MLB Player News

Lorenzen (7-6) picked up the win over the Angels on Wednesday, allowing four hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings while striking out five.

Lorenzen allowed baserunners in each of the first three frames but was able to work his way out of each jam unscathed as the Royals put two runs on the board early. The right-hander would then go on to allow just one hit over his last four innings as he cruised to his second straight win. Lorenzen had failed to make it through six innings in each of his previous 10 starts coming in, but he's now gone at least five frames in three of his last four since being acquired by Kansas City. Over that stretch he carries a 1.99 ERA to go along with a 16:9 K:BB.

Woods Richardson (5-3) earned the win over San Diego on Wednesday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out seven batters over five innings.

Woods Richardson kept the Padres off the scoreboard until Donovan Solano got to him for a solo homer in the fifth inning. The righty hurler didn't pitch beyond that frame since he racked up 101 pitches, but he cruised to an easy victory with Minnesota's offense supplying 10 runs of support while he was in the game. Woods Richardson has notched a win in consecutive starts for the first time as a big leaguer, and he's given up just five runs across 17 frames across his past three outings. He's projected to face Atlanta at home in his next start.

Crochet allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four batters over four innings in a no-decision against San Francisco on Wednesday.

White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore announced Wednesday that Crochet will be be on a workload limit for the rest of the campaign, so it's no surprise that he was pulled after four innings and 57 pitches. The left-hander may have gone a bit longer, though, if he hadn't faded in his final frame, allowing a pair of runs on three hits after beginning his outing with three scoreless, one-hit innings. Crochet managed a healthy 11 whiffs despite his low pitch count, and his four punchouts pushed him to 180 on the campaign. He still has a good chance to reach 200 strikeouts by the end of the season, but even that's not a given since Sizemore said Wednesday that Crochet's workload could "slowly decrease" as the season winds down.

Povich is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Astros at Camden Yards, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Orioles recalled Povich from Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday as a replacement on the 26-man roster and in the rotation for Zach Eflin (shoulder), who was placed on the injured list. Povich has been largely ineffective over his nine starts with the big club this season (5.77 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 4.0 K-BB% in 43.2 innings), but he delivered one of his better performances in his most recent outing with Baltimore this past Saturday. Though he was handed a loss against the Red Sox, he held a potent lineup to two runs on six hits and no walks while striking out six batters over a career-high 6.1 innings.

The Rangers list Gray as their scheduled starter for Saturday's game in Cleveland.

Gray returned from the injured list Tuesday after missing nearly a month with a groin strain, but because he didn't go out on a minor-league rehab assignment beforehand and wasn't fully stretched out, the Rangers opted to bring him back in a relief role. After Gray tossed two innings and 27 pitches out of the bullpen in Tuesday's 4-0 loss to the Pirates, the Rangers are ready to welcome him back in the rotation this weekend, though he could be on a somewhat limited pitch count. Gray will be taking over the rotation spot that had previously belonged to Tyler Mahle (shoulder), who was placed on the IL on Tuesday.

Schmidt (lat) is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment Friday at Double-A Somerset, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The Yankees are targeting 50 pitches for Schmidt in the rehab outing, which comes after he gradually raised his pitch count over four live bating practice sessions. Schmidt looks like he'll be given the opportunity to get stretched back out for a starting role, but it's not clear if the Yankees will be able to open up a spot in the rotation for him once he eventually makes his way back from the 60-day injured list. Luis Gil (back) looks on track to return from the 15-day IL slightly before Schmidt, and Marcus Stroman has bounced back from a rough start to the second half with two straight strong starts to help solidify his spot at the back end of the rotation.

Heaney allowed five hits and a walk over five scoreless innings in a no-decision Wednesday against Pittsburgh. He struck out eight.

It was a strong rebound effort from Heaney after the southpaw surrendered seven earned runs over nine innings in his previous two starts. However, Heaney failed to come away with a win, as the Rangers couldn't get a run across until the bottom of the ninth. Overall, Heaney's 4-13 on the year with a 4.04 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 131:36 K:BB across 129.1 innings. He'll look to build on Wednesday's outing in his next start, which projects as an enticing road matchup against the White Sox.

Verlander (3-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Red Sox, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.

Verlander looked a little rusty early in his first start since June 9, allowing a run in both of the first two innings. However, the 41-year-old Verlander would rebound to blank the Red Sox over his final three frames, retiring 10 straight batters to finish his outing before departing having thrown 76 pitches. Verlander now sports a 3.92 ERA across 62 innings this year with a 1.19 WHIP and 57:18 K:BB. He's currently in line for a tough road matchup with the Phillies in his next start early next week.

Criswell didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Astros, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over 4.2 innings. He struck out four.

Criswell was sharp Wednesday, blanking Houston over 3.2 innings after Alex Bregman led off the first with a home run. However, the right-hander came an out shy of qualifying for a win, as he was pulled in the fifth after throwing 80 pitches. Still, it's an encouraging bounce-back effort from Criswell, who gave up six runs in just 3.1 innings in his last outing against Baltimore. Overall, he's 5-4 on the year with a 1.34 WHIP and 61:22 K:BB across 79.2 innings. It's worth monitoring to see if Criswell will be allowed to work deeper into his next start, currently scheduled for next week at home versus Toronto.

The Angels selected Cueto's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Cueto owns a 3.09 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 23.1 innings with Salt Lake since signing a minor-league deal with the Angels in July. However, he accumulated a 6.02 ERA over 52.1 frames during his time with the Marlins last year and will be making his season debut Wednesday against a high-scoring Royals offense. Hans Crouse was optioned to Triple-A in order to clear space on the active roster.