MLB Player News

Cease (3-9) allowed six runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight batters over six innings in a loss against Arizona on Wednesday.

Cease continues to flash impressive stuff with poor results -- he racked up 16 whiffs and eight strikeouts but allowed three long balls and six runs. The right-hander has now given up multiple home runs in three consecutive starts, yielding 14 runs (13 earned) across 16 innings during that stretch. Cease is tied for sixth in the league with 129 punchouts on the season, but he's also posted a poor 4.88 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

Horton (3-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Twins, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five.

After firing seven shutout innings his last time out, Horton stumbled in Minnesota on Wednesday despite registering an impressive 19 whiffs. The rookie right-hander has now failed to make it through five frames in three of his last four starts, and he's walked multiple batters and been unable to fan greater than five in each of these outings. Horton will take a shaky 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB through his first 56.2 innings into the All-Star break, but he has a clear pathway to a rotation spot with the Cubs for now due to the absence of Justin Steele (elbow).

Pfaadt (9-6) earned the win over San Diego on Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters over eight innings.

Pfaadt was both effective and efficient in the outing, needing a comfortable 99 pitches to get through a season-high eight frames. In fact, this was just the second time this season he's completed more than six innings -- his previous high was 6.1 frames May 8 against the Dodgers. Pfaadt didn't overwhelm batters with just seven whiffs and four punchouts, but he limited the Padres to only four hits. He's unlikely to pitch again until after the All-Star break; if that's the case, he'll finish the first half of the campaign with a 9-6 record despite a poor 5.16 ERA and 1.31 WHIP along with an 84:23 K:BB over 99.1 innings (19 starts).

Abbott (8-1) picked up the win Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 7.2 innings.

Abbott was pulled in the fourth inning of his previous start after allowing four earned runs. The 26-year-old bounced back Wednesday by firing seven scoreless innings before Heriberto Hernandez broke the shutout with an RBI single during the eighth frame. The outing marked Abbott's sixth quality start of the campaign and snapped a streak of three consecutive appearances with fewer than five Ks. He'll take a 2.07 ERA and an 83:24 K:BB over 91.1 innings into his next start, which won't come until after the All-Star break.

Alcantara (4-9) took the loss Wednesday against the Reds, allowing six runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out five.

Alcantara seemed to get back on track in June after rattling off eight losses in nine starts spanning April 18 to May 28. He logged a 2.74 ERA and a 19:5 K:BB in his first four outings of the month. However, the 29-year-old has been shelled in three consecutive appearances since, yielding 18 runs and 24 hits across 17 innings. Alcantara owns a 7.22 ERA in 93 innings heading into the All-Star break as he continues to struggle in his first year back from Tommy John surgery.

Senzatela (3-13) took the loss Wednesday against Boston, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk over five innings. He struck out three.

Senzatela continues to extend his lead for most losses in baseball, adding a tally in the column for a third consecutive outing. The 30-year-old has failed to exceed four strikeouts in all but one of his 19 appearances. Since the start of June, Senzatela owns a 5.67 ERA and an 18:16 K:BB over 33.1 innings. He'll take a 6.60 ERA into the All-Star break.

Falter didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against Kansas City, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 4.2 innings.

Falter yielded multiple home runs for a second consecutive start, surrendering a solo homer to Salvador Perez and a two-run shot to Jac Caglianone. Falter hasn't completed six frames in seven straight outings, logging a 5.17 ERA and an 18:12 K:BB over 31.1 innings during that stretch. He'll take a 3.79 ERA into the All-Star break.

Verlander (0-7) took the loss Wednesday against the Phillies, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits across six innings. He struck out seven.

While Verlander was able to log a quality start, the right-hander will ultimately head into the All-Star break without a win through his first 15 outings of 2025. Overall, Verlander sports a 4.70 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 67:26 K:BB across 76.2 innings this season. Depending how the Giants line up their rotation coming out of the break, Verlander's first start of the second half will come against Toronto or Atlanta.

Luzardo (8-5) earned the win Wednesday against the Giants, allowing three hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

It was a much-needed bounce-back effort from Luzardo, after he gave up six runs (five earned) in just two innings against the Reds in his last start. The southpaw had struggled to a 9.49 ERA in his last seven outings (30.1 innings) prior to Wednesday. Luzardo will finish an up-and-down first half of the season with a 4.14 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 122:36 K:BB across 19 starts (104.1 innings).

Glasnow did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing one unearned run on two hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five.

It was a strong return to the mound for Glasnow, who'd been sidelined since late April with a shoulder injury. The right-hander didn't appear to be limited Wednesday, as he made it through five innings and threw 85 pitches, with the Brewers' lone run coming on a Will Smith throwing error in the fifth. Overall, Glasnow sports a 3.52 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and 28:14 K:BB through his first 23 innings this season.