MLB Player News

Verlander (6-5) picked up the win Saturday against the Yankees. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk while striking out five.

The 13th-year veteran failed to complete the seventh inning for the first time since May 3, a run that stretched across his last six starts. However, Verlander allowed five hits or less for the fourth straight outing while lowering his ERA to a season-best 3.77. The right-hander had issued two or more free passes in his first 10 starts of the year, but has only allowed a total of two over his last three. Verlander has a sweet 94:24 K:BB, and he's on pace to challenge 250 strikeouts, the number of whiffs he amassed in 2011 when he won the MVP award.

Quintana (5-7) managed to strike out 10 Royals over eight innings, but surrendered six hits--three of them solo homers--in Saturday's 4-1 loss.

Despite putting on a solid showing almost any time he takes the mound, the 27-year-old has now dropped six straight decisions. He uncharacteristically was done in by the long ball on a day when the bats seemed to have some extra pop in the Windy City, as the three homers he surrendered were the most he'd given up in any start this season. Quintana was otherwise typically sharp, throwing 77 of 109 pitches for strikes, and inducing 13 swings-and-misses. The 10 whiffs also equaled a season best, and despite the defeat, his ERA remains a very strong 2.66. Tellingly, the southpaw has only received a combined eight runs of support over his aforementioned six-start losing streak, a trend he hopes will finally be reversed when faces off against the Indians next Friday.

Rodon (neck) will start Sunday against the Royals, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Manager Robin Ventura had left himself some wiggle room, previously labeling Rodon as "likely" to start Sunday, but the skipper did away with any doubt as to Rodon's status after Saturday's game. Rodon was skipped one time through the rotation due to neck discomfort. He's had the Royals' number in two starts against them so far this season (three earned runs in 11.2 innings).

Kluber (6-6) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out eight in a complete game against the Angels on Friday.

Kluber has struck out eight or more batters in six straight starts and appears to be rounding into form after some uneven starts earlier in the season.

Meyer's second opinion confirmed inflammation in his shoulder and he'll be shut down through at least the rest of June, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Meyer landed on the 7-day disabled list last week, but his shoulder has been problematic since early May. While it's encouraging that he's still only dealing with shoulder inflammation rather than a more serious structural issue, it's frustrating that he won't be able to pick up a baseball for at least three more weeks. Once he's cleared to throw, it could take him a while to rebuild strength in his arm given that he'll have been on the shelf for a minimum of two months by that time.

Sale allowed five runs on 11 hits in six innings Friday, but he still earned his 10th win of the season.

Sale allowed three home runs for just the sixth time in his career, and he allowed a home run to a left-handed batter for just the third time in his career. However, the White Sox offense did enough to give him his 10th win of the season. There has been much written this year about how Sale has succeeded in pitching to contact, so it is worth noting a few recent downgrades behind him (Austin Jackson will be out of center for a while and Tim Anderson is now at short).

Darvish (neck/shoulder) threw in the bullpen Friday as scheduled and remains on track to start Monday in Oakland, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

He'll likely be officially cleared to start if he reports to the park Saturday with no residual soreness.

Gausman didn't factor into the decision against the Blue Jays on Friday, surrendering eight hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks over 6.1 innings. He struck out four.

The 25-year-old failed to notch a victory for the second straight quality start, continuing to leave him winless on the season. Gausman threw 72 of 106 pitches for strikes and kept a potent Blue Jays lineup largely at bay during his time on the mound. The southpaw had given up three homers in back-to-back outings to close out May, but has only given up a single round-tripper over his last 12.1 innings, which encompasses his last pair of starts. He'll face another tough group of bats in his next attempt at a win, as he'll take on the Red Sox in Fenway next Thursday.

Gray (3-6) surrendered five hits, two earned runs and a walk over 7.2 innings in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Reds. He struck out four.

The 26-year-old put together his best outing since April 22, helping to silence the rumors of his season's demise, for at least one night. Gray was highly efficient in turning in his fifth quality start of the season, needing only 92 pitches to get through almost eight innings. Despite the loss, it was a highly encouraging effort for Gray, particularly against a dangerous offense in a hitter's ballpark. The right-hander now has given up only three earned runs over his last 12.2 innings, and will try to secure his first victory since that April 22 outing when he faces the Rangers next Wednesday.

Hill will be shut down for a week in an effort to give him ample time to recover from his groin injury, John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group reports.

Hill has apparently not shown much progress since landing on the disabled list with his groin injury, so the A's will try and see if rest helps him get healthy again. Hill will be eligible to come off the disabled list in just a few days, but with him being shut down, he is now looking at a target return date sometime later this month at the earliest.