MLB Player News

Woodruff (Raynaud's syndrome) could make one more rehab start next week for High-A Wisconsin before rejoining the big-league rotation, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

First, Woodruff will start Saturday for Triple-A Nashville, and if that goes well, he will fly back to Milwaukee on Sunday and potentially make one more rehab start for the nearby affiliate. A return to the big-league rotation following Saturday's rehab start hasn't been officially ruled out, but it's seeming like Woodruff is tracking toward a return at the end of the month either in Tampa Bay on June 29 or in Pittsburgh on June 30.

The Giants announced that Cobb (neck) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's game against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Cobb is on track to return after a minimum-length stay on the IL due to a neck strain. He completed a live batting practice session Tuesday without incident, and the Giants determined after evaluating him a day later that he wouldn't require a rehab assignment before coming off the IL. Prior to sustaining the neck injury, Cobb went 3-2 with a 5.73 ERA and 1.49 WHIP over eight starts spanning 37.2 innings, but a strong 21.3 K-BB% and 2.67 SIERA offer hope that he'll be able to stage a major turnaround in the ratio categories.

Stroman (shoulder) played catch Thursday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Stroman hasn't pitched in nearly two weeks while battling shoulder inflammation. The fact he's now able to throw again is certainly a good sign, but he still has several steps to go before being activated off the injured list.

Strider (3-2) gave up two earned runs on one hit and two walks while striking out a career-high 11 batters Wednesday against the Nationals. He picked up the win.

This was Strider's best start of his career, as he tied his career high with 5.2 innings and blew past his previous career high of eight strikeouts. He topped out at 100.9 mph and average 98.8 mph with his fastball, which had a 33 percent whiff rate in this outing. His slider registered a 48 percent whiff rate, and he threw his changeup just four times out of 106 total pitches. Strider has a 1.76 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 24:8 K:BB in 15.1 innings over his last three starts. He may get a pair of starts next week against the Giants and Dodgers, both of which would come at home.

Gibson didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Marlins, allowing one run on seven hits over eight innings. He struck out six without walking a batter.

The veteran right-hander put together one of his most impressive performances of the year, tossing an efficient 89 pitches (63 strikes), but Gibson left the mound on the hook for his third loss until Garrett Stubbs launched a walkoff homer in the ninth inning. Gibson had to settle for his second straight quality start and sixth of the season in 13 outings, leaving him with a 4.04 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 62:20 K:BB through 71 innings.

May (elbow) is doing well in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, but he remains without a return timeline, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

May is just 13 months removed from Tommy John surgery, so he's not particularly close to a return. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that the plan remains for the right-hander to build up as a starter but acknowledged that he's still "a ways from that point." A mid-August return appears to be a best-case scenario for May.

Anderson (8-0) earned the win during Wednesday's 4-1 victory against the Angels, allowing one run on one hit and two walks with eight strikeouts in 8.1 innings.

Following a poor outing against the White Sox in his last start, Anderson surrendered a one-out Shohei Ohtani triple in the ninth inning to lose a no-hitter and was subsequently pulled at 123 pitches. In total, the 32-year-old permitted six baserunners and was able to stay course with the help of 17 straight outs during the middle innings. Additionally, the eight strikeouts match the southpaw's season best while the 83 game score eclipses that of eight shutout innings he posted against Washington on May 23. Anderson's eight wins tie him with three others for the MLB lead and he'll look to keep pace when he's expected to take the mound again next week against Cincinnati.

Gomber (3-7) took the loss during Wednesday's 7-5 defeat at the hands of the Guardians, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

Gomber surrendered one run apiece in each of the first two innings and stumbled in the fifth, allowing three runs on four baserunners, to fall in line for the loss. The 28-year-old has now surrendered at least five runs in three of his last four starts and seen his ERA and WHIP spike to 6.43 and 1.48, both of which rank bottom four among the 62 qualified starters. Gomber will look to get back on track with a matchup against Miami on tap for early next week.

Flaherty (shoulder) allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks while posting three strikeouts in three innings, taking a no-decision versus the Pirates on Wednesday. He also hit a batter.

Flaherty wasn't great in his season debut after missing over two months with shoulder inflammation. The Pirates got two runs in each of the first two innings before the right-hander turned in a clean third. He stuck to his pitch count, throwing 37 of 60 pitches for strikes. It may take a few more turns for Flaherty to build up to a regular workload after the long absence. He had a 3.22 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 85:26 K:BB across 78.1 innings last year. He's expected to make his second start of the season next week in Milwaukee.

Contreras allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings versus the Cardinals on Wednesday. He did not factor in the decision.

Despite a rough outing, Contreras exited with the game tied at 4-4. He's now surrendered eight runs (six earned) in nine innings across his last two starts after having not allowed more than two runs in any of his first six appearances. He's still at a reasonable 3.06 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 35:12 K:BB across 32.1 innings in eight outings (five starts) this year. He's projected for a more favorable home start versus the Cubs next week.