MLB Player News

Matz (3-7) allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings to earn the win Saturday over the Rockies.

Matz gave up a run for the first time in three starts, but he turned in his third straight quality start. It's been an impressive return to form for the southpaw after an awful start to the season. He's now at a 3.91 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 93:32 K:BB over 99 innings through 24 appearances (16 starts). Matz will looking to keep it rolling next weekend in a road start versus the Royals.

Verlander (6-6) took the loss Saturday, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks over seven innings against the Yankees. He struck out four.

Verlander allowed back-to-back hits to start the bottom of the second, leading to a sacrifice fly from Anthony Volpe for the Yankees' first run of the game. The right-hander would then retire seven of the next nine batters he faced before serving up a hanging slider to Jake Bauers, who launched it over the wall in right field. Despite taking the loss, it was still a quality outing for Verlander in his return to Houston following the trade. He's now allowed two earned runs or fewer in four consecutive starts and in six of his last seven.

Richardson will be called up from Triple-A Louisville to make his first big-league start Sunday against the Nationals, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Richardson was scratched from his scheduled start with Triple-A Louisville on Thursday, and it turns out the reason was to keep him on schedule for his first start in the major leagues. Richardson is one of Cincinnati's better prospects, but he hasn't thrown more than 49 pitches in a game since May, so he'll likely face some sort of pitch limit Sunday.

Miller (elbow) threw a bullpen session Saturday and said afterward that he will face live hitters next week, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old has been out since May with an elbow injury, but he now has four bullpen sessions under his belt and will look to clear the next major hurdle in his recovery next week. Miller reiterated that his goal is to pitch for the A's again this season. He only made four starts before going down, but Miller impressed in that small sample (3.38 ERA, 0.98 WHIP) and looks like a potential long-term rotation piece for Oakland.

DeSclafani will receive a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow and is expected to be shut down from throwing for 6-to-8 weeks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Based on the 6-to-8-week timeline, DeSclafani's season is almost certainly over, barring a deep postseason run by the Giants. After missing most of last season with an ankle injury, DeSclafani returned to go 4-8 with a 4.88 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 19 appearances (18 starts) for the Giants in 2023. The right-hander is under contract for $12 million in 2024.

Wells, who is slated to start for Double-A Bowie on Saturday, will be given a little more rest between his next outings, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.

It sounds like Wells will go only three innings Saturday as the organization hits the reset button. Rest will be a big part of this reset process, as manager Brandon Hyde said Wells likely won't take the ball again in the minors until next weekend. One of the biggest surprises of the first half, Wells allowed 11 runs in nine innings across his first three starts out of the All-Star break. He still has a 3.80 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 111:33 K:BB over 113.2 innings in the majors this season.

The Pirates officially recalled Falter ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Brewers, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Falter was added to the taxi squad Friday and is now on the Pirates' active roster for the first time after coming over from Philadelphia at the deadline in exchange for infielder Rodolfo Castro. While Falter has mostly struggled at the highest level this season (5.13 ERA, 1.44 WHIP), he showed promise in 2021 and 2022, and the Pirates are evaluating for the future.

The Mets recalled Megill ahead of his scheduled start Saturday against the Orioles.

Megill will get another chance in the rotation after both Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander were moved at the trade deadline. His ERA and WHIP have only gotten worse with Triple-A Syracuse, though Megill took a step forward in his most recent start in the minors with six innings of two-run ball against Lehigh Valley.

The Brewers optioned Rea to Triple-A Nashville on Saturday.

Lefty Clayton Andrews was recalled to replace Rea, who was knocked around for six runs over four innings Friday, bringing his ERA since the All-Star break to 6.75. Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) is due back Sunday, so Rea's services are no longer needed in the rotation, though he could be back before long as a swingman.

Whitlock (elbow) threw live batting practice Saturday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Prior reports suggested that the 27-year-old could begin a rehab assignment this weekend, but the Red Sox instead opted to have him complete a live batting practice session beforehand. If Whitlock checks out fine Sunday, he could begin a rehab stint within the next week.