MLB Player News

Valdez gave up three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven over seven innings in a 5-4 loss to the Mariners on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.

Valdez found success by leaning heavily on his groundball-inducing sinker, throwing the pitch 36 percent of the time. He garnered two double plays in the contest to give him seventeen total on the year. Valdez has been solid all season long and leads the majors with 18 quality starts after stringing together a remarkable 15 quality starts in a row. Look for Valdez to take the mound next week in Cleveland.

Kremer (3-3) gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out three over 4.1 innings to take the loss in an 8-2 defeat to the Reds on Saturday.

Kremer had difficulty missing the Reds' bats, giving up eight hard-hit balls with an exit velocity of over 95 mph. Two of them left the yard for home runs. It has been a rough stretch for Kremer, who pitched to a 1.29 ERA in June. His ERA has now risen to 3.86 after struggling in four of his five starts in July. Kremer is tentatively expected to take his next turn in the rotation next week in a favorable matchup versus the Pirates.

Schmidt allowed two hits and a walk while striking out five across three scoreless innings to earn the save Saturday against the Royals.

Schmidt recorded a three-inning save for his second consecutive outing, this time maintaining a six-run lead. Though low-leverage save chances are often fluky, the Yankees seem to be making a choice to use Schmidt in this manner since Michael King (elbow) was lost for the season. As a result, Schmidt could be a sneaky source of a handful of saves in the final two months of the season. He'll also help with ratios, as he has maintained a 2.67 ERA and 1.19 WHIP across 27 innings on the campaign.

Cortes (9-3) allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Saturday against the Royals.

Cortes was a bit shaky in the outing, as he allowed multiple baserunners in each of the second, third and fourth innings. However, he managed to limit the damage with timely strikeouts and a double-play ball. Cortes has allowed only three earned runs across his last 18 innings and three starts while maintaining a 16:3 K:BB in that span. Overall this season, Cortes has maintained a 2.48 ERA across 18 starts.

Kluber (7-6) allowed four earned runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out 10 across six innings to earn the win Saturday against the Guardians.

Kluber allowed only one earned run through five innings of work, but he served up a three-run homer to Andres Gimenez to partially spoil his outing. Despite the long ball, Kluber racked up a season-high 10 strikeouts -- primarily on the strength of 23 called strikes. Kluber has allowed four earned runs in three consecutive starts spanning 17 frames, though Saturday's outing was encouraging. Overall, he owns a 4.03 ERA and 94:16 K:BB across 105 innings on the season.

Gray (6-3) earned the win during Saturday's 7-4 victory over San Diego, allowing one run on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five innings.

Gray faced four batters in each of his five frames to earn his second straight win, with the lone run coming on a Manny Machado solo shot in the third inning. The 32-year-old Gray has surrendered two runs in 11 innings across his last two turns compared to 14 runs in 13.1 innings across his first three starts of July. Gray takes a 3.41 ERA and 1.11 WHIP into his next start, scheduled to come midweek against Toronto.

Toussaint (1-0) allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings of relief, earning the win Saturday over the Rangers.

If Saturday's game was an audition for one spot in the rotation, Toussaint fared better than starter Chase Silseth. Toussaint's lone mistake was a two-run home run to Meibrys Viloria in the sixth inning, though the Angels rallied ahead with a five-run eighth to put the 26-year-old righty in line for the win. Toussaint made 15 of his 18 major-league appearances the previous two seasons as a starter, though he's yet to really establish himself. The Angels have a high number of pitchers stretched out to a starter's workload, but few have really seized the chance to hold down a spot at the back end of the team's six-man rotation. Until stated otherwise, Toussaint can be considered a multi-inning reliever with the potential to fill in as a spot starter.

Blackburn registered a no-decision during Saturday's 3-2 loss to the White Sox, allowing five hits while striking out four in five scoreless innings.

Blackburn cruised through four easy frames and escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the fifth to submit his second scoreless outing of July. With the top of Chicago's lineup due to bat a third time in the sixth, manager Mark Kotsay opted to pull the 28-year-old at 62 pitches, though Blackburn was effective by tossing 41 strikes with eight whiffs. Blackburn has compiled a 4.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 86 strikeouts in 106.1 innings across 20 starts. He's scheduled to pitch again next weekend against San Francisco.

Cueto didn't factor into the decision during Saturday's 3-2 win against the Athletics, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts in seven innings.

Cueto was tagged for two solo shots early but limited the damage thereafter -- retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced -- and Chicago eventually rallied to erase a potential loss. The 36-year-old has now posted six straight quality starts, and he's gone 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA across 40 innings in that span, though he's struck out a combined two batters over his last two starts. Cueto carries a 2.86 ERA and 1.17 WHIP into his next start, scheduled to come midweek against Texas.

Stripling did not factor in the decision against Detroit on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five batters over 4.1 innings.

Stripling breezed through four scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fifth. He allowed the first three batters in the inning to reach base, then gave up a sacrifice fly before being pulled for Adam Cimber. Cimber allowed one more run to score but otherwise contained the damage to preserve Stripling's four-game streak of allowing two or fewer runs. Stripling has pitched pretty effectively for Toronto, but he's exceeded five innings only once in his past six starts.