MLB Player News

Scherzer (2-4) took the loss Tuesday to St. Louis and said he felt fatigued for the second time in three starts, MLB.com reports. He allowed three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over four innings and 68 pitches.

Scherzer said he felt better Tuesday than he did in the start against the Orioles on July 20, when he lasted just two innings and 53 pitches. While this news may worry fantasy managers, the 40-year-old right-hander didn't sound too concerned following the game. "The good news is I didn't have any zings," Scherzer said. "That's No. 1. I didn't hurt myself and I didn't strain anything." He tentatively lines up to pitch Sunday at home against the Red Sox.

Festa (1-2) took the loss Tuesday as the Twins were downed 2-0 by the Mets, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.

The rookie right-hander put together his best performance so far in the majors, tossing 44 of 68 pitches for strikes, but Minnesota managed only two hits in support of him. Festa has allowed just three runs in 9.1 innings since returning to the 26-man roster last week, but he continues to have trouble keeping the ball in the yard -- a solo shot by Mark Vientos in the fifth inning Tuesday was the sixth homer Festa has served up in 19.1 big-league frames. With the Twins having failed to add any rotation help at the trade deadline, his spot seems fairly secure for the moment, and Festa lines up to make his next start on the road early next week against the Cubs.

DeGrom (elbow) threw a 45-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

DeGrom threw three sets of 15 pitches and came away from the session feeling good. The right-hander reiterated once again the goal is to pitch this year and hopefully get the Rangers into the postseason. Texas general manager Chris Young admitted that return timelines are fluid, but the organization's goal is to have deGrom pitching for the Rangers at some point in August.

High-A Cedar Rapids reinstated Culpepper (forearm) from its 7-day injured list Saturday.

Culpepper returned to action Sunday against Quad Cities, striking out three over two perfect innings. The right-hander was sidelined for approximately two months due to a forearm strain. Over his 32.1 innings at Cedar Rapids this season, Culpepper has generated a 3.06 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 36:11 K:BB.

Smith served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 in Tuesday's 8-1 loss to St. Louis.

Smith moved to DH as the Rangers welcomed back third baseman Josh Jung after a long recovery from a wrist injury. Smith made the most of his opportunity filling in at third while Jung was unavailable, and manager Bruce Bochy is expected to now use Smith as the team's primary DH.

Jung went 1-for-3 in Tuesday's 8-1 loss to the Cardinals.

Jung made his return to the majors after missing 102 games with a wrist injury. He slotted in seventh in the batting order, which could be a temporary placement in a low-pressure slot as he acclimates to MLB pitching. When healthy and firing on all cylinders, Jung is expected to bat third, fourth or fifth.

Sears (8-8) secured the win over the Giants on Tuesday, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven scoreless innings.

Sears racked up a career-high nine strikeouts and went seven innings for just the second time this season. He's been much better over the last month after struggling over his first 16 starts of the year, during which he had a 5.04 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and only 56 strikeouts in 84 innings. The 28-year-old lefty also already has three more wins than he did all of last season despite having a nearly identical ERA (4.53). He'll look to continue his success in a great matchup against the White Sox to begin next week.

Bleday went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Giants.

Bleday entered the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth and came through with a solo blast to right in the eighth to extend the Oakland lead. It was just his second home run in July and his first RBI in just over a week, as he's struggled to get going at the dish for most of the month. The 2019 first-round pick is slashing .236/.316/.437 with 13 homers, 37 RBI, 48 runs, zero stolen bases and a 44:80 BB:K in 428 plate appearances. He's also tied for second in the American League with 30 doubles for the year.

Rooker went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Giants.

Rooker hit the third home run of the night against Robbie Ray with a two-run blast in the fifth to push the A's out to a 4-0 lead. His home run put an exclamation point on what's been an incredible month for the 29-year-old slugger. Rooker leads all of the majors with 11 homers, 30 RBI and 24 runs scored in July and is second in average (.410) and OPS (1.347). He's now slashing .297/.372/.593 with 26 homers, 77 RBI, 53 runs, seven steals and a 40:118 BB:K in 390 plate appearances this season. He currently sits seventh in all of baseball with a .965 OPS for the year.

Butler went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Giants.

Butler's big hit of the night came in the third inning with a 402-foot blast to center off Robbie Ray. He's now hit 10 home runs in July and has upped his OPS to .817 after entering the month with just two homers in 150 plate appearances while batting .179 with a .529 OPS. Over his last 24 games, Butler is slashing .382/.427/.831 with 27 RBI, 23 runs, five steals and a 7:19 BB:K.