MLB Player News

Dunning (shoulder) recorded no strikeouts and gave up one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings in his rehab start Sunday with Double-A Frisco.

Dunning exited the contest after throwing just 18 pitches (13 strikes), but the Rangers had been targeting him for around 35 pitches heading into the rehab outing, per MLB.com. Despite not striking out a batter, Dunning was efficient during his brief time on the mound, with the lone hit he allowed being an infield single. He may have been able to build up his pitch count through a bullpen session after he exited the contest, and assuming he avoided any setbacks with the right shoulder in the rehab start, he's expected to be ready to return from the 15-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break, per Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com. Dunning has made 12 of his 15 appearances this season as a starter, but he's in line to serve as a multi-inning reliever upon coming off the IL.

Maeda came out of the bullpen and threw 3.2 shutout frames during Detroit's walk-off win over the Dodgers. He allowed one hit and struck out five batters.

For the first time this season, Maeda worked a bulk-relief role and the results looked great. He threw 34 of 55 pitches for strikes and generated 11 whiffs. He was crushed for 15 runs in just 6.1 innings over his previous two outings. Maeda will enter the second half without a clear role in Detroit. He's registered an unsightly 6.88 ERA and 55:23 K:BB through 69.1 frames.

Estes (4-4) earned the win Sunday, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk over six innings against the Phillies. He struck out five.

Estes began his start in an early hole after he allowed a one-out homer by Trea Turner in the first. However, the A's provided 10 runs prior to Estes being removed from the game, ultimately tallying 18 runs to allow the young righty to cruise to his fourth win. It was a nice bounce-back effort for Estes, who had allowed eight runs over just 1.2 innings during his previous start, which had come on the heels of his first complete-game shutout. Estes enters the All-Star break with a 5.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 49 strikeouts over 12 starts spanning 63 innings.

Singer was saddled with the loss Sunday, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk over 2.2 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out three.

Singer couldn't put things together Sunday, allowing separate two-run homers in each of the first and second innings, then loading the bases in the third prior to being pulled. It was the shortest outing of the season for Singer, who entered the contest having allowed only one earned run during each of his previous four starts. He enters the All-Star break ranked 10th in the majors with a 3.20 ERA to go along with a 1.23 WHIP and 99 strikeouts over 19 starts spanning 104 innings.

Scherzer didn't factor into the decision Sunday against Houston, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts across four innings.

Scherzer didn't complete five innings for the first time since being activated from the injured list June 23 and threw only 71 pitches after tossing 95 pitches in his previous start. Though he didn't go deep into the contest, Scherzer was very effective, with the lone run against him coming in the third on a solo home run by Jake Meyers. The 39-year-old has logged a 2.96 ERA and a 23:4 K:BB across 27.1 innings heading into the All-Star break.

Blanco (9-4) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings.

All the damage against Blanco came in the first inning, when Josh Smith launched a two-run home run. However, the Astros managed to score only one run until the ninth inning, sticking Blanco with the loss despite logging a quality start. The 30-year-old has been outstanding this season, owning a 2.56 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 109.0 innings at the All-Star break. Before 2024, Blanco had a career 4.78 ERA in 58.1 innings and had primarily been utilized out of the bullpen, making him one of baseball's biggest breakouts so far.

Lively (8-5) yielded two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings Sunday, striking out seven and taking a loss against the Rays.

Lively turned in a strong performance aside from serving up solo homers to Jose Siri and Brandon Lowe. The Rays threw a combined shutout and stuck Lively with the tough-luck loss. His seven punchouts matched a season best, and he's now hit that mark four times in 2024. Lively will begin the second half with a strong 3.58 ERA and 78:25 K:BB through 16 starts. In eight outings since the start of June, he's registered a 4.40 ERA.

Pepiot (6-5) yielded two hits over six scoreless frames Sunday, striking out four and earning a win over the Guardians.

Pepiot gave up a pair of singles and plunked one batter but never faced much of a threat Sunday. He generated 12 swinging strikes, with six coming via the fastball. Pepiot has been fairly inconsistent in the first half of 2024 but owns a solid 3.92 ERA with a 94:31 K:BB through 17 appearances. Over his last four outings, he's registered a 1.71 ERA but has turned in just one quality start.

Paddack allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings in a no-decision versus the Giants on Sunday.

Paddack put in another decent effort, but he couldn't match Blake Snell's seven innings of one-hit ball. Paddack has allowed four runs (three earned) over 10 innings across two starts since he returned from a bout of arm fatigue. The right-hander has a 4.99 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 79:21 K:BB over 88.1 innings through 17 starts this season. While his results aren't great, Paddack's spot in the rotation doesn't appear to be in any immediate danger since he's stabilized his pitching following his injured-list stint.

Bello (10-5) picked up the win Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk over 6.1 innings against the Royals. He struck out three.

Bello's day started by allowing a leadoff homer to Adam Frazier, but he was quickly staked to a 4-1 lead and scattered only two additional runs the rest of the way while working into the seventh inning for the second time in three starts and just the third time this season. Bello has alternated good and bad outings recently, with Sunday representing his third quality start in his last six while he has allowed 16 earned runs in the other three appearances while failing to complete five innings twice. Bello places 10th in the majors with 10 wins; however, an ERA of 5.32 with a 1.47 WHIP and 85 strikeouts over 89.2 innings represent disappointing figures for the talented 25-year-old righty.