three starts and just the third time this season. Bello has alternated good and bad outings recently, with Sunday representing his third quality start in his last six while he has allowed 16 earned runs in the other three appearances while failing to complete five innings twice. Bello places 10th in the majors with 10 wins; however, an ERA of 5.32 with a 1.47 WHIP and 85 strikeouts over 89.2 innings represent disappointing figures for the talented 25-year-old righty.

Giolito (elbow) said in an interview last week that he expects to start playing catch by the end of the month, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. "Working with the training staff, it's been fantastic," Giolito said of his recovery from the internal brace procedure he underwent March 12. "It's just making sure to stay motivated every day. Hitting each little goal and looking forward to the next major step, which will be beginning my throwing program."

Only a few weeks after undergoing an elbow surgery that typically entails a 10-to-12-month recovery process, Giolito said in an appearance on "The Chris Rose Rotation" podcast that he expected to pitch at some point late in the 2024 season, but that was never a realistic goal. Giolito has since conceded that he won't return from the 60-day injured list this season, but he remains fully confident that he'll be ready to go for the start of the 2025 campaign. Giolito still looks to be trending well in his recovery from surgery thus far, and he could be cleared to resume throwing off a mound before the end of the season if he experiences no setbacks once he starts up his throwing program later this month.

Kremer did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over 4.2 innings against the Yankees. He struck out four.

Kremer entered the fifth inning in relatively good shape with a 2-1 lead but allowed a leadoff homer to Trent Grisham, then allowed two more batters to reach base, including a two-out walk to Aaron Judge that spelled the end to his day. Sunday represented Kremer's third start since returning from a triceps issue, and he's been held to 83-to-85 pitches while failing to make it past the fifth in all of those outings. He'll enter the All-Star break with a 4.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 64 strikeouts over 63.2 innings.

Rodon did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over four innings against the Orioles. He struck out seven.

Rodon labored through his outing Sunday, needing 98 pitches to complete four innings and allowing only two runs but tossing four or more pitches to 17 of the 19 batters he faced. Rodon's no-decision was the first time in 15 starts he did not factor into the decision and broke a string of five straight defeats after winning eight of his previous nine during that stretch. The All-Star break will provide a much-needed respite for Rodon, who has an ERA of 9.66 with a 1.96 WHIP and 38 strikeouts over his last six starts spanning 27 innings.

Verlander (neck) threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Verlander used his entire arsenal in the session and finished the bullpen without incident, per McTaggart. He had originally been expected to toss 10-to-15 pitches, so all signs are that he's trending in a positive direction. A timeframe for Verlander's return isn't yet clear, but it is possible that he could rejoin Houston's rotation before the end of July.

Medina, who was placed on the injured list Saturday with a right elbow sprain, is expected to miss "significant time" according to manager Mark Kotsay, MLB.com reports.

Kotsay added the team will likely seek a second opinion on the elbow after the All-Star break, but Medina's absence looks as though it could stretch well into August, if not longer. For the time being, the right-hander is expected to be shut down from any throwing for multiple weeks.