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Dallas Keuchel SP | MIL
Astros' Dallas Keuchel: Shuts down Tigers for seventh win
Keuchel (7-8) struck out four and picked up the win in Friday's 3-0 victory over the Tigers, allowing six hits and a walk over six scoreless innings.
The left-hander recorded his 12th quality start of the season and fifth in his last six outings. Keuchel will carry a 3.75 ERA into the All-Star break.
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Shane Bieber SP | TOR
Indians' Shane Bieber: Picks up fifth win
Bieber (5-1) recorded the win in Friday's 6-5 victory over the Yankees, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks over seven innings while striking out six.
The rookie right-hander walked more than one batter in a start for the first time in his brief MLB career, but he also coughed up four runs for the third straight outing. Bieber will take a 3.74 ERA and 42:8 K:BB through 43.1 innings into the All-Star break.
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Domingo German SP | PIT
Yankees' Domingo German: Early exit in loss to Cleveland
German (2-5) took the loss Friday, giving up six runs on five hits and four walks over four-plus innings while striking out six as the Yankees fell 6-5 to Cleveland.
The right-hander threw only 52 of 91 pitches for strikes as he walked multiple batters for the third straight start. German continues to mix solid outings with poor ones, saddling him with a 5.49 ERA heading into the All-Star break.
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Alex Cobb SP | DET
Orioles' Alex Cobb: Takes tough-luck loss
Cobb (2-12) allowed two runs on six hits while striking out three across 6.1 innings as he took the loss Friday against Texas.
Cobb was lifted in a 1-1 game with one out in the seventh inning, but Tanner Scott would come on in relief to surrender a three-run home run, leaving Cobb on the hook for the loss. The 30-year-old right-hander has looked anything but himself in 2018, a year after posting a decent 12-10 record with a 3.66 ERA: he's accrued an alarming 6.41 ERA and 1.58 WHIP with a 63:25 K:BB over 92.2 innings this season.
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Cole Hamels SP | SD
Rangers' Cole Hamels: Notches fifth win
Hamels (5-8) surrendered four runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three across 6.1 innings as he picked up the win Friday against Baltimore.
Hamels made it through six innings with just one run allowed, but he was lifted with the bases loaded in a 5-1 game and Jose Leclerc would come on to allow all three inherited runners to score. Hamels has been struggling over his last four outings, giving up 18 runs over 17 innings of work. He'll look to improve his 4.36 ERA during his next start, which figures to come after the All-Star break.
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Corey Kluber SP | BOS
Indians' Corey Kluber: Receives injection in knee
Kluber underwent an injection in his right knee Friday, which will force him to miss the All-Star Game. The club does not expect him to miss any additional time, as his next scheduled start will come against Pittsburgh on July 23.
Kluber will be shut down for the next seven days, though there doesn't seem to be any concern over his status moving forward. The right-hander stated that his knee has been impacting his mechanics in recent starts, so he wanted to take advantage of the mini-break and come out of the gate healthy for the second half of the season. Across 20 starts this year, the Cy Young winner has logged a 2.76 ERA and 0.91 WHIP with 132 strikeouts over 133.2 innings.
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James Paxton SP | BOS
Mariners' James Paxton: Heading for disabled list
The Mariners will place Paxton (back) on the 10-day disabled list Friday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Paxton exited Thursday's start against the Angels after two-thirds of an inning due to back stiffness, but already wasn't going to pitch again until after the All-Star break. The Mariners and Paxton have downplayed the injury, but sending him to the disabled list provides a few extra days to rest up, regardless. At this point, the 29-year-old is still expected to take the mound for the Mariners' fourth game after the All-Star break, July 24 against the Giants.
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Kyle Gibson SP | BAL
Twins' Kyle Gibson: Throws eight strong innings
Gibson (4-6) allowed one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out nine across eight innings to earn the win Thursday against the Rays.
Gibson contained the Rays' lineup in his best start of the season, the first time he has surrendered neither a home run or a walk. He generated 16 swinging strikes and brought his career-best strikeout rate up to 8.9 K/9 through 115.2 innings. While his control has worsened this season, Gibson has otherwise improved his skills in most areas and his peripheral stats back up his re-emergence through the first half of the season.
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Blake Snell SP | LAD
Rays' Blake Snell: Lasts only three innings
Snell (12-5) allowed three earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two across three innings to take the loss Thursday against the Twins.
Snell suffered his shortest outing of the season -- he has two other starts this season in which he lasted only 3.1 innings -- marking the first time since May 13 that he failed to pitch at least five innings. Control was his downfall, as he walked three batters -- one of which came around to score -- and threw a wild pitch moving another runner into scoring position in the third inning. His velocity was in line with his season-long norms so this start can be chalked up as an outlier, though it does highlight the risk that Snell presents on a game-to-game basis due to his continued issues with control.
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Marco Gonzales RP | TEX
Mariners' Marco Gonzales: Nursing sore calf
Gonzales was seen icing his left calf in the clubhouse following Wednesday's shutout win over the Angels, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.
The left-hander sustained the injury when he took a liner off the left leg in the fourth inning of his stellar outing. Gonzales downplayed the situation, confirming he would have been able to make his next scheduled start if the All-Star break wasn't next week. He'll now have plenty of extra time to recuperate due to the Midsummer Classic, and Johns also reports that manager Scott Servais is likely to delay Gonzales' first second-half start for several days after the layoff.