MLB Player News

Angels pitcher Hector Santiago will replace Athletics starter Sonny Gray on the American League All Star team. 

Gray is starting Sunday's game and won't be eligible to appear in Tuesday's All Star Game. Santiago was named to the team to fill Gray's spot, per the L.A. Times. 

Santiago is 6-4 with a 2.33 ERA this year. 

The Red Sox needed rookie starter Eduardo Rodriguez to stay hot Saturday night in order for his team to stay hot. And he did just that.

Rodriguez gave the surging Sox what they needed against their archrival Yankees by allowing just two runs on five hits in 6 1/3 innings with one walk and two strikeouts. He has now won five of seven decisions.

Only the long ball hurt Rodriguez. He surrendered a first-inning blast to Alex Rodriguez and sixth-inning dinger to Jacoby Ellsbury.

Rodriguez has yielded just five earned runs in his last 17 1/3 innings.

The Indians have set their rotation to begin the second half of the season. Trevor Bauer will get the ball in the first game after the All-Star break, with Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco to wrap-up the road series with the Reds. Danny Salazar will take the mound in the series-opener against the Brewers on July 21, with Cody Anderson going on Wednesday, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group. 

The last time Indians starter Carlos Carrasco didn't experience the bitter or sweet fruits of his labor, it was around Labor Day. That is, in 2014.

Carrasco got a no-decision Saturday against Oakland for the first time in 23 starts. Not that he didn't deserve a win - he gave up just two runs on six hits in seven innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. But his bat-wielding teammates simply didn't come through.

A double, single and sacrifice fly in the first got him off on the wrong foot, but he then shut the Athletics out until an Ike Davis double scored another in the seventh.

Carrasco rebounded nicely from a miserable outing Monday, which came after his near-no hitter in his previous start. He lowered his ERA to 4.07 with his strong effort Saturday.

Mariners left-hander James Paxton isn't exactly flying through his rehab from a strained left middle finger.

Paxton, who has been sidelined since the end of May, is still feeling soreness. There is no timetable for his return. He has only played light catch and has not been cleared for bullpen session. He will need at least a month, simulated games and a minor league rehab stint before he can return.

That means he is likely to remain out until late August or early September.

"It's a process," Lloyd McLendon told MLB.com. "It's going to take a while."

Good was not good enough for Astros premier starter Dallas Keuchel in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Keuchel allowed a two-run single to ninth hitter Rene Rivera in the second inning and Brandon Guyer followed with another RBI hit. That was the extent of the damage on the afternoon, but his teammates couldn't answer and Keuchel was saddled with his first defeat since June 20.

He finished having surrendered three runs on seven hits in seven innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Keuchel owns a 2.23 ERA.

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi continued to provide the bullpen with plenty of work Saturday, but he again kept his team in the game against Houston.

The result was a win in which he pitched shutout ball for 5 2/3 innings with two hits, three walks and five strikeouts to even his record at 5-5.

Odorizzi cruised through the first three innings, but loaded the bases in the fourth before retiring Hank Conger on a foulout. It was his only jam of the night, but he wasn't totally satisfied.

"I think at some points in the game I got too cute with [my offspeed stuff] and I threw it a little too much and got behind, which caused me to walk guys," Odorizzi told MLB.com. "If I execute a few good pitches there, it's a different story. I just wasn't executing too many of them, but I was able to make good pitches when it counted."

Odorizzi has surrendered three runs or less in seven of his last eight starts and has lowered his ERA to a fine 2.30.

White Sox ace Chris Sale apparently didn't like having his 10-strikeout streak ended Monday. So he started a new one Saturday.

Sale fanned 10 in seven innings to frustrate the crosstown Cubs. He allowed one run on six hits and one walk in snagging a second straight win, raising his record to 8-4 and shrinking his ERA to 2.72, its lowest point since April 23.

The left-hander didn't get the Cubs out in order until the fifth, but did retire nine straight at one point. An RBI double by pinch-hitter Jonathan Herrera ruined his shutout.

Despite it all, White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper was unimpressed. He's gotten spoiled.

"Obviously he pitched a good game, but I've seen him better," Cooper told MLB.com. "I'll take this every time, but I've seen him better."

Sale has given up just four runs in his last 24 innings pitched with 28 strikeouts over three starts.

Tigers starter Justin Verlander lasted a season-high 7 2/3 innings, but a seven-run Minnesota rally against the bullpen cost him a win. 

Verlander took a no-decision and remained winless on the year at 0-2. He allowed a season-low one run on five hits and struck out a season-high six. 

The Rays have optioned pitcher Andrew Bellatti to Triple-A Durham, the Tampa Tribune is reporting.

Bellatti's departure will make room for pitcher Jake Odorizzi on the roster. Odorizzi is slated to return to the team on Saturday after landing on the disabled list with an oblique strain on June 9.