MLB Player News

Montas has no structure damage in his right hand following his early exit from Saturday's loss to the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 29-year-old received positive news following his early departure Saturday, as his X-rays came back negative on his right hand. The team is optimistic that Montas will be able to make his next scheduled start, but time will tell. Nonetheless, avoiding significant structural damage is huge for the potential trade piece.

Gray (1-2) took the loss during Saturday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Astros, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings.

Gray pitched well against a strong Houston lineup but let in runs in the first and fifth innings, with the two-run deficit proving too steep to overcome. The quality start marked the 30-year-old's longest outing so far this season, and first quality start in six turns, though he's now recorded four strikeouts or fewer in every start but one. Gray is scheduled to pitch again at Oakland next weekend.

Keller (1-4) allowed four runs on five hits and three walks over seven innings to take the loss to the Twins on Saturday. He struck out four.

Free passes came back to haunt Keller in the third and sixth innings. Even after this step backward, Keller still has a 3.20 ERA and 1.03 WHIP this season, an improvement driven in large part by a reduction in walk rate to this point. Keller lacks swing-and-miss dominance and the team context is a negative, but he keeps the ball on the ground and is firmly in the streaming territory for fantasy baseball.

Ryan (5-2) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Royals. He struck out six.

Ryan was efficient, facing 24 batters and retiring 17 on just 79 pitches. In another era, Ryan may have gone deeper into the contest, but manager Rocco Baldelli decided to play the matchups in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Ryan has allowed two runs over 11.2 innings with an 11:2 K:BB in his last two starts since his four-run hiccup against Houston back on May 10. He has a sparkling 2.28 ERA overall this season.

Verlander (6-1) earned the win during Saturday's 2-1 victory over Texas, allowing six hits with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings.

After escaping a first-inning jam with the help of an out at the plate, Verlander cruised through five easy frames en route to his fifth straight win. The 39-year-old has lowered his ERA from 1.93 to a league-leading 1.22 with 19 consecutive scoreless innings over his last three starts and is pitching as efficiently as ever with his 14.2 pitches per inning ranking fifth in MLB. He'll look to keep the streak going with a start on tap for next weekend against Seattle.

Montas exited Saturday's start versus the Angels with a right hand injury, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Montas was clipped on the right hand while fielding a Luis Rengifo line drive in the bottom of the second frame, forcing him to exit the game early. He tried a few practice tosses, but ultimately was unable to remain in the game after the play. Domingo Acevedo replaced him on the mound and the Athletics will now have to rely on their bullpen for the rest of the contest. Montas will inevitably undergo testing later Saturday and the results will provide more clarity to his health.

Irvin (shoulder) will start Sunday against the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Irvin has missed all of May due to shoulder tendinitis. He threw five innings in a rehab start Tuesday, striking out six batters while allowing one run on five hits and no walks, so it looks as though he should be ready for something close to a full workload Sunday.

Canning (back) will visit a specialist Monday and may require surgery, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Canning has been dealing with back issues dating back to last July. He suffered a setback during spring training but was throwing in April and May before getting set back yet again. His outlook doesn't appear to be particularly good if surgery is on the table, though a better sense of his return timeline should emerge early next week.

Cortes (3-1) earned the win Saturday after he tossed five innings, surrendering three runs on six hits while striking out seven against the White Sox.

Cortes gave up a two-out, three-run homer to Jose Abreu in the top of the third frame, accounting for all the damage against him Saturday. After issuing eight walks over his previous two starts, Cortes has now produced back-to-back outings without a free pass. The 27-year-old still owns a masterful 1.80 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 56 strikeouts over 45 innings in eight starts. He tentatively lines up to pitch next Thursday versus the Rays.

Manoah (5-1) picked up the win against the Reds on Saturday, allowing one run on seven hits over eight innings. He struck out four and did not issue a walk.

While the strikeouts were modest in this one, Manoah was in control throughout. He limited the damage to a Joey Votto RBI double in the fourth inning, and Manoah probably could have pitched a complete game, but manager Charlie Montoyo made the call to lift Manoah at 83 pitches. The right-hander has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season, turning in seven quality starts in eight trips to the mound so far.