MLB Player News

Urquidy (undisclosed) is hoping to return in about 10 days, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Urquidy was able to throw 50 pitches last time he took the mound, which is an indication he is close to being stretched out. As long as all goes well in the coming days he should be activated from the injured list at some point in the first half of September.

Walker will start Saturday against the Orioles, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

He will make his Blue Jays debut in Buffalo against an Orioles team that ranks 17th in the majors with a 98 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. His second start as a Blue Jay figures to come next week in Boston.

Kikuchi (1-2) was credited with the victory in the second game of a doubleheader against the Padres on Thursday, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over five innings while recording six strikeouts.

Kikuchi finally got in the win column in 2020 just over a month after the start of the regular season, firing a relatively efficient 81 pitches over his five frames. Two of the three runs scored against the southpaw were of the small-ball variety, with the one big hit coming in the form of a first-inning solo home run off the bat of Manny Machado. The outing was Kikuchi's second-best performance of the campaign, and it came in the wake of the 29-year-old surrendering a combined eight earned runs across 9.2 innings in his prior two starts. Kikuchi will look to carry that momentum into his next start, which is slated to come at home against the Athletics on Tuesday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Friday that Verlander (forearm) "is a little further away than we would like, but he's closer to reality than it appeared like when he first went down," Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It doesn't sound like his return is imminent, which is not surprising as his most recent progression was throwing 20 pitches, but Baker sounds more optimistic that he could get his ace back before the end of the season.

Boyd won't start Friday against the Tigers as the doubleheader was rained out, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Boyd was originally set to take the mound in Game 1, but the Tigers changed their pitching plans after the contest was delayed by rain, and the twin bill was eventually postponed. One game will be made up via a doubleheader Saturday, and the veteran lefty will take the mound for Game 1. Tarik Skubal will start the nightcap for the Tigers.

Skubal won't start as scheduled Friday as the doubleheader against the Twins was postponed due to weather, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The start of Game 1 had already been delayed, and the prospects of playing for the rest of the day weren't promising, leading to the postponement. A doubleheader will now be scheduled for Saturday, and Skubal will start Game 2, while Matthew Boyd starts in the matinee.

Skubal will start Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the Twins, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old was originally slated to start Game 2, but the Tigers decided to make a late change to their rotation plans. Skubal has covered 4.1 innings over his first two starts, allowing five runs on 10 hits with a 6:2 K:BB.

Boyd is no longer starting Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader against the Twins, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Boyd was expected to take the mound for the matinee, but the Tigers are now bumping up Tarik Skubal to start for undisclosed reasons. The Twins shifted their starting plans for the twin bill due to rain forecasted for the afternoon, but it's unclear if that's the reasoning for the Tigers' change in starters as well. There was no indication of any injury, so Boyd tentatively lines up to start Game 2 until the team updates his status.

Morton (shoulder) will throw one more bullpen session before the Rays consider reinserting him into the rotation, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The veteran right-hander completed a simulated game Thursday and threw 25-to-30 pitches, but the team wants at least one more session on the mound before making a decision. If all goes well in the next bullpen session, Morton could rejoin the starting rotation sometime next week, though he's unlikely to be built up to a full workload by that point.

Bassitt will start Friday against the Astros, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander was set to start Thursday against the Rangers, but both team agreed not to play as part of the recent league-wide protests. Bassitt has a 2.97 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 28:9 K:BB through 33.2 innings this season.