MLB Player News

Gray pitched seven innings in a no-decision Friday, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six in a 3-2 win over the Reds.

Gray pitched well in his first start of the second half of the season, with the four baserunners being the fewest he's allowed in a start this season. Even so, he was only let off the hook for his seventh loss when David Dahl and Daniel Murphy hit solo home runs in the eighth inning to put the Rockies ahead. Gray owns a 3.83 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP in 115 innings this season. He takes a 9-6 record and 121:42 K:BB into his next scheduled start Wednesday against the Giants.

Darvish threw six shutout innings Friday, allowing just two hits with one walk and eight strikeouts during a no-decision against the Pirates.

This was arguably Darvish's best outing of the season, as it was the first time all year he didn't yield a run. Still, he wasn't rewarded with a win because the Cubs bullpen allowed the Bucs to tie the game in the eighth. Darvish will look to build upon this success, which he hasn't been able to do recently -- he's yielded one run in an outing two times since the end of May, but then followed that up with poor starts. Darvish is 2-4 with a 4.72 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 119 strikeouts in 103 innings this season. He is set to make his next appearance against the Reds on Wednesday.

Lauer was placed on the bereavement list Friday.

He needs to miss a minimum of three games, but can still take the ball on turn July 16 in Miami, so this won't affect his fantasy value.

Hill (forearm) will resume throwing next week, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Hill expected to have to wait 3-to-4 weeks to resume throwing after he landed on the injured list June 20, and he appears to be right in line with that estimate. His ability to return to the mound at any point this season has been in question since he suffered a flexor tendon strain, but he was reportedly optimistic Friday.

Wainwright was scratched from his scheduled start Friday against the Diamondbacks with back spasms, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Wainwright has yet to be placed on the injured list, so it sounds as though the Cardinals may expect him to miss just one start. Daniel Ponce de Leon will make a spot start in his absence.

Hamels (oblique) will start throwing off flat ground Friday, Bruce Miles of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Hamels was diagnosed with a left oblique strain July 2, and the start of his throwing program is the first step in returning from the injured list. The veteran left-hander still has no official timetable for his return, but he'll need to rebuild some of his arm strength after not throwing over the last couple weeks.

Freeland will be promoted to start Saturday against Cincinnati, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.

After finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting last season, Freeland took such a significant step backwards this year that he was sent to the minors in late May after recording a 7.13 ERA in 12 starts. His performances for Triple-A Albuquerque give little reason to believe that things will be any better in the second half, as he posted an 8.80 ERA in six starts.

Gausman (foot) will advance his rehab assignment to Double-A Mississippi on Thursday.

Gausman allowed three runs on five hits in five innings of work in his first rehab start for High-A Florida, striking out six while walking one. He's been out for exactly a month but doesn't appear to be far from returning, as he threw 72 pitches in his previous start and should surpass that number Thursday.

Taillon (elbow) threw lightly in the outfield for the first time in over one month Sunday, general manager Neal Huntington told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates remain cautiously optimistic with Taillon, though the pitcher has a long road to recovery. "We still are optimistic, but the body hasn't recovered the way we hoped," Huntington said. "These last couple of weeks there's been some steady progression. We'll get him out and throwing, see how the arm responds. Hopefully, as he's feeling now, we'll continue to build good day upon good day." Unless Taillon makes some large strides in a short period of time, he may not have enough time to make a sizable impact in the second half. Huntington noted that the longer a pitcher is down, the longer his recovery period is once he's healthy enough to resume throwing.

Gore was promoted to Double-A Amarillo on Tuesday, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Gore could hardly have performed better in 15 starts for High-A Lake Elsinore, posting an incredible 1.02 ERA and striking out 38.2 percent of opposing batters while walking just 6.9 percent. The 20-year-old is in line to make his big-league debut at some point in 2020 if his progress continues at a similar pace.