MLB Player News

Morton (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Tuesday described by manager Kevin Cash as "pretty intense", the Associated Press reports.

The right-hander is also slated to play catch Wednesday, continuing his steady progression toward a return. Morton has been able to get through multiple catch and bullpen sessions consistently over the last several days without setbacks, so he appears to be trending toward possible activation in the coming days.

Manager Scott Servais said after Kikuchi (neck) completed a bullpen session Tuesday that he's "pretty confident' the left-hander will be ready to start Thursday against the Dodgers, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Barring a setback in the next 24 hours, Kikuchi will be ready to make his first start since Aug. 7 after neck spasms prevented him from making his last scheduled turn Friday in Houston. Kikuchi has posted a 5.28 ERA through his three outings this season, but a big uptick in velocity from 2019 to go with strong underlying numbers (2.23 FIP, 16.1 K-BB%, 57.5 GB%) could make the southpaw worthy of a pickup if he's sitting on the waiver wire.

The Twins activated Hill (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list and will have him start Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Hill ended up missing three turns through the Minnesota rotation due to left shoulder fatigue, but the Twins will give him the green light to return after he checked out fine during a 60-pitch bullpen session over the weekend. The southpaw's only start this season came back on July 29, when he rolled to a win over the Cardinals while tossing five scoreless frames.

Gonzales didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers, giving up one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out a season-high nine without walking a batter.

The southpaw found himself locked in a pitcher's duel with Tony Gonsolin, and while Gonzales did come away with his third quality start in five outings, the Mariners couldn't scrape together enough offense to get him into the win column. Gonzales will take a 3.34 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 26:3 K:BB through 29.2 innings into his next start, currently scheduled for Aug. 25 in San Diego.

Maeda pitched eight innings against Milwaukee on Tuesday, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out 12. He did not factor in the decision.

Maeda carried a no-hit bid into the ninth inning, only to have Eric Sogard spoil the effort with a leadoff single. Worse yet, Maeda ended up with a no-decision in spite of his masterful performance when the Minnesota bullpen failed to preserve a three-run lead following the right-hander's departure. Nonetheless, Maeda continued an already-strong start to his tenure with the Twins, notching a season-high 12 strikeouts while registering his fourth consecutive quality start. As evidence of his dominance, he induced 26 swinging strikes and didn't allow a runner to get past first base in his eight frames. The 32-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.27 on the campaign and now sports a 33:6 K:BB across 31.2 innings. His next start will come on the road against Kansas City on Thursday.

Snell (2-0) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings in a 6-3 victory over the Yankees. He struck out three.

Two of the hits off Snell left the yard, accounting for all the damage off the southpaw, but the Rays matched the Yankees homer for homer. Snell has yet to last longer than five innings in a start this season, but he's won both of the outings in which he reached that minimum mark. He'll look for his third straight win when he next takes the mound Sunday, at home against the Jays.

Dunning will be called up to start Wednesday's game against the Tigers, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

GM Rick Hahn indicated earlier in the week the 25-year-old could be recalled to make his big-league debut Wednesday, and manager Rick Renteria confirmed the news after Tuesday's contest. Dunning missed the entirety of 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and had a 2.76 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 69:23 K:BB over 62 innings at Double-A Birmingham the previous season before going down with the injury.

Cease (4-1) earned the win Tuesday against the Tigers. He allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while fanning three across 6.1 innings.

Cease gave up a solo home run to Jonathan Schoop, but he looked excellent on the mound aside from that minor mistake. Cease has now won each of his last four starts, posting three quality starts during that stretch and reducing his ERA to 3.16 after his first five outings. His next scheduled start is set for Aug. 23 on the road against the Cubs.

Skubal (0-1) allowed four runs on seven hits across two innings to take the loss Tuesday against the White Sox. He walked one and struck out one.

Skubal should have a bright future in Detroit, but his MLB debut was an outing he'd surely like to forget. It started with a leadoff home run by Tim Anderson followed by two more singles, and the 23-year-old lefty ran into trouble again in the second inning, as he allowed four more hits in the frame. Detroit has now lost seven straight games, and with the Tigers possibly slipping out of contention, Skubal should get a decently long leash as he gets his feet wet in the majors. He figures to make another start Sunday against Cleveland.

Carrasco allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five across 4.1 innings Tuesday against the Pirates. He did not factor into the decision.

Carrasco surrendered one run in the first inning, but then settled in. However, he allowed two of the first three batters he faced to reach base in the fifth frame, both of whom were driven in on a double by Josh Bell. Carrasco has uncharacteristically battled his control of late, surrendering 12 free passes in his last 14.2 innings. He still has a respectable 3.71 ERA with 35 strikeouts across 26.2 innings for the season, but has struggled to work deep into games due to his inability to find the zone. He'll look to work more efficiently in his next start, currently scheduled for Sunday against Detroit.