MLB Player News

Sasaki (3-5) allowed three runs on three hits, five walks and a hit batsman while striking out two over four-plus innings to take the loss versus the Padres on Friday.

The five walks matched his season high. Sasaki has regressed heavily in recent starts, giving up 13 runs over his last 14 innings, including four home runs. The right-hander is now at a 4.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 72:30 K:BB over 72 innings through 14 starts. Sasaki's strikeout upside is a plus, as is a lineup that can often give him enough run support to cover up mistakes. He'll look to get back on track in his next start, which is tentatively scheduled to be a rematch at home versus the Padres next week.

France went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Friday's 7-1 win over the Dodgers.

France's second-inning blast answered a solo shot from Mookie Betts in the top of that same frame. This was France's second straight game with a homer, and four of his 10 long balls this year have come over his last seven games. For the season, the first baseman is batting .255 with an .810 OPS, 29 RBI, 20 runs scored, one stolen base, seven doubles and two triples over 179 plate appearances. As long as his bat is hot, France should be in the lineup most of the time.

Buehler (5-3) allowed one run on three hits and three walks while striking out five over 5.1 innings to earn the win Friday over the Dodgers.

Buehler put a bow on an unexpectedly dominant June by limiting one of his former teams to a Mookie Betts solo home run in the second inning. Across five starts in June, Buehler never allowed more than one run in any game. He gave up five runs and posted a 27:8 K:BB across 26.1 innings. He has just three quality starts this season because he continues to struggle pitching deep enough into games to meet the requirements, but he has turned things around after a lackluster first month of the campaign. The right-hander is at a 3.81 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 70:26 K:BB through 78 innings over 16 starts this season. Buehler's next start is projected to be on the road versus the Cubs.

Dotel (lat) will begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Altoona on Saturday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Dotel has been on the injured list with a right lat strain since June 13. It's unclear how many rehab appearances the Pirates will have him make, but he could be cleared to rejoin Pittsburgh's bullpen before the end of the month.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a scored in Friday's 2-1 win over the Mets.

Turner is finally starting to gain some steam at the plate, submitting four straight multi-hit games. The 32-year-old shortstop has been a big disappointment overall, slashing .235/.284/.341 with seven home runs, 14 doubles and 24 RBI across 352 plate appearances, but he does have 51 runs scored and 15 stolen bases as Philadelphia's primary leadoff man.

The Cardinals will skip May's turn in the rotation Saturday against Miami while he manages back tightness, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

May has been dealing with lower-back tightness since tossing a complete-game shutout against the Padres on June 15, which may have played a factor in him getting roughed up for six-runs in a two-inning start versus Kansas City on Sunday. Delaying the 28-year-old's next appearance will give him extra time to heal and move Andre Pallante up a day to start Saturday on four days' rest.

Perdomo went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Rays.

Perdomo's solo home run in the first inning proved to be Arizona's only offense of the game. It marked the first homer and multi-hit effort since June 14 for the shortstop, who had gone just 5-for-32 over nine games in that span. For the year, he's slashing .237/.351/.352 with five long balls, 28 RBI, 36 runs scored and 11 steals across 329 plate appearances.

Gallen (3-7) took the loss against the Rays on Friday, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks over 6.2 innings. He did not record a strikeout.

Four of the five runs Gallen allowed came via the long ball, including a three-run homer off the bat of Junior Caminero in the first inning. While Gallen was able to work deep into the game, the 30-year-old generated just one swinging strike on 86 pitches and has now registered four or fewer strikeouts in six straight outings. He'll take a 6.15 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 52:27 K:BB across 86.1 innings this season into a home matchup with the Giants next week.

Thornton did not factor into the decision in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies, allowing one run on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over six innings.

Making just his second career major-league start, Thornton allowed a run in the first inning before settling in with five scoreless frames. He threw an impressive 54 of 78 pitches for strikes with 13 whiffs while logging his first career quality start. The rookie southpaw likely earned himself another turn in the Mets' rotation, which would line him up for a road matchup against Atlanta next weekend.

Wheeler (8-1) earned the win against the Mets on Friday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings.

Wheeler allowed a run in the fourth inning but was otherwise fantastic, generating 14 swinging strikes on 98 pitches and limiting the Mets to one extra-base hit. The 36-year-old has now yielded two earned runs or fewer in each of his five June outings while logging four quality starts during that stretch. For the year, he owns a 2.03 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 74:19 K:BB across 75.1 innings and lines up for a home matchup with the Pirates next week.