MLB Player News

Blackburn (foot) worked two-thirds of an inning in his rehab outing with Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday, allowing a hit and a walk while recording a strikeout. He also hit a batter.

Blackburn's busy outing featured 23 pitches due to his subpar control, with the right-hander locating 14 of those offerings for strikes. He was originally slated to remain with Single-A Stockton for Sunday's rehab appearance after an even poorer outing that also lasted two-thirds of an inning Tuesday. However, that plan was apparently altered in recent days, and Blackburn may now remain with Las Vegas for the duration of his rehab assignment. Given how his first two minor-league appearances have unfolded, Blackburn will likely remain on the farm for at least another couple of outings before he's reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Springs (elbow) covered 4.2 innings in his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Durham, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

After turning in a 3.12 ERA and 21:1 K:BB in 17.1 innings over his first six rehab starts with Durham, Springs took a step back Sunday from a performance standpoint. More importantly, however, Springs tossed 77 pitches (51 strikes) in the outing, so he looks to be stretched out enough to rejoin the Tampa Bay rotation. The Rays have yet to offer an official word on the next step for the 31-year-old lefty as he nears the finish line in his recovery from his April 2023 Tommy John surgery, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues should be looking to stash Springs in anticipation of his return from the 60-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break. After moving into a full-time starting role with Tampa Bay beginning in May 2022, Springs delivered a 2.41 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 21.9 K-BB% over 138.1 innings before requiring elbow surgery.

Gilbert tossed seven scoreless innings Sunday against the Angels, allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out nine. He did not factor into the decision.

Gilbert was magnificent once again and had another strong start wasted by the bullpen. Gilbert exited with a 2-0 lead that vanished in the eighth inning after two walks and a three-run homer by Jo Adell put the Angels in front for good. Sunday was the fifth time this season that Gilbert did not allow a run in a start and his nine strikeouts tied a season high. The 27-year-old will head into the break with a 2.79 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 124:25 K:BB in 132.1 innings. Since he pitched Sunday, Gilbert will not be available to throw in Tuesday's All-Star Game.

Dunning (shoulder) recorded no strikeouts and gave up one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings in his rehab start Sunday with Double-A Frisco.

Dunning exited the contest after throwing just 18 pitches (13 strikes), but the Rangers had been targeting him for around 35 pitches heading into the rehab outing, per MLB.com. Despite not striking out a batter, Dunning was efficient during his brief time on the mound, with the lone hit he allowed being an infield single. He may have been able to build up his pitch count through a bullpen session after he exited the contest, and assuming he avoided any setbacks with the right shoulder in the rehab start, he's expected to be ready to return from the 15-day injured list shortly after the All-Star break, per Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com. Dunning has made 12 of his 15 appearances this season as a starter, but he's in line to serve as a multi-inning reliever upon coming off the IL.

Maeda came out of the bullpen and threw 3.2 shutout frames during Detroit's walk-off win over the Dodgers. He allowed one hit and struck out five batters.

For the first time this season, Maeda worked a bulk-relief role and the results looked great. He threw 34 of 55 pitches for strikes and generated 11 whiffs. He was crushed for 15 runs in just 6.1 innings over his previous two outings. Maeda will enter the second half without a clear role in Detroit. He's registered an unsightly 6.88 ERA and 55:23 K:BB through 69.1 frames.

Estes (4-4) earned the win Sunday, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk over six innings against the Phillies. He struck out five.

Estes began his start in an early hole after he allowed a one-out homer by Trea Turner in the first. However, the A's provided 10 runs prior to Estes being removed from the game, ultimately tallying 18 runs to allow the young righty to cruise to his fourth win. It was a nice bounce-back effort for Estes, who had allowed eight runs over just 1.2 innings during his previous start, which had come on the heels of his first complete-game shutout. Estes enters the All-Star break with a 5.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 49 strikeouts over 12 starts spanning 63 innings.

Singer was saddled with the loss Sunday, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk over 2.2 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out three.

Singer couldn't put things together Sunday, allowing separate two-run homers in each of the first and second innings, then loading the bases in the third prior to being pulled. It was the shortest outing of the season for Singer, who entered the contest having allowed only one earned run during each of his previous four starts. He enters the All-Star break ranked 10th in the majors with a 3.20 ERA to go along with a 1.23 WHIP and 99 strikeouts over 19 starts spanning 104 innings.

Scherzer didn't factor into the decision Sunday against Houston, allowing one run on four hits and one walk with six strikeouts across four innings.

Scherzer didn't complete five innings for the first time since being activated from the injured list June 23 and threw only 71 pitches after tossing 95 pitches in his previous start. Though he didn't go deep into the contest, Scherzer was very effective, with the lone run against him coming in the third on a solo home run by Jake Meyers. The 39-year-old has logged a 2.96 ERA and a 23:4 K:BB across 27.1 innings heading into the All-Star break.

Blanco (9-4) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks with five strikeouts across six innings.

All the damage against Blanco came in the first inning, when Josh Smith launched a two-run home run. However, the Astros managed to score only one run until the ninth inning, sticking Blanco with the loss despite logging a quality start. The 30-year-old has been outstanding this season, owning a 2.56 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over 109.0 innings at the All-Star break. Before 2024, Blanco had a career 4.78 ERA in 58.1 innings and had primarily been utilized out of the bullpen, making him one of baseball's biggest breakouts so far.

Lively (8-5) yielded two runs on three hits and two walks over 5.1 innings Sunday, striking out seven and taking a loss against the Rays.

Lively turned in a strong performance aside from serving up solo homers to Jose Siri and Brandon Lowe. The Rays threw a combined shutout and stuck Lively with the tough-luck loss. His seven punchouts matched a season best, and he's now hit that mark four times in 2024. Lively will begin the second half with a strong 3.58 ERA and 78:25 K:BB through 16 starts. In eight outings since the start of June, he's registered a 4.40 ERA.