MLB Player News

Verlander (11-6) threw a complete game Saturday against the Astros. He allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while tallying 11 strikeouts.

Even though he was outstanding, Verlander needed a bit of help in the bottom of the ninth to secure his 11th victory of the season. The veteran had given up just two hits while blanking the Astros through the first eight innings, but surrendered two runs on three hits in the top of the final frame before the Tigers matched with two of their own in the bottom half for the 3-2 walk-off win. Friday marked Verlander's first complete game since August of last season, and lowered his ERA to a season-best 3.54. His 11 strikeouts were the most he's had in a regular season game since September of 2013, and pushed his strikeout total for 2016 up to 155 through 147.1 innings. Needless to say, Verlander is delivering some of his best stuff in a long time. In his six July starts, the flamethrower finished 4-0 with a ridiculous 1.69 ERA (he didn't allow more than two earned runs in any of the outings), and a 48:12 K:BB. Verlander will look to keep things rolling when he makes his next start Friday against the Mets.

Musgrove was scratched from his scheduled start for Triple-A Fresno on Saturday, the Houston Chronicle reports.

It would seem Musgrove is the Astros' insurance policy in case Doug Fister, whose wife is expecting the couple's first child this weekend, is unable to take Monday's turn. Although Musgrove hasn't been nearly as dominant since his promotion from Double-A Corpus Christi, his impeccable control has translated to the higher level (seven walks in 59 innings), and the overall numbers with Fresno are strong. He's given up just two runs on 12 hits while striking out 16 in his last two starts for Fresno (14 innings).

Rodon (wrist) will start Sunday's game against the Twins, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports.

Signs have been pointing toward a Rodon return Sunday for a few days now, and manager Robin Ventura confirmed that to be the case earlier Saturday. Rodon went 3.0 innings in his rehab start Monday, so he'll be able to start Sunday's contest on full rest. The White Sox will likely activate Rodon shortly before his start, at which point they will announce a corresponding roster move.

The A's plan to have Hill (hand) start either Thursday or Friday of next week, Joe Stiglich of CSN California reports.

After a bit of a setback Friday landed Hill on the DL, the veteran southpaw was able to get through a 60-pitch bullpen session. He has been battling an issue with a blister on his pitching hand, but Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that Hill was able to throw a decent portion of the bullpen session without a protective covering on his blister. While it's encouraging that Hill could be back as soon as August 4, there's no guarantee he'll still be wearing an A's uniform by that time with the trade deadline looming on Monday.

Boyd is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA, 23 strikeouts and just four walks in 20.1 innings in July.

Boyd has been a much better pitcher since his early July return from Triple-A. His control is sharp, and he's commanding his fastball well. His overall ERA remains high at 4.71, but baseball is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. Boyd could be a sneaky fantasy play going forward based on his most recent work.

Hill was placed on the 15-day DL Saturday with a hand blister, retroactive to July 20.

Hill was scratched from his start Sunday due to a blister that's been bothering him for several weeks and it is now revealed that he'll require a DL stint to fully recover. Dillon Overton was recalled from Triple-A Nashville to start Saturday and will add some depth to Oakland's short-handed pitching staff.

Cobb (elbow) made a successful return to game action Friday for High-A Charlotte, tossing two scoreless innings against Brevard County and recording two strikeouts.

It appears the pause in the rehab process did the trick for Cobb, who was sharp while firing 15 of 23 pitches for strikes. It was his first live action since July 11, when he'd given up a pair of hits and a run over an inning against Daytona, an outing that led to the Rays relegating him to bullpen and batting practice duty for the ensuing two-plus weeks while he worked on building stamina and improving mechanics.

Odorizzi (5-5) fired 6.2 scoreless innings in Friday's 5-1 victory over the Yankees, surrendering six hits and striking out five.

The young righty kept his impressive scoreless streak alive, throwing 71 of his 104 pitches for strikes in the process while also inducing 13 swings-and-misses. Odorizzi has not given up a run in the last two starts, a span of 14.2 innings, and has only surrendered two earned runs over the 20.2 innings encompassing his last three trips to the mound. It's easily the 26-year-old's best stretch of pitching this season, and he'll look to continue it when he takes on the Royals at Tropicana Field next Wednesday.

Gausman (2-8) gave up six earned runs on six hits -- including three homers -- and three walks over three innings in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays. He struck out four.

The right-hander has pitched significantly better than his record would indicate this season, but Friday was not an example of such. In addition to his problems with the long ball, Gausman also uncorked a pair of wild pitches and threw 79 pitches over just three frames. All three round-trippers came in the first inning, with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki doing the honors. He'll look to rebound from what was his shortest start of the season when he takes on the Rangers next Thursday.

Nolasco (4-8) pitched eight beautiful innings, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk while striking out six in a no-decision Friday against the White Sox.

Friday was by far Nolasco's best effort of the season. He set or matched his season-best marks for innings pitched, runs allowed and hits against. It's been a miserable campaign for the veteran, and the fact that Nolasco walked away from Friday's gem with a no-decision just about sums up his luck this season. He'll take a 5.40 ERA into Cleveland on Wednesday for his next start.