MLB Player News

Civale (5-7) was tagged with the loss Friday against the White Sox after allowing four runs on six hits and a walk across 2.1 innings. He struck out four.

Civale worked behind Jacob Lopez, who tossed 1.2 scoreless innings as the opener, but he didn't have his best stuff against one of the hottest lineups in the American League. Civale has dropped his last six starts, posting an inflated 10.17 ERA over 23 innings in that stretch. Civale doesn't look like the pitcher who posted a 2.70 ERA over his first nine starts of the campaign. He's tabbed to make his next start on the road against the Diamondbacks on Monday, July 20.

Bieber allowed two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Padres on Friday.

Bieber did better in this outing than his last one, but it was still an inefficient performance. He threw 54 of 97 pitches for strikes and wasn't able to stay in the game long enough to earn his first win. He's pitched to a 7.64 ERA and 13:10 K:BB across 17.2 innings over his four starts in the majors this season, and he's also allowed seven home runs. If Bieber continues to get hit hard, that will limit his effectiveness.

Martinez (8-2) earned the win Friday against the Mariners after allowing two runs on four hits and a walk across 5.1 innings, striking out one.

Martinez gave up a solo shot to Cole Young, his 11th of the year, in the top of the fifth inning, but that would be the only run the right-hander allowed. Martinez has allowed just one earned run in each of his past three starts, posting a blistering 1.65 ERA across 16.1 frames over that stretch. His next start should come against the Blue Jays on the road on Monday, July 20.

Castillo (3-8) took the loss Friday against the Rays, allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out four batters across five innings.

Castillo allowed three homers and has dropped three of his last five starts. However, the veteran hurler has given up two or fewer runs in seven of his last nine outings, so he's been pitching well lately, all things considered. Castillo saw his season ERA rise to 4.93 after this start, but he has a more respectable 3.90 ERA in six starts and 32.1 innings since the beginning of June.

Messick (8-5) earned the win Friday against the Marlins, tossing six innings of one-run ball during which he allowed one hit and issued four walks. He struck out one.

Messick delivered a solid outing and limited the damage to just one run on a solo home run by Heriberto Hernandez. However, the strikeout total was a season low for Messick, and his four walks were a season high. Messick has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five starts, and he'll carry a 2.73 ERA into his next start, tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 19, at home against the Pirates.

Gray (11-1) earned the win against the Mets on Friday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk while striking out three across six innings.

It wasn't exactly the most dominant performance out of Gray, with his three punchouts being his lowest in a start since May 6 against the Tigers (two). He allowed at least one baserunner in four of six innings, but he limited the damage to one run and did enough to come away with his eighth straight quality start (and 12th of the season, tied for fourth-most in the majors). Gray leads the American League with 11 wins and enters the All-Star break with a 2.54 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 95.2 innings this season.

Avila did not factor into the decision Friday against Baltimore, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out three across five innings.

Avila put the Royals in an early deficit by giving up two runs in the second inning before putting his team behind 3-2 on a solo home run from Blaze Alexander in the fourth. Avila ended his start with 57 strikes on 96 pitches while generating nine whiffs and nine groundouts, and he was in line to take the loss before teammate Isaac Collins tied the game at 3-3 with a solo homer in the eighth. Avila has allowed three earned runs or less in four of his last five starts and enters the All-Star break with a 5.08 ERA and 1.62 WHIP across 56.2 innings, although those numbers are inflated by his June 12 outing against the Astros, when he recorded just two outs while allowing eight runs.

Young did not factor into Friday's decision against the Royals, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five across seven innings.

Young was efficient in his outing, tossing just 85 pitches (59 strikes) while generating 10 whiffs. His pitch count was low enough for him to be brought back for the eighth inning, but he was pulled after giving up a game-tying solo homer to Isaac Collins. Despite the late blemish, Young did enough to secure his seventh quality start of the season. He'll enter the All-Star break sporting a 7-2 record (15 starts) with a 3.42 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 67:31 K:BB over 84.1 innings.

McCullers (shoulder) will make his next rehab start July 17 with Double-A Corpus Christi, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers has logged three rehab starts thus far, with his last taking place with Triple-A Sugar Land this past Tuesday, when he allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and three walks while striking out four across four innings. The right-hander pushed his pitch count up to 77 in that outing, but McCullers will require at least one more outing in the minors before Houston considers adding him back to its rotation upon activating him from the 15-day injured list. McCullers has been on the shelf since May 19 due to a right shoulder impingement.

The Angels reinstated Rodriguez (back) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his scheduled start against the Twins on Friday.

Rodriguez is ready to make his first major-league start since June 14 following a one-month stint on the IL while recovering from lower-back tightness. The right-hander has been limited to six major-league starts this season due to two separate stints on the IL, and he has 2-2 record with an 8.06 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 24:15 K:BB across 25.2 innings.