MLB Player News

Despite his awful line in the box score, the Blue Jays felt that Manoah did what he needed to do on the mound during Tuesday's start in the Florida Complex League, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports. "I obviously saw the line score and all that stuff, but I heard that the things we were talking about in terms of strike throwing, delivery, tempo, velo were all positive," manager John Schneider said.

While it's easy to view the outing as akin to a spring training start in which the results are less important than a pitcher getting in his work, it's still hard to ignore that Manoah -- who finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting last season -- was giving up homers to teenage hitters, eventually surrendering 11 runs in only 2.2 innings. The right-hander will need to show a lot more progress before he can advance up the minor-league ladder, and his return to the Blue Jays' rotation still appears to be weeks, if not months, away.

Allard (oblique) was activated from the 60-day injured list in advance of his start Wednesday against the Twins.

It's a pretty solid home matchup for Allard, as the Twins lead the majors in strikeout rate (26.9 percent). Allard, who was originally drafted by Atlanta with the No. 14 overall pick in 2015, will be making his first start for the team since 2018, after spending four years with the Rangers. He had a 2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 8:2 K:BB in 6.2 innings across two rehab starts.

Montgomery (5-7) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk over 6.2 innings in a 4-2 victory over the Astros. He struck out six.

The southpaw continues to roll. He delivered his fourth straight quality start with another strong performance, and the chronically unlucky Montgomery has managed to get the win in three of them -- an impressive feat for a pitcher who's never recorded double-digit wins in a season. After posting a 1.71 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 30:6 K:BB through 31.2 innings in June, he'll take plenty of momentum into his next outing, which is likely to be a weekend matchup in St. Louis against his former club, the Yankees.

Valdez (7-6) took the loss Tuesday as the Astros were downed 4-2 by the Cardinals, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out six.

While the southpaw was able to limit the damage to some extent, Valdez wasn't at his sharpest, uncorking three wild pitches while tossing 61 of 94 pitches for strikes. He also got taken deep by Paul DeJong in the third inning, the first homer Valdez had served up since May 15. He'll carry a 2.49 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 110:24 K:BB through 105 innings into his next outing, likely to come this weekend on the road against the Rangers.

Elder (6-1) picked up the win Tuesday, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks over six innings in a 6-2 victory over the Twins. He struck out four.

The right-hander also hit a batter and tossed a wild pitch as he threw only 59 of 98 pitches for strikes, and his defense committed four errors on the night. Fortunately for Elder, Atlanta's offense out-slugged the mistakes, backing him with five homers in the first two innings. The quality start was his third straight and 10th of the season in 16 outings, and the 24-year-old rookie will take a 2.44 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 79:28 K:BB through 96 innings into his next start, likely to come early next week in Cleveland.

Ryan (8-5) took the loss Tuesday as the Twins fell 6-2 to Atlanta, coughing up six runs on nine hits -- including five home runs -- over three innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

All five homers came in the first 10 batters Ryan faced, with Ronald Acuna taking him deep twice in the first two innings. The right-hander has had some issues keeping the ball in the park as the weather has warmed up -- while he'd only served up eight long balls in total on the season coming into Tuesday, he's now been tagged for multiple homers in three of his last six starts, a stretch in which he has a 5.55 ERA despite a 1.01 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB through 35.2 innings. Ryan lines up for a much less daunting matchup in his next trip to the mound, which is likely to come at home early next week against the Royals.

Whitlock (4-3) took the loss in Tuesday's 10-1 rout at the hands of the Marlins, surrendering six runs on 11 hits over 4.2 innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.

While the whiffs did salvage his fantasy line to some extent, Whitlock was hit hard when he was in the strike zone and served up long balls to Bryan De La Cruz and Jean Segura, who had a combined nine homers on the season coming into the contest. The rough night snapped a three-game quality start streak for the right-hander, and Whitlock now has a 4.67 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 35:4 K:BB through 34.2 innings over six outings since returning to the rotation in late May. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, likely to come this weekend in Toronto.

Alcantara (3-6) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and two walks over seven innings in a 10-1 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out five.

The Marlins gave their ace a three-run lead before he stepped on the mound at Fenway, and Alcantara responded with one of his best performances of the season. The right-hander fired 65 of 95 pitches for strikes en route to his sixth quality start in 16 outings and his first win since May 24. Alcantara will try to build on that success in his next start, likely to come this weekend in Atlanta.

Buehler (elbow) shared a video of himself throwing a bullpen session on his personal Instagram account last week.

Buehler has previously stated that he is aiming to be ready to join the Dodgers by Sept. 1, and his ability to throw bullpens is a promising indication that such a timeline may be feasible. The right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery last August, so Los Angeles won't push him to move through the rehab process any faster than necessary. If Buehler does make it back to the big-league club in early September, his addition to the pitching staff could be a big boost to the team, though it's possible he could be used out of the bullpen given the length of his absence.

Woo allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out seven over five innings in a no-decision versus the Nationals on Tuesday.

Woo continues to flash strong strikeout numbers with decent control -- he's at a 32:6 K:BB through 22.2 innings across his five starts. He gave up a run in the first and fifth innings Tuesday, but it was the Mariners' bullpen that cost him a chance at his second win. The rookie right-hander has a 4.37 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, and he's settled down after a shaky debut in Texas on June 3. With Marco Gonzales (forearm) suffering a setback, Woo should remain in the rotation well into July. He's projected to make his next start in San Francisco next week.