MLB Player News

Morton (latissimus) allowed two hits and one walk while striking out two over four innings in his second rehabilitation start at Triple-A Fresno on Tuesday.

Morton got up to 47 pitches (29 strikes) in his second rehab start and will require at least one more rehab start before returning to the Astros' rotation. The Astros are targeting a return before the All-Star break. He's been surprisingly effective in 2017, reinventing himself as a high-strikeout pitcher. His 10.1 K/9 this season is a career high, besting his previous high of 7.2.

Paxton (5-3) gave up three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out nine over seven innings in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies.

The lefty looked more like himself in this one, especially in the early going, as he struck out six over his first three innings while sitting comfortably in the upper 90s with his fastball. He wasn't quite as sharp later in the game, and Maikel Franco's homer in the seventh ultimately sent Paxton to his third straight loss, but he matched a season high with the nine strikeouts. Paxton has been adamant in recent weeks that he is fine physically, but he felt his mechanics were off.

Verlander (5-4) allowed three runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out six over seven innings in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Royals.

He settled down after Kansas City hung three runs on him in the first inning, giving the Detroit offense a chance to come back. It was his ninth quality start of the season, and Verlander will take a 4.47 ERA into his next start Sunday at home against Cleveland.

Bassitt (elbow) is scheduled to throw one inning for High-A Stockton on Wednesday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 28-year-old reliever has been shut down since late May following a setback, so Wednesday's outing will be his first official one in over a month, although he did recently throw a pair of simulated games. Bassitt is likely to be handled with an extra level of caution this time around.

Gausman tossed 5.1 scoreless innings in Tuesday's win over the Blue Jays, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Gausman was on his game in this one, holding the opposition without an extra-base hit and allowing just two runners to advance past first base. He labored a bit in his last couple of frames and upped his pitch count to 99 before his removal with one out in the fifth. Though he left a bit prematurely, Gausman's first scoreless outing since last August was a positive sign after he had gone 0-3 with 15 earned runs allowed over 14.2 innings in his last three starts. His ERA still sits at an unsightly 6.07 for the season, but he will use this outing as a building block heading into Sunday's matchup with the Rays.

Quintana (4-8) tossed 6.1 scoreless innings during Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Yankees. He allowed two hits and walked four while striking out six batters, but did not factor into the decision.

Quintana entered the month of June with a disappointing 5.60 ERA but has worked that figure down to a more respectable 4.37 ERA after allowing just six total runs over his five starts (30.1 innings) this month. The 28-year-old's recent surge has increased his trade value as we approach the July trade deadline. Quintana could soon find himself pitching for a contender, but in the meantime, he'll gear up for his upcoming scheduled start against the Rangers on Sunday.

Severino (5-3) allowed one run on six hits over seven innings during Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the White Sox. He struck out 12, did not issue a walk and received a no-decision.

Severino breezed through the White Sox's lineup en route to a career-high 12 strikeouts. At 23 years and 127 days old, Severino became the youngest American League pitcher to record at least 12 strikeouts and zero walks in a game since Jason Bere of the White Sox did it in 1993. It was a masterful bounce-back performance for the young righty, who had allowed nine total runs over his previous two starts against the Angels and A's. He was in line for the win but that was undone by a blown save by Dellin Betances in the ninth inning. Severino will take on the Astros in a tough road matchup Sunday.

Snell, who was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and will start Wednesday's game against the Pirates, made several improvements in his delivery while at Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. "I'm real excited about what I did, and also looking forward to what I'm about to do," he said. "I like where I'm at, I like what I learned, and definitely ready to get going."

The young lefty has long struggled with control issues, and the 5.4 BB/9 he compiled over 42 innings with the Rays earlier in the season played a significant part in his demotion to Triple-A Durham. However, Snell displayed notable improvement in that area as his minor-league stint unfolded, giving up just four walks over the 17.2 innings encompassing his most recent trio of starts. He also racked up a sterling 5-0 record and 2.66 ERA, so both the Rays and Snell have reason to believe that the adjustments he made with the Bulls will pay dividends at the big-league level this go-around.

Cobb tossed eight scoreless innings in Tuesday's no-decision against the Pirates, allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts.

Cobb was lights out in this one, completing six one-two-three innings and allowing just one man to pass first base. He was in line for the win when he departed prior to the ninth inning, but a pair of late runs charged to the bullpen rained on that parade. Regardless, this was Cobb's finest outing of the season and his ERA now sits at a respectable 3.73. The right-hander has thrown four consecutive quality starts heading into Sunday's matchup with the Orioles.

Clevinger allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out nine over six innings but had to settle for a no-decision in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

A fifth-inning solo shot by Robinson Chirinos was his only real mistake. It was just the right-hander's third quality start of the season, while the nine Ks were a season high for Clevinger. He'll try to build on this momentum in his next start Sunday on the road against the Tigers.