MLB Player News

Zastryzny will serve as the Brewers' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Zastryzny will get the opener assignment for the second time this season, after he previously tossed a scoreless inning as a starter in his Brewers debut back on July 1 in Colorado. Colin Rea had been listed as the Brewers' scheduled starter for Sunday and will presumably be in store for his typical workload while coming out of the bullpen once Zastryzny exits the contest, likely after one or two innings.

Kerkering will serve as the Phillies' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Kerkering will be making the first start of his professional career, but the Phillies are unlikely to ask him to cover more than the opening frame or two, given that the hard-throwing reliever hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season. Though he's given up a hit in all but two of his last nine relief outings, Kerkering has struck out 10 batters and hasn't allowed a run during that stretch, bringing his ERA down to a shiny 1.30. Michael Mercado is expected to operate as a bulk reliever for the Phillies once Kerkering exits Sunday's contest.

Vest (2-3) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win in Saturday's 11-9, 10-inning victory over the Dodgers. He walked one and struck out one.

Vest was the last of six Detroit pitchers to appear in the contest, and he calmly navigated the top of the 10th inning on 12 pitches before Gio Urshela ended the game with a walk-off homer in the bottom half. The veteran righty has been solid once again this season with a 3.27 ERA and 36 strikeouts across 41.1 innings. Vest should continue to work in a high-leverage setup role for the Tigers ahead of Jason Foley, though it's a fairly fluid bullpen, and Vest could see some save opportunities down the stretch if Foley stumbles.

Hodge (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits across 1.2 innings of relief to take the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He walked one and struck out two.

Hodge allowed his first runs since June 6, a streak of seven appearances and 10 innings. The righty has been scored upon only twice this year in 14 appearances overall, and he has a solid 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 18 strikeouts across 16.2 innings. Veteran Hector Neris is first in line for saves at the moment, but Hodge may be next up if Neris struggles or gets hurt.

Yates walked one and struck out one in a scoreless 10th inning Saturday to record his 15th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Astros.

The 37-year-old right-hander continued his resurgent campaign. Yates has yet to blow a save this season, and he hasn't been tagged for an earned run in 10 straight appearances, posting a 0.80 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB across 10 innings over that stretch. His first-half performance has earned Yates his second career All-Star Game berth -- the other came back in 2019 with the Padres, when he led the majors with 41 saves.

Shuster is listed as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

According to James Fegan of SoxMachine.com, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol had previously said Saturday that Chad Kuhl was likely to start Sunday's series finale, but Shuster will instead get the ball for Chicago in its final game before the All-Star break. Shuster has prior starting experience, but he's mostly worked out of the bullpen since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on May 1, covering no more than 3.1 innings in any of his subsequent 18 appearances. He'll be taking the hill on one day rest Sunday, so Shuster is unlikely to work more than once through the batting order before turning the game over to Kuhl and the rest of the White Sox bullpen.

The Angels announced Saturday that Wantz underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow, MLB.com reports.

The club didn't provide many details on Wantz's procedure, but the prevailing assumption is that he underwent Tommy John surgery. Assuming that's the case, Wantz likely won't be ready to pitch again until late in the 2025 season, if not the start of the 2026 season. He appeared in just one game out of the big-league bullpen this season and made seven appearances (six starts) at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he turned in a 6.17 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 23.1 innings. Set to turn 29 years old in October and likely at risk of missing the entire 2025 season, Wantz will likely be a non-tender candidate this offseason.

Contreras is expected to be the Angels' primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind starter Carson Fulmer in Sunday's game against the Mariners, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels are planning to treat their final game before the All-Star break as a bullpen day, with Fulmer and Contreras likely on track to cover the bulk of the innings. Fulmer tossed three innings in relief in his last outing Monday and has covered as many as four innings in an appearance this season, so he should be able to give the Angels a decent amount of length as an opener before Contreras is likely summoned from the bullpen. Contreras had started in each of his last three appearances, tossing between two and three innings on each occasion while turning in an 8.22 ERA and 2.35 WHIP.

Helsley recorded his 32nd save of the season Saturday, giving up a hit and striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning during the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the Cubs.

After blowing a save July 5, Helsley got an extended rest and bounced back with a strong performance. The right-hander has hardly been struggling lately though -- he's allowed earned runs in only one of his last 12 appearances, posting a 1.38 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB over 13 innings during that stretch. Helsley's 32 saves leads the majors, three clear of the Guardians' Emmanuel Clase, and that impressive first half has earned him his second career All-Star Game berth.

Castro allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning in Saturday's 12-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Castro made his first appearance since being activated off the injured list Thursday. He pitched a scoreless eighth inning with the Diamondbacks ahead 8-1. Castro had missed nearly three months with shoulder inflammation.