MLB Player News

Darvish (illness) won't be available to start Sunday's game against the Reds, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Darvish was moved off a scheduled start this past Tuesday in Pittsburgh while he battled an illness, but the Padres held out hope that he would show enough improvement to slot back into the rotation for the weekend series in Cincinnati. The right-hander evidently hasn't fully moved past the ailment, however, so he'll get at least one more day off to recover before the Padres revisit when he might return during the final week before the All-Star break. Adrian Morejon will draw the start Sunday, but he may be serving as more of an opener since he hasn't recorded more than seven outs in any of his appearances in the majors or minors this season.

Burnes (6-5) earned the win Saturday, allowing two runs on one hit and two walks over seven innings against the Pirates. He struck out seven.

The right-hander had a perfect game going through five innings but gave up two runs on a hit, two walks and a hit-by-pitch during the sixth. Burnes rebounded with a scoreless seventh before turning things over to Milwaukee's bullpen, which almost squandered a nine-run lead. The strong outing was a welcome sight for Burnes, who surrendered 11 runs and struck out just six batters over his previous two starts. It's been an up-and-down season through 17 starts for the 28-year-old, who has posted a 4.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 96:35 K:BB across 101.1 frames.

Bradish (4-4) took the loss Saturday, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk over six innings against the Twins. He struck out seven.

The right-hander surrendered a solo homer to Joey Gallo during the fourth inning and otherwise kept Minnesota off the board, but that was enough to be saddled with the loss since Bailey Ober countered with seven scoreless frames. Bradish has given up just six total runs in his last four starts and has a 23:5 K:BB across 25 innings during that span. The 26-year-old tentatively projects for a road matchup with the Yankees his next time out.

Brown (6-5) allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out six across four innings to take the loss Saturday against the Rangers.

Brown was in a tough matchup against one of the better lineups in the league. He avoided the long ball, but the Rangers constantly had runners on base. That inflated Brown's pitch count and forced him into a subpar outing. After an excellent start to the season, Brown has a 4.86 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across his last six outings and 33.1 frames.

Oviedo (3-9) allowed eight earned runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out one over five innings to take the loss Saturday against the Brewers.

Oviedo gave up six runs across his first two innings of work, with the big damage being a three-run homer by Christian Yelich. The outing adds to his inconsistent campaign, as he's allowed one or fewer earned runs in seven of his 17 starts. On the other hand, he's allowed more than five earned runs on three occasions. The end result has been a 4.61 ERA across 93.2 frames, though Oviedo hasn't significantly improved his strikeout rate (19.2 percent) or his other underlying skills.

Ober (5-4) earned the win Saturday against the Orioles after he allowed just two hits and no walks across seven scoreless innings. He struck out eight.

The 27-year-old needed only 85 pitches to get through seven frames, and the Minnesota bullpen maintained a 1-0 advantage to give him his second win in his past eight starts. Despite the lack of victories during that stretch, Ober has pitched well of late with quality starts in five of his last six outings, and he has a 37:4 K:BB during that six-start span. A rematch at home versus Baltimore likely awaits next weekend for the right-hander.

Miller, who exited Friday's start against the Rays with a blister on his right middle finger, may be forced to miss his next turn through the rotation, Brandon Gustafson of SeattleSports.com reports. "We're concerned," manager Scott Servais said. "We'll be hopeful he'll make his next start, but right now it's up in the air."

Miller would line up to face the Giants on Wednesday for his final pre-All-Star-break start, and despite the rookie's initial optimism after exiting the game Friday, he could be looking at a shutdown that extends through the Midsummer Classic. Servais explained prior to Saturday's game that Miller's finger was still very sore, adding that although the right-hander was receiving treatment designed to get his nail down, a lot would be determined by whether he was dealing with pockets of blood below the surface. Given Miller's importance to Seattle's injury-hampered rotation, the team may well err on the side of caution and take full advantage of the extended layoff afforded by the upcoming pause in play to try and get him back to full health. Servais stated he expected to have a firmer grasp on Miller's progress after Sunday's series finale versus the Rays, which could tee up an early-week decision on Wednesday's starter.

Kikuchi (7-3) took the loss Saturday, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings against Boston. He struck out seven.

Kikuchi was first victimized by a two-run home run from Rafael Devers in the top of the third to put the Blue Jays down 2-1. He would again run into trouble in the fifth after giving up a leadoff single to Rob Refsnyder, surrendering another three runs in the inning on four hits as Boston added to its lead. It marked the lefty's first loss since May 24 against the Rays, which was also the last time he allowed five runs in a start this season. Kikuchi had made it through at least six innings in each of his previous two starts and now sports a 40:8 K:BB since the start of June following his seven-strikeout performance.

Crawford (3-4) earned the win Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out five.

Crawford gave up a leadoff home run to George Springer to open the bottom of the first but was able to keep his composure, allowing just one more run over the next 4.2 innings, which again came on the long ball. The right-hander produced 14 swinging strikes on the afternoon while recording five strikeouts for the third time in his last four starts. Crawford has now won two of his last three decisions, though he's also allowed two home runs in back-back-back starts after not allowing more than one in any of his appearances since April 3 against the Pirates.

Morton (8-6) picked up the win in Saturday's 7-0 shutout of the Marlins, allowing four hits and a walk over 5.2 scoreless innings. He struck out five.

Atlanta's offense once again ambushed the opposition, scoring six runs in the first inning, and Morton cruised from there. The veteran righty has won three straight starts despite some inefficiency on his part, as he's completed six innings just once in his last eight outings, posting a 4.36 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 56:22 K:BB through 43.1 innings over that stretch. He'll take the mound one more time before the All-Star break for what's likely to be a road start next weekend in Tampa Bay.