MLB Player News

Twins rookie starter Kyle Gibson was better than CC Sabathia Sunday in the Bronx. That wasn't saying much with Sabathia struggling, but Gibson still beat the New York ace.

The 25-year-old moved his career record to .500 at 2-2 on the season with a 6.45 ERA as he earned the win Sunday in the last game before the All-Star break. Gibson allowed three runs -- two earned -- on five hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out one and threw 93 pitches.

Gibson won his major league debut against Kansas City but then suffered back-to-back defeats against the Yankees and Rays. He topped the Yankees Sunday to get back on track. Gibson is expected to open the second half of the season in the rotation for the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire will give him the ball to open the second series after the break in Anaheim.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana avoided taking the loss in his final start of the first half of the season Sunday at Philadelphia. Quintana recorded a quality start and watched as his offense overcame a late-game deficit to get him the no-decision.

The Chicago starter gave up three earned runs on five hits and two walks over six innings and 109 pitches in the no-decision. His record remains at 3-3 with a solid 3.71 ERA. Quintana struck out five batters on the outing against Cole Hamels and the Phillies.

Quintana hasn't lost a start since May 27 against the Cubs. He's had just one winning decision in between, however. He's continued to give the White Sox a chance to win each time he takes the hill. Quintana's next start should come following the All-Star break during the second series against Detroit.

Texas starter Martin Perez didn't have his best outing to finish the first half of the season Sunday in Detroit. With Justin Verlander flirting with a no-hitter, Perez didn't stand much of a chance.

Perez took the loss to fall to 3-2 on the season and his ERA remains solid at 3.00. He gave up five earned runs on four hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings in the defeat. Perez struck out four batters and was hurt by three home runs allowed. He threw 74 pitches on the outing.

Perez wsa sharp his last time out with a win over Baltimore. In fact, he'd won his last three decisions before losing Sunday. The Rangers came out and scheduled Perez to make his next start on Saturday against Baltimore to open the second half of the season. Derek Holland will open the second half for manager Ron Washington before Perez.

Tigers starter Justin Verlander left Sunday's final start before the All-Star break against the Rangers after seven innings with a tight right quad muscle, MLB.com reports. Prior to getting injured, Verlander was flirting with a no-hitter. 

The Detroit starter gave up just one hit to Mitch Moreland in the top of the seventh inning before getting removed. He walked three batters and struck out three as he went 105 pitches. Verlander had a 5-0 lead at the time of his departure and would stand to win and improve to 10-6 on the season should the Tigers keep the lead and win the game. 

Verlander rebounded from allowing five runs in a loss to the White Sox his last time out. He made the All-Star team but will not pitch in the game. Verlander is scheduled to make his first start of the second half of the season on Saturday at Kansas City. Manager Jim Leyland will give the ball to Anibal Sanchez to open the second half and Verlander will follow him to the hill before Doug Fister finishes the series Sunday.

The Indians have announced their post-break rotation beginning with Scott Kazmir Friday in Minnesota, MLB.com reports. Manager Terry Francona will have Kazmir followed by Corey Kluber Saturday and Justin Masterson Sunday. 

"It was really just more of matchups for everybody going through for the first 15 days or so," pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. "No huge rhyme or reason."

Masterson was originally going to start the second half, but he could pitch in Tuesday's All-Star Game. 

"Just trying to give him a little blow during the All-Star break and just get him to where [he's facing] the teams we want him to face," Callaway said.

The Minnesota Twins and manager Ron Gardenhire have outlined the team's post-break rotation, MLB.com reports Sunday. 

Mike Pelfrey, Kevin Correia and Scott Diamond will start the three-game series in order against the Indians from Target Field. 

Rookie Kyle Gibson will begin the series in Anaheim on the hill and he'll be followed by Samuel Deduno.

The Orioles are expected to remain in line with their current rotation out of the All-Star break, according to manager Buck Showalter, MASNSports.com reports Sunday. 

Baltimore is expected to send Wei-Yin Chen to the mound to open the second half in Texas. He will be followed by Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman, who was just named to the All-Star Game. 

Jason Hammel and Scott Feldman would start the first two games in Kansas City in the series following the one against the Rangers. 

"I'm pretty sure we're going to probably stay in line, but it could change, depending on what happens today," Showalter said. "If we use somebody or something happens physically, that puts things in a different light. There's some things that could affect that. That's why we've kind of penciled it, but we'll commit to it after today. And we'll let them know before they leave."

Rangers manager Ron Washington said Derek Holland will open the second half of the season on the mound Friday against Baltimore. Washington also said that Martin Perez and Ross Wolf will follow him against the Orioles on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. 

Perez has gone 3-1 this season over five starts with a 2.08 ERA. He took a loss his first time out on May 27 and didn't make his next start until June 22. In the four starts he's made since his return, Perez has gone 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA with 14 Ks over 25 innings. 

Tigers manager Jim Leyland outlined his starting rotation for when Detroit begins playing again after the All-Star break, the Detroit Free Press reports Sunday. 

Leyland will give the ball to Anibal Sanchez to face the Royals in Kansas City Friday. Sanchez will be followed to the hill by Justin Verlander and Doug Fister. Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello will then pitch the first two games in the next series in Chicago. 

"You have to have some sense of order," Leyland said when asked why he set the rotation that way. "Sanchez should be pretty fresh. Verlander will get extra time. They’ll all get extra time now."

Rays starter Alex Cobb threw live batting practice before Sunday's game against Houston, The Tampa Tribune reports. The entire Rays rotation were on the field to watch the session and the fans gave Cobb a nice hand following the session. 

Cobb is hoping to return to the Tampa Bay rotation in early August. The batting practice session signified he was finally cleared to resume baseball activity after passing his concussion tests. 

Cobb, who said he was happy with the way his session went Sunday, is expected to throw his next session of live batting practice Thursday in Port Charlotte.