MLB Player News

Blackburn pitched six innings of one-run ball in Sunday's loss to the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.

Coming off a brutal outing where he allowed six runs and took the loss against the Athletics, Blackburn fared much better Sunday, yielding just one run on a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly in the third inning. Blackburn turned in his seventh quality start of the season and now has three quality starts in four outings since being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 20:7 K:BB in 22 innings with his new club. He is currently lined up to face the Padres next weekend.

Boyle is scheduled to start Monday's game against the Rays at Oakland Coliseum.

After getting recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Tuesday, Boyle immediately stepped into the rotation as a replacement for Ross Stripling, who was sent to the bullpen. In his first start for Oakland since May 5, Boyle took a no-decision in a 9-4 win over the Mets, striking out six over four innings while allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks. Through eight outings overall in the big leagues this season, Boyle owns a 2-5 record and 7.39 ERA across 31.2 innings.

Mahle allowed four runs on six hits and struck out one without walking a batter over three innings in a no-decision versus the Twins on Sunday.

Mahle struggled early, giving up three runs in the first inning to his former team. Ryan Jeffers had a two-run blast in that frame and an RBI single in the third, and Mahle was done at 61 pitches (41 strikes), making this the shortest of his three starts since he returned from Tommy John surgery. He's pitched to a 4.97 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 10:4 K:BB over 12.2 innings in those appearances. He's tentatively projected for a road start in Cleveland in his next outing.

Imanaga (9-3) allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Blue Jays.

Imanaga was good aside from a Joey Loperfido solo home run in the second inning, but that ended up being the lone run of the game. Imanaga has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) over 23.2 innings across four starts in August, though his 26:3 K:BB in that same span paints a more encouraging picture. For the year, the southpaw has a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 137:20 K:BB through 133.1 innings over 23 starts. He's lined up for a favorable road start in Miami his next time out.

The Angels are expected to select Cueto's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake during the upcoming week, Hector Gomez of Z101Digital.com reports.

Cueto has been pitching with Salt Lake since signing a minor-league deal with the Angels on July 20. Through four starts, he's maintained a 3.09 ERA and 1.37 WHIP while working at least five innings on each occasion. He should slot into the rotation while Jose Soriano (arm) is on the shelf. Wednesday's game in Kansas City looks to be the first chance Cueto will have to make a start in Soriano's stead.

Woodford (0-5) took the loss Sunday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and one walk over four innings against the Mariners. He struck out four.

Woodford was tagged early when Cal Raleigh blasted a two-run homer with one out in the first inning and was never able to find his footing as he was let down both by his own performance and by poor defense. After showing well in a spot start against San Diego, Woodford was given another crack but was lit up for seven total runs by a Mariners squad that had failed to score more than three runs in any game during the five-game losing streak that they carried into the contest. While a better performance may have altered the Pirates' mindset a bit, with Jared Jones (lat) slated to make at least one more rehab start early this week, Woodford appears to be the most likely to lose his spot in the rotation once jones is ready to make his return.

Kirby (9-9) earned the win Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings against the Pirates. He struck out five.

Kirby scattered just two hits through the first five innings as the Mariners provided the righty a 7-0 cushion. A Joey Bart two-run homer in the sixth was the first and only blemish against Kirby, who contributed his 16th quality start of the season. The 26-year-old righty put a halt to the Mariners' five-game skid, rebounding from allowing career highs in runs (11) and hits (13) against Detroit in his last start to allow two runs or fewer for the 17th time over 25 starts. He'll carry a 3.40 ERA and 1.08 WHIP into a scheduled home matchup next week against the Giants.

Atlanta hasn't officially announced a starter for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, but manager Brian Snitker previously indicated the Lopez (forearm) was expected to be re-inserted into the rotation early this week, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Max Fried and Spencer Schwellenbach are penciled in to pitch Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, potentially leaving Tuesday open for Lopez to make his return from the injured list. The right-hander threw 71 pitches over four innings during his rehab start last Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett, so he shouldn't have significant workload limitations in his return to Atlanta's rotation.

Pirates GM Ben Cherington said Sunday that Jones (lat) will make at least one more rehab start before returning from the 15-day injured list, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The right-hander has struggled in his two rehab outings for Triple-A Indianapolis with six earned runs allowed across six innings. Jones encouragingly built up his workload to 67 pitching during his last appearance, but the Pirates might want to see him regain some effectiveness before re-inserting him into the big-league rotation.

Scherzer (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Sunday and is scheduled to pitch again Wednesday, possibly in a rehab start or live batting practice, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The right-hander threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Friday and was quickly back on the mound Sunday, which is encouraging as he makes his return from a bout of shoulder soreness that required a nerve injection. Scherzer last took the mound for Texas in late July, and he could be back in the rotation before the end of August if he can continue trending in the right direction Wednesday.