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Hunter Brown SP | HOU
Astros' Hunter Brown: Stumbles vs. Tampa
Brown (6-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Rays, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.
Brown hadn't allowed more than three earned runs in a start this year prior to Wednesday's outing. The Rays would score two runs on three hits in the first inning before Brown, who had only allowed two homers in his first nine starts, gave up a solo shot to Curtis Mead in the fourth, followed by back-to-back homers off the bats of Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe in the fifth. Despite the hiccup, the 26-year-old Brown still boasts an impressive 2.04 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 71:16 K:BB through 61.2 innings this season. He'll look to get back on track in his next outing, tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the A's.
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Taj Bradley SP | MIN
Rays' Taj Bradley: Rebounds vs. Houston
Bradley (4-3) earned the win Wednesday over the Astros, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out seven.
Bradley got off to a shaky start Wednesday -- the right-hander hit Jeremy Pena with a pitch to lead off the game before giving up a two-run homer to Isaac Paredes. However, Bradley would bounce back and blank Houston over his final five innings, allowing just three additional hits, en route to his fourth win and sixth quality start this year. The 24-year-old Bradley now sports a 4.61 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP and 48:24 K:BB across 10 starts (56.2 innings) this season. He currently lines up for a home matchup with the Twins in his next outing.
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Doug Nikhazy RP | CHC
Guardians' Doug Nikhazy: Serving as 27th man
The Guardians recalled Nikhazy from Triple-A Columbus to serve as the 27th man for Wednesday's doubleheader with the Twins.
Nikhazy wasn't available for the resumption of Monday's suspended game earlier in the day, but he'll join the Guardians for Wednesday's regularly scheduled contest before likely heading back to Triple-A. The southpaw will work out of the bullpen for Cleveland this time around after he previously made a spot start in his MLB debut back on April 26 versus the Red Sox.
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Jared Jones SP | PIT
Pirates' Jared Jones: Facing 10-to-12-month recovery
The Pirates announced that Jones underwent successful surgery Wednesday to repair the UCL in his right elbow. Jones is projected to return to full competition in 10-to-12 months.
Jones will miss the rest of the season, but the positive news is that his elbow procedure wasn't a standard Tommy John surgery, which would have carried a lengthier recovery timeline. The projected 10-to-12-month recovery window from surgery still likely means that Jones will open the 2026 season on the injured list, though an April or May return to the Pittsburgh rotation could be in the cards if he experiences no snags in the recovery process. Jones should be ready to begin a throwing program by the winter, and a firmer target date for his 2026 debut will likely come into focus during spring training.
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George Kirby SP | SEA
Mariners' George Kirby: Set for season debut Thursday
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Wednesday that Kirby (shoulder) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday's game in Houston, Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times reports.
Kirby's third and final rehab start wasn't great from a results perspective, as he allowed four runs on 10 hits over four innings of work at Triple-A Tacoma last Friday. However, he got his fastball velocity up to 97.5 miles per hour in the outing, and the Mariners are convinced the right-hander is ready to face big-league hitters. Kirby threw 64 pitches in his final rehab outing, so he will be working with a relatively limited workload Thursday. He's been out all season while recovering from right shoulder inflammation.
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Colton Gordon RP | MIL
Astros' Colton Gordon: Rejoining rotation soon
Gordon could be called up from Triple-A Sugar Land to rejoin the Houston rotation as soon as Sunday against the Mariners, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.
The Astros have a vacancy in their rotation Sunday, and Gordon and lefty Brandon Walter look to be the top two options to be called up from the minors to fill the void. Because both Gordon and Walter were optioned to Triple-A less than 15 days ago, neither of the two can be recalled unless a player is placed on the injured list in a corresponding move. Ronel Blanco (elbow) isn't slated to pitch this weekend and is getting further evaluated, so he would be the logical choice to land on the IL in order to open up a spot for Sunday's starter. Gordon has permitted six runs with a 10:2 K:BB over 9.2 frames in two starts for the Astros.
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Travis Sykora P | WAS
Nationals' Travis Sykora: Perfect at Single-A on Tuesday
Sykora threw three perfect innings for Single-A Fredericksburg on Tuesday while striking out five.
The 21-year-old righty had a delayed start to the season as he recovered from offseason hip surgery, but Sykora has been dominant since being cleared to get back on the mound. After two appearances in the Florida Complex League in which he compiled a 14:1 K:BB through only five innings, Sykora got bumped up to Single-A and has kept rolling, producing a 0.00 ERA and 9:2 K:BB in six innings over two starts. His workload is still being monitored -- he threw only 42 pitches (29 strikes) Tuesday -- but another promotion to High-A could come quickly given the lack of a challenge Carolina League hitters are presenting him.
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Jared Jones SP | PIT
Pirates' Jared Jones: Season-ending surgery confirmed
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said that Jones will undergo season-ending surgery Wednesday on his right elbow, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Tomczyk didn't indicate whether the upcoming procedure will be Tommy John surgery, an internal brace surgery or another kind of surgery, so Jones' status for the 2026 season won't be immediately known until more details are provided. Even if the 23-year-old righty doesn't need to miss much time to begin the 2026 season, he could struggle to immediately regain his pre-surgery velocity and command, making him a risky investment in fantasy leagues.
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Charlie Morton SP | ATL
Orioles' Charlie Morton: Re-entering rotation
Morton will start for the Orioles on Friday in Boston, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
Morton pitched well after taking over for an ineffective Kyle Gibson on Saturday versus the Nationals, striking out six over 4.1 innings of one-run ball. He's yielded only two runs with a 12:2 across his last 9.1 relief innings and will now get another shot in the Orioles rotation.
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Trey Yesavage SP | TOR
Blue Jays' Trey Yesavage: Double-digit Ks in Vancouver debut
Yesavage struck out 10 and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks over four innings Tuesday for High-A Vancouver.
In his High-A debut. Yesavage racked up double-digit strikeouts for the fourth time in his last six starts, and on the season he sports a 65:11 K:BB in 37.1 innings between Vancouver and Single-A Dunedin. The 21-year-old right-hander threw 44 of 73 pitches for strikes Tuesday, and his three free passes may have been an anomaly -- he hadn't issued a walk in any of his final three starts for Dunedin. If Yesavage keeps dominating Northwest League hitters, another promotion to Double-A could be coming for the 2024 first-round pick before the end of the year.