MLB Player News

Gray (forearm) has resumed doing some physical activity and there is hope around the organization that he'll be able to pitch again this season, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

This is a welcome piece of news after it was reported as recently as Sunday that there was serious doubt about Gray's availability for the rest of the season. Gray "feels a lot better," according to Lee and he is taking part in some plyometrics. Still, the A's will likely be extremely cautious with Gray's throwing program and they will not throw him back on the mound again in 2016 unless he's fully ready.

Rodriguez (hamstring) is expected to pitch Sunday against Detroit, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez had been putting on a show before leaving his last start after just four innings, as he struck out seven batters and didn't allow any hits. Said outing brought his ERA down to 2.08 for the month of August. Fortunately, it appears that his hamstring issue was relatively minor, giving the club hope that the 23-year-old southpaw will be able to take the mound Sunday.

Cobb (elbow) gave up three runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks for Triple-A Durham against Columbus on Tuesday. He struck out five and also hit a batter.

Despite some control problems, the outing was actually an encouraging one for Cobb following a tough day at the office against Pawtucket in his start last Wednesday. The rehabbing righty gave up four earned runs on eight hits over three innings in that contest, so Tuesday's line was certainly an improvement. However, the inability to consistently find the strike zone Tuesday elevated Cobb's pitch count rather quickly to 76 over his four frames, but his time on the mound was still his longest to date in his comeback.

Snell (4-5) tossed five innings, allowing one run, five hits and four walks while striking out eight Padres in Tuesday's 15-1 win.

The left-hander was aided by his team's offensive explosion but Snell was inefficient yet again, needing 95 pitches to complete the five frames while issuing four free passes for the second straight start. His fantastic 9.6 K/9 is offset by a 5.1 BB/9 that significantly damages Snell's elite ability to make hitters swing and miss. Snell will need better command of his pitches when he faces the Red Sox in his next start Monday.

Verlander (12-7) pitched seven innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on four hits, including three home runs, and one walk while striking out six Royals in Tuesday's loss.

Verlander had a weird night; he sat down the first eight batters he faced before giving up a solo homer in the top of the third. He proceeded to get the next six outs in order, then allowed another solo shot in the fifth. The righty continued by getting five straight outs, and then -- you guessed it -- gave up his third blast of the night. Through seven innings, Verlander never had to work from the stretch, as he didn't walk a batter and the only three hits he surrendered were over the fence. Overall, it was another impressive post All-Star break outing for the veteran, who is 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA and 56 K's over 50 innings.

Worley threw two shutout innings in relief during Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox.

Worley has made four starts and 23 appearances out of the bullpen this season. He pitched in relief of an ineffective Yovani Gallardo, who now has 46 walks in 83.1 innings. Worley has tailed off a bit since drawing a 0.54 ERA for the month of May. Since the All-Star break, Worley has a .160 average against, but he has 10 walks and 11 strikeouts in 23 innings. The Orioles might consider a rotation change, but it is more likely the club is looking for waiver trade candidates before thinking about inserting Worley back into the rotation.

Red Sox manager John Farrell said Rodriguez's left hamstring was feeling "a little bit more loose" following Tuesday's game in Baltimore, Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald reports.

Rodriguez left Tuesday's game after four innings when he felt tightness in his left hamstring, but Farrell sounds optimistic. "We'll have a better read on this (Wednesday)...I think we got it early enough, to where it doesn't seem to be a significant restriction at this point. But we'll know more as we get through the coming days." The Red Sox will hold off for a few days before making a decision about Rodriguez making his next scheduled start Sunday in Detroit.

Quintana (9-9) took a loss Tuesday despite throwing six innings of two-run ball against the first-place Indians. He allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

Quintana has had some rough luck this season, going just 9-9 despite an outstanding 2.85 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. That's mostly because he has received just 3.08 runs of support per game, the second-worst run support behind only Julio Teheran among qualified pitchers. Quintana's luck actually extends beyond this season, as he has failed to reach 10 wins in any of his five major league seasons despite a 3.36 career ERA averaging nearly 30 starts per season. It hasn't been a lack of defense either; Quintana has allowed just one unearned run all year and averaged fewer than six per year over his career.

Kluber (13-8) pitched six innings Tuesday, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven to earn the win over the White Sox.

Kluber's lone blemish was a solo home run by veteran DH Justin Morneau in the sixth, but he was superb the rest of the night. Kluber now has 163 strikeouts, fourth-best in the AL, to go along with just 38 walks. The former Cy Young winner has been on fire of late, and has now won four consecutive starts, to go along with a 1.65 ERA over his previous seven. He'll look to keep things going against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Keuchel (7-12) allowed six runs on five hits and a walk and struck out seven over five innings in a loss Tuesday to the Cardinals.

It's hard to get a handle on Keuchel, who shut out the Rangers in his last start but has given up 13 earned runs in just 10 innings in the two starts surrounding it. He has shown flashes of his old Cy Young self of late, but he's still struggling to keep the ball in the yard -- the final nail in the coffin Tuesday night was a two-run home run by Tommy Pham. Keuchel has now allowed 18 home runs, one more than he allowed in 232 innings last season, and that's a big reason why his ERA is all the way up to 4.76.