MLB Player News

Pallante (10-5) picked up the win Friday, allowing five hits and a walk over 5.2 scoreless innings in a 17-1 rout of the Cubs. He struck out two.

The Cardinals backed Pallante by scoring multiple runs in five straight innings beginning in the second frame as the right-hander breezed through his afternoon, getting lifted after 102 pitches (61 strikes) and coming one out shy of his seventh quality start of the season. Pallante has given up two runs or fewer in five of six starts since the beginning of June, posting a 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 24:6 K:BB over 37 innings during that stretch, and his 10 wins tie him for first among all big-league starting pitchers this season with Chase Burns, Cristopher Sanchez and Justin Wrobleski. Pallante will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Brewers.

The Padres placed Vasquez on the 15-day injured list Friday with a bruised right ankle, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

After taking a comebacker off his ankle Thursday, Vasquez fainted while on his way to get X-rays, leading to his hospitalization. He was discharged from the hospital Friday, and tests on his ankle came back negative, but the Padres will keep him sidelined for the remainder of the first half. Alek Jacob will come up from Triple-A El Paso to give the Padres extra bullpen depth while they sort out their rotation plans.

Giolito (elbow) resumed light throwing in late June, per MLB.com.

Giolito has been sidelined since June 21 due to right elbow inflammation. While he's been able to return to playing catch. the veteran right-hander hasn't yet thrown from a mound. Giolito is unlikely to be activated from the IL until after the All-Star break.

Middleton will be sidelined for the remainder of the season following internal brace surgery on his right elbow, Eli Whitney of Blake Street Banter reports.

Middleton has been sidelined since late April with elbow problems, and he was ultimately unable to avoid surgery. Having internal brace surgery rather than a full Tommy John repair gives Middleton a chance to return before the end of the 2027 season.

May (ankle) will not be placed on the injured list prior to Friday's game against the Cubs, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

May recorded only two outs in Thursday's start in Atlanta before being forced from the outing after taking a comebacker off his right ankle. X-rays were clean and he reported improvement with the ankle Friday, which was enough for May to avoid the IL for the time being. May is tentatively scheduled to make a start during Tuesday's doubleheader against the Brewers, though he'll need to get through a bullpen session first before being cleared to pitch that day.

May indicated that his right ankle felt better than expected Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

He had planned to test the ankle out with some catch at Wrigley Field, but rain in the forecast might prevent that from happening. May was forced to depart Thursday's start in Atlanta after recording just two outs because of a comebacker that struck him on the ankle. X-rays were negative and May still has a chance to make his next start, which is currently set to come Tuesday in a doubleheader against the Brewers.

Padres manager Craig Stammen said Friday that Vasquez (ankle/illness) has been discharged from the hospital after testing came back "all clear," MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM reports.

Vasquez took a comebacker off the ankle during Thursday's start against the Dodgers. While on his way to get X-rays, he fainted and was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Scans of the right-hander's ankle came back negative, and it seems whatever caused the fainting spell is not a long-term concern. Vasquez is tentatively lined up for two starts during the final week of the first half, but the Padres will monitor him in the coming days before determining whether he'll make his next start as scheduled Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

The Marlins optioned Gusto to Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Gusto made five starts for Miami, collecting a 5.06 ERA and 18:10 K:BB over 21.1 innings. With Gusto returning to Jacksonville, Janson Junk (shin) appears set to rejoin the Marlins' rotation next week.

The Cardinals have a flexible cap on Leahy's innings this season as he transitions from reliever to starter, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The team will alter their rotation coming out of the All-Star break in order to bake in extra rest for Leahy. Additional measures will be taken during the second half to manage the righty's workload, though what exactly that will look like hasn't been decided upon. Leahy has logged 81.1 innings this season, which is just 6.2 frames shy of last year's total. The 29-year-old accumulated 144.2 innings in 2022, which was the last year he was used as a full-time starting pitcher, so the curtailing of his workload shouldn't be too dramatic. Leahy's next start is scheduled to come Saturday at Wrigley Field.

Cavalli will appeal the seven-game suspension he received Thursday, Evan Drellich of The Athletic reports.

MLB issued bans for Cavalli and teammate Miles Mikolas (five games) along with Boston's Willson Contreras (seven games) and Nate Eaton (three games) for their roles in a benches-clearing incident Tuesday. Cavalli's suspension was set to begin Friday, but the 27-year-old's decision to appeal the ban will allow him to make his next turn through the rotation, which is expected to come Monday against the Astros. One or both Nationals pitchers could end up dropping their appeals at a more convenient time as the team figures out how to juggle the two looming absences from its rotation.