MLB Player News

Giolito will start Game 2 of Friday's doubleheader against the Athletics.

As expected, Giolito will get the ball for the second game of Friday's twin bill after Thursday's game was postponed due to inclement weather. The 23-year-old owns an unsightly 7.19 ERA and 40:45 K:BB across 14 starts (71.1 innings) this season. James Shields will start Game 1.

Bassitt will start the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the White Sox, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

As expected, Bassitt will get the ball for Game 2 of Friday's twin bill after his scheduled start Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather. Sean Manaea will start Game 1. Through two starts with the A's this season, Bassitt owns a 2.45 ERA across 11 innings.

Nicasio, who was activated from the disabled list Monday, notched his 15th hold by firing a scoreless inning in which he recorded a strikeout during a loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old had dealt with some swelling in his knee recently, prompting the 10-day DL stay. Wednesday marked his first appearance since being activated, and Nicasio looked much sharper than he did his last time on the mound. That outing came June 6 against the Astros and apparently transpired at the height of Nicasio's knee problems, as he was officially sidelined the following day. That stumble notwithstanding, Nicasio had been in the midst of one of his best stretches of pitching of the season at the time of his injury, as he'd generated eight consecutive scoreless efforts before failing to record an out against the four Houston batters he faced.

Cease was promoted to Double-A Birmingham on Thursday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Cease met little resistance in his first taste of High-A ball, going 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 82:28 K:BB across 13 starts (71.2 innings) before being rewarded with a promotion. The 22-year-old right-hander will look to carry his success to Double-A, but more importantly he'll look to stay healthy as he's never logged more than 100 innings in a season as a pro, topping out at 93.1 frames in 2017.

Bieber will make his next start Friday against the Tigers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Bieber is battling Adam Plutko for the final spot in the Cleveland rotation, but there will be room for both temporarily with Carlos Carrasco (forearm) on the disabled list through at least Wednesday. Though the performances of both pitchers in their upcoming turns will likely dictate who retains a rotation spot once Carrasco is activated, the fact that Bieber is ahead of Plutko in the pitching schedule hints that he may be viewed as the early frontrunner. Plutko, whose last appearance came June 16, was available out of the bullpen the previous two days and won't make another start until Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Bassitt will not take the mound Thursday against the White Sox as the game has been postponed due to inclement weather.

Look for Bassitt to pitch Friday as it was decided Thursday's postponement would be made up as part of a doubleheader Friday. The Athletics have yet to formally announce their adjusted plan for their starting rotation, but it's expected that everyone else will stay on their previously scheduled start date, with Sean Manaea also toeing the rubber for one of Friday's tilts.

Giolito's start against Oakland on Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather.

The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Friday, so expect Giolito to take the hill during one of those contests as the rest of the White Sox's rotation remains the same. Over 14 starts this year, he's posted a 7.19 ERA and 1.64 WHIP with a 40:45 K:BB across 71.1 innings.

Lynn (5-5) allowed one unearned run on three hits and five walks with two strikeouts through five innings to pick up the win Wednesday against Boston.

It was a slog for Lynn, who needed 97 pitches -- just 50 strikes -- to get through five frames. Walks have been a regular issue for Lynn, who has now walked five batters on five separate occasions. Lynn is striking more batters than ever, but it has come at a cost of wildness, as his 5.6 BB/9 is nearly two points worse than his previous career high (3.8 BB/9) set last season with St. Louis. He gets groundballs by the dozens, too, but it's not enough to compensate for the free passes, and despite Wednesday's win, he won't be trustworthy until he tightens up his control. Lynn will take a 4.64 ERA into Tuesday's start against the White Sox.

Kluber (11-3) picked up the win in Wednesday's 12-0 rout of the White Sox, allowing only one hit and one walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out seven.

He threw 65 of 96 pitches for strikes while generating 15 swinging strikes, and only that elevated pitch count kept Kluber from going after his seventh career shutout. The right-hander has delivered quality starts in an incredible 15 of 16 outings and now leads the majors with 11 wins, and he'll take a 2.10 ERA with him to the mound in his next start Tuesday in St. Louis.

Morton (9-1) allowed just one unearned run on two hits and four walks with four strikeouts through six innings in a win Wednesday over the Astros.

Morton continues to succeed despite aberrant control. This marks the fifth time Morton has walked at least four batters and the second time he has managed to still complete a quality start despite the free passes. Morton was still nasty, as he induced 15 swinging strikes, and the Rays were never able to mount a serious rally. Morton failed to complete a quality start in his first two starts in May, but he looks to be back on track. He'll get a test against another American League East foe Tuesday against Toronto.