MLB Player News

Stroman was ejected from Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The young starter had a feud with umpire Will Little after a few close pitches were ruled to be outside the strike zone which ultimately led to his removal. Stroman was in line for the loss upon his removal after going 4.2 innings and allowing three runs on six hits and six walks. He also struck out four.

Darvish (6-9) allowed a career-high 10 earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out two batters through just 3.2 innings during Wednesday's 22-10 loss to the Marlins.

Darvish had struggled at home this season with a 4.35 ERA entering Wednesday's start, but this was an entirely new low. Overall, the 30-year-old righty has been solid this season with a 4.01 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 for the campaign, and his strikeout upside lands him in matchup-proof territory. However, there are clearly some concerns about his work at Globe Life Park in Arlington, though that could be alleviated if the Rangers are able to swing a deal to trade the soon-to-be free agent elsewhere before the July 31 deadline.

Blackburn held Toronto to just two hits over seven scoreless innings in Wednesday's no-decision. He struck out three and walked three.

The rookie generated 12 outs on the ground and just one through the air, which is a pretty solid plan of action that's been working out well for him. However, with a pathetic 3.4 K/9, it's going to be impossible for Blackburn to maintain anything even remotely resembling his current 2.25 ERA and 1.06 WHIP; once his BABIP and strand rate normalize, his ratios will skyrocket, making him a fringe fantasy play at best.

Carrasco allowed two runs on six hits over 6.1 innings while striking out five Wednesday but didn't factor into the decision in a 10-4 win over the Angels.

Cleveland's bats didn't blow the game open until the eighth inning, depriving Carrasco of his 11th win despite his 13th quality start of the year. The right-hander will head back to the mound Tuesday on the road against the Red Sox.

Nolasco (4-12) gave up three runs on nine hits and two walks over 6.2 innings in Wednesday's 10-4 loss to Cleveland. He struck out four.

The veteran righty alternated solid starts with brutal ones in July, leaving him with a 5.72 ERA on the month and 5.07 ERA on the year. Nolasco will look to break that pattern in his next start Tuesday at home against the Phillies.

Sale (13-4) struck out 11 while allowing just three hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings against the Mariners on Wednesday.

Always one of the league's top strikeout artists, Sale has taken it to a new level this season, as he already has 211 strikeouts in just 148.1 innings -- that 12.8 K/9 is a full tick better than his career high. After seeing his velocity dip last year, Sale has returned to a consistent mid-90s heater this season, which has been a prime factor in his much-improved ratios. With Clayton Kershaw on the DL, Sale has a strong claim on the title of top starter in fantasy, narrowly outpacing Max Scherzer.

Severino gave up two runs, both unearned, on three hits and two walks while striking out nine over seven innings Wednesday against the Reds to improve to 7-4 on the season.

The young righty continues to roll, notching his fourth straight start of seven innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out 31 over 28 innings during that stretch. He ranks in the top 10 among qualified big-league starters in ERA (eighth), WHIP (sixth) and strikeouts (eighth), so it's hard to say he has been anything other than a true SP1 this year in mixed leagues. Severino lines up for two starts next week, first at home against the Tigers and then on the road against the Indians.

Cobb gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out six over seven innings Wednesday against the Orioles en route to picking up his ninth win of the season.

It was sweet revenge for Cobb, who now has eight quality starts in his last nine outings, with the lone blemish coming against this same O's team in Baltimore back on July 2. He has a 2.24 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 64.1 innings over that span, tallying double-digit groundouts in seven of those nine. He lines up for a two-step next week, starting Monday in Houston and the following Saturday at home against the Brewers.

Keuchel (neck) will be activated from the 10-day DL on Friday prior to his start against the Tigers, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This will be Keuchel's first start in nearly two months after suffering a neck injury in early June. The left-hander made two rehab appearances in the minors, totaling eight innings while allowing just one run off five hits. He is likely facing a pitch count after only tossing 62 pitches during his longest rehab outing, but Keuchel appears to be fully capable with his entire arsenal on the mound for Friday's return. Collin McHugh and Lance McCullers will take the mound Saturday and Sunday, respectively, for the other two games of the series.

Odorizzi (back), who landed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday, said he doesn't expect to miss more than two turns through the rotation, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Odorizzi's lower-back injury has apparently been bothering him off and on since spring training, and though he wasn't forced to exit his most recent start Sunday prematurely, team trainers evidently determined that he could benefit from an extended break to allow him to heal up. The Rays have yet to name a replacement in the rotation for Odorizzi for Friday's series opener against the Yankees, but Austin Pruitt, who was mysteriously scratched from his start with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, looks like he could be the leading candidate to fill in. The Rays will likely reassess Odorizzi's health in the next few days before determining if the right-hander will be able to take the hill for his following turn, which would likely fall August 2 against the Astros.