MLB Player News

Urquidy (shoulder) tossed a 17-pitch bullpen session Wednesday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Urquidy graduated last week from the flat-ground phase of his throwing program and is expected to throw two more side sessions during the Astros' upcoming road trip. He'll eventually move on to facing hitters in live batting practice before completing his build-up process over the course of multiple minor-league rehab starts. Given that he still has multiple checkpoints to hit in the recovery process, Urquidy likely won't be ready to rejoin the Houston rotation until around the All-Star break.

Skubal (elbow) worked 2.2 innings in his latest rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Toledo, striking out four while allowing two earned runs on two hits and one walk.

Making the fourth start of his rehab assignment and his second with Toledo, Skubal built up to 52 pitches (32 strikes, eight swinging strikes) and sported a fastball that averaged 95.9 miles per hour, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Given the workload he handled Wednesday, the Tigers may want to have Skubal make at least one more start in the minors to get further stretched out before he makes his long-awaited return from the 60-day injured list.

The Yankees recalled Brito from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of his scheduled home start Wednesday against the Mariners.

Brito will make at least one turn through the rotation while the Yankees wait for one of their three injured starting pitchers (Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Frankie Montas) to return from the 15-day injured list. Depending on how he fares Wednesday, Brito could be in store for additional starts with the big club, though his body of work with the Yankees earlier this season doesn't inspire much confidence. Before he was optioned to Triple-A in late May, Brito turned in a 5.58 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 30:18 K:BB in 40.1 innings over his 10 outings (nine starts).

Waldichuk served as the opener for Tuesday's game against the Guardians, firing 1.2 scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and recorded two strikeouts.

Waldichuk's mostly sharp performance saw him pound 20 of his 27 pitches in for strikes and set the table effectively for bulk reliever Luis Medina, who followed with 4.1 frames of one-run ball. Waldichuk appears to be finding his groove as a multi-role reliever, now having pitched to a 1.69 ERA and not having allowed a home run over the 10.2 innings covering his last five appearances. However, control remains a persistent issue, as the southpaw also owns a 1.69 WHIP during the same span thanks in large part to a 5.9 BB/9.

Cole (8-1) earned the win over the Mariners on Tuesday, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while striking out eight over 7.1 innings.

Cole got through five scoreless frames before the Mariners tacked on their only run of the night on an RBI double from Jarred Kelenic in the sixth. The double was the Mariners' only extra-base hit of the night, as Cole was his usual dominant self, registering 20 whiffs and a 34 percent CSW. He's put together a sparking 1.78 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 27:4 K:BB across four starts in June so far and tentatively lines up for a tough test against the Rangers over the weekend.

Kirby (6-6) took the loss against the Yankees on Tuesday, allowing three earned runs on eight hits over seven innings. He struck out four.

Kirby had the misfortune of being opposed by a razor-sharp Gerrit Cole, who was a tad more effective than the young right-hander and ensured his opposite number didn't get sufficient run support. There was still plenty to be optimistic about from Kirby's perspective, considering he worked 67 of his 95 offerings into the strike zone and was primarily done in by just one pitch, a 96 mph sinker Billy McKinney deposited 432 feet away with Harrison Bader aboard. The outing marked Kirby's second straight quality start and third such effort in his last four trips to the mound.

Civale did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks over 6.2 innings against the Athletics. He struck out six.

Civale picked up his second quality start of the season Tuesday -- his first since returning from an oblique injury -- while his six punchouts were his second most of the campaign. After surrendering three homers over his last two starts, Civale couldn't keep the ball in the park once again Tuesday, giving up a solo home run to Tony Kemp in the seventh. Since being activated from the injured list, Civale is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 16:9 K:BB over three starts (16 innings). He's tentatively scheduled to toe the rubber next versus the Brewers in Cleveland.

Detmers struck out eight and didn't factor in the decision Tuesday against the Dodgers after he allowed two hits and one walk across seven scoreless innings.

The 23-year-old delivered his best start of the season in a toe-to-toe battle with Clayton Kershaw for seven innings, but he had to settle for a no-decision since the Halos bullpen was unable to maintain the scoreless tie. Detmers has covered at least five frames in each of his last seven outings, and he has given up just two runs with a 24:6 K:BB in his last three starts. The left-hander has a 1-5 record but a solid 4.02 ERA through 69.1 innings this year.

Eovaldi did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks over six innings against the White Sox. He struck out four.

Eovaldi struggled with the long ball Tuesday, surrendering a two-run home run to Eloy Jimenez in the first and a solo homer to Elvis Andrus in the fifth to mark his second straight start giving up multiple homers after doing so just once all season. After allowing one or no runs in six of his previous seven starts, Eovaldi has given up at least three runs in three consecutive appearances and sports a 5.12 ERA with a 19:7 K:BB while giving up five long balls.

Cease did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings against the Rangers. He struck out nine.

Cease turned in another impressive outing Tuesday, marking his fourth straight appearance allowing two or fewer runs. Over that stretch, Cease owns a 2.38 ERA with a 32:10 K:BB and 15 hits allowed across 22.2 innings. Cease's nine strikeouts also moved him into a tie for ninth in MLB. The White Sox ace is tentatively scheduled to make his next start during a three-game home series against Boston.