MLB Player News

Gore won't start Thursday against the Tigers in Detroit as previously scheduled and will instead take the hill Friday versus the Marlins in Washington while he recovers from a fingernail issue, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

The Nationals will have Patrick Corbin take the hill Thursday in order to build in an extra day of recovery time for Gore. Though Gore is currently in line to take the hill Friday, fantasy managers will want to ensure he hasn't suffered a setback with the fingernail issue leading up to the series opener with Miami that may prompt the Nationals to push him back in the schedule. Gore will head into the weekend with a 5-5 record, 3.57 ERA and 1.37 WHIP through 68 innings on the season.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday that Senga (shoulder/triceps) will throw two more bullpen sessions before progressing to facing hitters, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

On Wednesday, Senga threw his second bullpen session since he was shut down with triceps tightness in late May. The session went well, and he will repeat the step two more times before being cleared to face hitters and eventually heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment. Senga has already been ruled out for the rest of the first half, but the righty remains optimistic he can be a contributor for the Mets after the All-Star break.

Gray will start Wednesday against the Dodgers, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The Rangers had held off on officially naming Gray their starter for Wednesday's game since he pitched 2.1 innings in relief in Saturday's loss to the Giants. He's evidently bounced back fine from that appearance and will pitch on short rest versus the Dodgers. It will be Gray's first start since he had to exit an outing more than three weeks ago with a right groin strain.

Flaherty (back) said he's feeling better after receiving a pain-killing injection Tuesday and has been cleared to start Saturday's game against the Astros in Houston, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Flaherty was scheduled to play catch Wednesday and will throw a bullpen session Thursday, but unless the Tigers indicate that his back is still aching coming out of either of those activities, he shouldn't face any restrictions while he slots back into the rotation this weekend. The right-hander has delivered excellent returns on the Tigers' one-year, $14 million investment on him this offseason, as he'll head into Saturday's outing with a 3-4 record, 3.22 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 94:10 K:BB across 72.2 innings through his first 12 starts with Detroit.

Rodriguez (shoulder) has extended his throwing program out to 105 feet, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Rodriguez will also continue to receive imaging on his left shoulder to check his progress. The left-hander is one month into the resumption of a throwing program after he had a setback in mid-April. There remains no timetable for Rodriguez's season debut.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday that the club is considering activating Rodriguez (back) from the 15-day injured list to start either Saturday versus the Guardians, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Rodriguez was terrific in his latest and likely final rehab start with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, striking out 10 over four shutout innings while scattering three hits and one walk. He would be starting on short rest if he's brought back Saturday, but the club is considering it because it prefers giving Jose Berrios an extra day of rest before his next outing, which would fall Sunday. If Rodriguez is in fact tabbed to fill the opening in the rotation Saturday, he could be deployed as part of a tandem with Bowden Francis, who had been occupying the No. 5 spot in the rotation following Alek Manoah's (elbow) move to the IL.

Paxton (6-1) got the win over the Rangers on Tuesday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out two over six innings.

Paxton's lone run against him came in the second inning on a sacrifice fly. He cruised the rest of the way from there, allowing just two more baserunners and did not allow another runner to get into scoring position. Tuesday was Paxton's first quality start since May 17 and his first win since May 11. His two hits allowed also tied his season low. The strikeout numbers have not been there for Paxton this season. He's topped four strikeouts just once this year and that came all the way back in his first start of the year. Still, he's been able to limit significant damage against him for the majority of the year and owns a 3.92 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 35:32 K:BB in 59.2 innings. The 35-year-old southpaw lines up to complete a two-start week against the Royals on Sunday.

The Twins optioned Varland to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Varland made a successful spot start Tuesday against the Rockies, spinning five scoreless frames while taking a no-decision in Minnesota's 5-4 loss. The Twins will use his roster spot for a fresh relief arm, with Jay Jackson coming up from Triple-A to join the bullpen.

Dunning (4-5) took the loss Tuesday against the Dodgers, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings.

Dunning dug the Rangers an early 3-0 hole after surrendering a three-run homer to Will Smith in the first inning. He kept the Dodgers off the board the next two frames but loaded up the bases in the fourth before being replaced by Jonathan Hernandez with two outs. Hernandez gave up a double to Mookie Betts, which plated two runs that were charged to Dunning. He's now given up 14 runs (12 earned) over his last 17 innings and hasn't pitched more than five frames since April 28. The 29-year-old owns a 4.80 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 59:26 K:BB in 54.1 innings and will look to get back on track in a weekend start against Seattle.

Montgomery (4-4) got the win over the Angels on Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three over 5.2 innings.

Montgomery got through two innings unscathed before the Angels tacked on a pair of runs in the third. He got through another two clean innings before Taylor Ward took him deep to lead off the sixth. Montgomery retired the next two batters before being replaced by Kevin Ginkel to face Logan O'Hoppe. The strikeout numbers remain down for Montgomery. He hasn't struck out more than five batters since May 13 and is averaging 5.5 K/9, which would be his lowest mark since 2018. The 31-year-old southpaw owns a 6.58 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 32:19 K:BB in 52 innings and lines up for a favorable matchup against the White Sox this weekend.