MLB Player News

Daniel did not factor into the decision in a loss to the Rockies on Wednesday, allowing one run on five hits and one walk over five innings while striking out five.

Daniel got himself in trouble in the opening frame when he allowed three of the first five batters to reach, leading to one run coming home for Colorado. However, the right-hander settled in from that point on, hurling four shutout innings before being relieved by Jose Marte at the start of the sixth. Daniel had allowed at least four runs in each of his previous two starts coming in but now holds a robust 19:2 K:BB on the season. Daniel is expected to take the mound again next week against the Yankees in New York, assuming he earned himself at least another start with Wednesday's solid performance.

The Royals optioned Bowlan to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Bowlan was part of the roster maneuvering as Kansas City officially added its trade-deadline acquisitions to the roster. The righty's latest stint in the majors lasted just one day, and he didn't make an appearance.

Kirby pitched 5.1 innings against Boston on Wednesday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out two batters in a no-decision.

Kirby surrendered a run in the first inning but wasn't scored upon again until the sixth. In the latter frame, he gave up a pair of one-out hits, leading to his removal and ending a streak of nine straight starts of at least six frames. The right-hander had recorded a quality start in each of those contests and logged a 1.73 ERA in that span, though he posted just a 3-2 record. Kirby will try to begin a new streak his next time on the mound, which is tentatively slated to be a matchup against Detroit.

Bello allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over 6.1 innings in a no-decision against Seattle on Wednesday.

Bello allowed a run in the fourth and fifth frames but nothing more. The right-hander notched his fifth quality start over his past eight outings after recording just two quality starts across his initial 12 appearances of the season. Bello's strikeout numbers have been up of late as well -- he's posted at least seven punchouts in four of his past six starts after reaching that mark just three times through his initial 14 appearances.

Valdez (10-5) allowed four runs on six hits and struck out 10 without walking a batter to earn the win Wednesday over the Pirates.

All of the damage came in the second inning, as Joey Bart tagged Valdez for a two-run home run and the Pirates put up another two runs before he could escape the frame. The southpaw bounced back well, allowing just one single over his last four innings, and the Astros' offense picked him up. Valdez finished July with a 2.90 ERA and 40:9 K:BB over 31 innings, winning four of his five starts for the month. Overall, he has a 3.56 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 108:38 K:BB through 116.1 innings over 19 starts. He's projected to make his next start on the road versus the Rangers.

Heaney (4-11) took the loss against the Cardinals on Wednesday, allowing six runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 4.1 innings.

Heaney yielded a tolerable seven baserunners, but six of them came around to score. The southpaw surrendered three runs on three hits and a walk in the second inning, then gave up a hit to three of the four batters he faced in the fifth, with each of those baserunners eventually coming around to score. The six total runs tied a season-worst mark for Heaney, who had been pitching pretty well coming into Wednesday, posting a 2.78 ERA over his previous six starts. The veteran hurler will look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively slated to be at home against Houston.

Mahle (elbow) struck out four over 4.2 innings and gave up two earned runs on three hits and one walk in his rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Round Rock.

Making what could be his final rehab start before being activated from the 60-day injured list, Mahle tossed 74 pitches (48 strikes) and sported a four-seam fastball that sat around 92-93 mph for most of the night before dipping into the upper 80s in the fourth and fifth innings. Though Mahle's most recent two rehab starts weren't as sharp as his first four, he's likely done enough to prove that he's healthy again coming off Tommy John surgery and ready to join the big-league rotation. Mahle, who signed a two-year, $22 million contract this winter, could make his Rangers debut as soon as Monday versus the Astros in Arlington.

Estes is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Dodgers in Oakland.

Estes had started in each of his first 13 appearances with the Athletics this season before he was deployed for 2.2 innings of relief this past Friday against the Angels behind starter Paul Blackburn, who was lifted after five innings in his first outing back from the 60-day injured list. The Athletics traded Blackburn to the Mets on Tuesday, so Estes' brief run in the bullpen will come to an end as he reclaims the vacated rotation spot.

Kikuchi is scheduled to make his first start with the Astros on Friday versus the Rays in Houston, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros didn't need to open up a spot in their rotation for Kikuchi, as fifth starter Jake Bloss was sent back to Toronto along with outfielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner in Monday's trade that landed the veteran southpaw in Houston. Kikuchi had cruised to a 2.64 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while delivering quality starts in six of his first 10 outings with Toronto this season, but aside from a career-best 13-strikeout effort July 9 in San Francisco, he had often been knocked around by opposing lineups over the past two months before being traded. He posted a strong 69:17 K:BB in 57.2 innings in his final 12 starts with Toronto but he also gave up 13 home runs during that stretch, which led to an inflated 6.87 ERA and 1.56 WHIP.

Rodriguez will start Sunday's road game against the Yankees, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

After posting a 2.01 ERA and 0.76 WHIP over his first four starts of July, Rodriguez unraveled in his latest outing Monday. Taking the hill for Game 1 of a doubleheader with the Orioles, Rodriguez failed to escape the first inning while exhibiting a complete loss of control. He spotted just 21 of his 43 pitches for strikes and recorded two outs while allowing four runs (three earned) on four walks and one hit. Toronto optioned him to Triple-A Buffalo following the outing, only to recall him Tuesday as a replacement for Yusei Kikuchi, who was traded to Houston. Despite the rough outing Monday, Rodriguez will stick in the rotation for another turn, though he might have a shorter leash. Bowden Francis started the second game of Monday's doubleheader and tossed 5.2 innings of three-run ball, and while he's not in line to start this weekend against the Yankees, the Blue Jays could elect to have him piggyback with Rodriguez if the latter struggles to find the strike zone early on in Sunday's contest.