MLB Player News

Cease (7-6) allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings, taking the loss to the Twins on Wednesday.

Cease surrendered a solo home run to Max Kepler in the third inning. In addition, he gave up four straight hits with two outs in the fifth frame that added two more runs on the board for the Twins. The 25-year-old has struggled keeping the ball in the park, allowing at least one homer in seven of his last eight starts. During that stretch, he has a 5.49 ERA in 41 frames. Cease carries a 4.21 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP and a 11.6 K/9 in 102.2 innings for the season.

Lyles (5-7) took the loss against Detroit on Wednesday, completing seven innings and allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five.

It wasn't a terrible outing for the right-hander, as he tied a season high by going seven innings. However, he was stung by three long balls among the six hits he gave up, accounting for all of the runs the Tigers managed to tally against him. Lyles has given up a whopping seven round trippers over his past two starts, and only teammate Mike Foltynewicz (28 homers) has yielded more long balls overall this season. Lyles is tentatively slated to make his next start at home versus Arizona on Tuesday.

Ray (8-5) was tagged with the loss Wednesday against Boston. He completed five innings, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four.

Both Ray and opposing starter Garrett Richards gave up three home runs in the contest, but Richards was able to go a little deeper into the game and picked up the win. Ray entered the contest having totaled 13.2 scoreless innings over his past two starts but couldn't contain Boston's bats, tying a season-worst mark by allowing four earned runs. The southpaw also notched his lowest strikeout total since April 18 after registering double-digit punchouts in four of his previous eight starts. He'll try to get back into the win column in his next appearance, which is tentatively scheduled to come in a rematch against Boston -- this time on the road -- early next week.

McCullers allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight across five innings in the loss to Cleveland on Wednesday. He did not factor into the decision.

McCullers allowed just one run through five innings, but he was pulled in the sixth inning after loading the bases without recording an out. All three of the runners he was responsible for scored and Cleveland took the lead. Although four runs allowed in five innings isn't a terrible start, it was the most runs he's allowed since April 14. The 27-year-old's ERA rose above 3.00, but it still sits at a career-best 3.04. In addition, he has a strong 10.5 K/9.

Manning (2-3) allowed two runs (one earned) across six innings to pick up the win Wednesday against the Rangers. He gave up four hits and two walks while striking out four.

Manning got the call from Triple-A Toledo coming out of the All-Star break, and the 23-year-old turned in his best start at the MLB level. It was the first time in six appearances during his rookie campaign that he lasted at least six innings, while the one earned run was a new career best as well. Manning should continue to pick up starts for the Tigers as they evaluate him for the future. He's scheduled to take the hill again Monday against the Twins.

Flexen is listed as the Mariners' probable starter for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The right-hander originally lined up to start Wednesday, but Seattle instead utilized an opener while Darren McCaughan served as the primary pitcher. Flexen has a 1.77 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 32:9 K:BB in 45.2 innings over his past seven starts and will attempt to continue his strong run Thursday against Oakland.

Wacha allowed three runs on six hits and struck out two in five innings of Wednesday's 5-4 victory over the Orioles. He did not factor into the decision.

The righty was incredibly efficient, not issuing any walks and requiring just 58 pitches to complete the five innings. A pair of solo home runs slightly diminished what was otherwise a solid outing for Wacha, who now has a 5.16 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 66.1 innings this season. Inconsistency has been the story of his season, although that may be attributable to his varied roles as a starter, reliever and a bulk pitcher following openers. Wacha figures to be in the rotation for the remainder of the season and is expected to make his next start Wednesday against the Yankees.

Kluber (shoulder) is tentatively scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

Before locking Kluber in for his first mound work since he landed on the injured list in late May, the Yankees will re-evaluate the right-hander Thursday. He's been throwing off flat ground for several weeks now, and he increased his distance to 120 feet in Wednesday's session. The Yankees are hopeful that the right-hander will be ready to return from the 60-day injured list at some point in September.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sale (elbow) is scheduled to make his third rehab start at Double-A Portland on Sunday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale will stick around in Portland after he turned in another encouraging outing in his second rehab start Tuesday versus Harrisburg. He struck out six and issued one walk over 3.2 no-hit innings, building his pitch count up to 49 (34 strikes) in the process. Sale will likely need two or three more rehab appearances before he's fully ramped up for starting duty with the big club, and the results he's turned in thus far both from a statistical and observational standpoint offer hope that he'll quickly re-emerge as a frontline starter when he returns from the 60-day injured list. According to Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican, Sale's fastball topped out at around 97-to-98 miles per hour Tuesday, and he commanded his full arsenal well.

Manoah (back) hopes to return to the starting rotation Monday in Boston, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manoah suffered a right back bruise after he slipped on the dugout steps recently, but he's been optimistic that he'll only miss one turn through the rotation. He felt fine after playing catch in recent days, but Thomas Hatch will be available as a backup option in case the right-hander isn't ready to return.