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.

Vasquez (2-5) took the loss Sunday against Atlanta, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five over five innings.

Vasquez kept Atlanta off the scoreboard through three frames before eventually surrendering a run in the fourth and another in the fifth. He was pulled after five at just 73 pitches while registering six whiffs. Vasquez will head into the All-Star break on a bit of a nice groove. Over his last four starts, the righty has posted a 2.21 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB in 20.1 innings. On a larger scale, Vasquez hasn't been as sharp, as he owns a 4.57 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 43:15 K:BB in 63 innings.

Sale (13-3) earned the win over the Padres on Sunday, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings.

Sale let up a run in the opening frame but was able to limit the damage to just a run after allowing three base hits in the inning. He silenced the Padres from there to pick up his league-leading 13th win and his third consecutive victory. He becomes the first Atlanta pitcher since 2000 to head into the All-Star break with 13 wins. Sale has now allowed two or fewer runs in each of his last seven starts and heads into the break with a 2.70 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 140:24 K:BB in 110 innings.

Cobb (hip/shoulder) is scheduled to make the fourth start of his rehab assignment Monday in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, MLB.com reports.

Cobb had made each of his first three rehab starts with Single-A San Jose, but with all levels of minor-league baseball in the midst of their All-Star break except for rookie ball, he'll head to Arizona to continue his progression. In his latest rehab outing with San Jose this past Wednesday, Cobb built up to 55 pitches and four innings while striking out four batters and giving up three runs on five hits and one walk. Including his upcoming outing Monday, Cobb will likely need to make at least two more rehab starts before the Giants would consider bringing him back from the 60-day injured list. Cobb has been on the shelf all season while recovering from offseason hip surgery but was expected to return at some point in the first half before a bout with shoulder irritation in mid-April resulted in a shutdown period that pushed back his timeline for activation.

Ray (elbow) struck out nine batters and gave up one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings in his rehab start Sunday with Single-A San Jose.

Making his ninth and perhaps final minor-league rehab appearance as he works his way back from May 2023 Tommy John surgery, Ray submitted his lengthiest and best outing yet. He built up to 74 pitches (56 strikes) in the rehab start and now owns a 4.13 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 38:4 K:BB in 24 innings over stops with San Jose, Triple-A Sacramento and the rookie-level Arizona Complex League. With Ray looking fully recovered from elbow surgery from both a workload and performance standpoint, he appears poised to return from the 60-day injured list to make his Giants debut coming out of the All-Star break. If the Giants opt to keep a five-man rotation intact rather than expanding to six, rookie Hayden Birdsong would seem to be most at risk of losing his starting spot once Ray is activated.

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.