MLB Player News

Soroka (Achilles) struck out eight while allowing one hit and no walks over four scoreless frames Tuesday in his first rehab start for High-A Rome.

Making his first regular-season appearance at any level since Aug. 3, 2020 after an extended recovery from two surgeries to address ruptures of his right Achilles' tendon, Soroka looked about as good as Atlanta could have hoped. The 25-year-old retired the first 11 batters he faced and pumped in 35 of his 45 pitches for strikes, with his workload suggesting that Atlanta intends to bring him back as a rotation option once he's reinstated from the 60-day injured list. The 2019 All-Star is expected to require at least two or three more rehab starts to get fully stretched out, so Atlanta likely won't plan on activating him until the active roster expands to 28 men after Sept. 1.

Gore (elbow) has been throwing up to 120 feet and could throw a bullpen session as early as this weekend, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Gore has been on the injured list with left elbow soreness since the end of July, but he's been cleared to begin a throwing program. While the southpaw wouldn't throw with much intensity if he's able to resume mound work soon, he seems to be trending in the right direction in his recovery process.

Toussaint is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Unsurprisingly, Toussaint will pick up a second straight turn through the rotation after he dazzled in his outing Aug. 10 in Oakland, when he struck out six over five scoreless innings while taking a no-decision. Though Toussaint has shown the ability to make bats miss over parts of five seasons in the majors, a bloated 13.3 percent career walk rate has prevented him from finding much sustained success as a starter.

Morton (6-5) picked up the win Tuesday, scattering three hits and a walk over 6.2 scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory over the Mets. He tied his season high with 12 strikeouts.

New York didn't even get a runner into scoring position until the seventh inning as Morton was firmly in control all night, collecting his eighth quality start of the season and his first win in over a month. The veteran righty generated 19 swinging strikes among his 97 pitches, and since the All-Star break, he's alternated scoreless outings with shakier ones. The inconsistency has resulted in a 2.67 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 39:8 K:BB through 30.1 innings over those five starts.

Manoah (12-6) took the loss Tuesday, giving up four runs on four hits and four walks over 5.2 innings as the Blue Jays fell 4-2 to the Orioles. He struck out seven.

The right-hander blanked Baltimore into the fifth inning, but with two outs and nobody on, Manoah served up back-to-back solo shots to Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman. His control then deserted him in the sixth, leading to two more runs. Manoah has failed to last six innings in three of his last four starts, and his career-high workload of 142.2 innings -- he tossed 129.2 innings between Triple-A and the majors in 2021 -- might be getting to the 24-year-old. Despite his recent stumbles, he still boasts a 2.71 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 131:35 K:BB on the season.

Kremer (5-4) picked up the win in Tuesday's 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays, allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out six.

The right-hander served up a two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero in the first inning but shut Toronto down after that, exiting after an efficient 98 pitches (65 strikes). The quality start was Kremer's fourth of the year, and he'll take a 3.58 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB through 70.1 innings into his next outing.

Severino (lat) threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session Monday and indicated that it went well, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.

This was Severino's first bullpen session since he landed on the injured list July 14, and the hurler said afterward that it was the best he's felt all year. Per MLB.com, the right-hander is expected to throw a few more side sessions before facing live hitters. Severino isn't eligible to come off the 60-day IL until Sept. 13, and the hope is he'll be able to make a handful of starts after his activation in order to ramp up for the postseason.

Flaherty (shoulder) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four over three scoreless innings in his rehab start for Double-A Springfield on Tuesday.

Flaherty threw 34 of 52 pitches for strikes in the outing -- a vast improvement over his appearance with Triple-A Memphis last week. It's likely the right-hander will need at least one more rehab appearance before activation, which should allow him to build up his pitch count to 60-65. He may still have workload restrictions upon activation from the injured list.

Suarez (4-5) took the loss during Tuesday's 8-2 defeat at the hands of the Mariners, allowing three runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

Suarez retired the first 16 batters he faced before surrendering four straight singles -- three of which came around to score -- before being removed. Including Tuesday's start, Suarez had gone 22 innings without permitting an earned run, a stretch dating back to mid-July. Suarez possesses a 4.12 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 66 strikeouts in 67.2 innings and is scheduled to take the mound again next week in Tampa Bay.

Verlander allowed three runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four in seven innings in a no-decision versus the White Sox on Tuesday.

Verlander was sharp through six innings, allowing just one run, but Gavin Sheets got to him for a game-tying, two-run double in the seventh, and the Astros ultimately went on to lose the game. While it was another pedestrian outing by Verlander's standards, it was also his ninth straight quality start. The ace right-hander has a 1.95 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 138:24 K:BB through 143 innings across 22 starts this year. He's projected for a home start versus the Twins next week if the Astros stick with a six-man rotation.