MLB Player News

Gray (6-3) earned the win during Saturday's 7-4 victory over San Diego, allowing one run on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts in five innings.

Gray faced four batters in each of his five frames to earn his second straight win, with the lone run coming on a Manny Machado solo shot in the third inning. The 32-year-old Gray has surrendered two runs in 11 innings across his last two turns compared to 14 runs in 13.1 innings across his first three starts of July. Gray takes a 3.41 ERA and 1.11 WHIP into his next start, scheduled to come midweek against Toronto.

Smyly (3-6) took the loss Saturday versus the Giants. He allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over four innings.

Smyly got through the Giants' order once without giving up runs, but they got to him the second time around. In the fourth inning, he gave up back-to-back home runs to Luis Gonzalez and Joey Bart, and Smyly didn't come back out for the fifth. The southpaw has failed to complete five innings in three of his last four starts since returning from an oblique injury, though he threw 87 pitches (53 strikes) Saturday. He owns a 4.42 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 48:14 K:BB, which he'll carry into next week's projected home start versus the Marlins.

Toussaint (1-0) allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts in four innings of relief, earning the win Saturday over the Rangers.

If Saturday's game was an audition for one spot in the rotation, Toussaint fared better than starter Chase Silseth. Toussaint's lone mistake was a two-run home run to Meibrys Viloria in the sixth inning, though the Angels rallied ahead with a five-run eighth to put the 26-year-old righty in line for the win. Toussaint made 15 of his 18 major-league appearances the previous two seasons as a starter, though he's yet to really establish himself. The Angels have a high number of pitchers stretched out to a starter's workload, but few have really seized the chance to hold down a spot at the back end of the team's six-man rotation. Until stated otherwise, Toussaint can be considered a multi-inning reliever with the potential to fill in as a spot starter.

Blackburn registered a no-decision during Saturday's 3-2 loss to the White Sox, allowing five hits while striking out four in five scoreless innings.

Blackburn cruised through four easy frames and escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the fifth to submit his second scoreless outing of July. With the top of Chicago's lineup due to bat a third time in the sixth, manager Mark Kotsay opted to pull the 28-year-old at 62 pitches, though Blackburn was effective by tossing 41 strikes with eight whiffs. Blackburn has compiled a 4.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 86 strikeouts in 106.1 innings across 20 starts. He's scheduled to pitch again next weekend against San Francisco.

Kershaw (7-3) took the loss Saturday in Colorado, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits and a hit batter while striking out three in 5.1 innings.

Kershaw was shaky early on, giving up a pair of runs after a two-out error in the first inning. He faced one more than the minimum over the next four frames before the Rockies mounted a three-run rally in the sixth that sent the southpaw to his first loss in over a month. Kershaw has given up nine runs (seven earned) in 9.2 innings over his last two starts -- he gave up more than two runs only twice in the first half of the campaign. He now has a 2.66 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 84:14 K:BB through 81.1 innings in 14 starts overall. The veteran will look to get back on track next week in a projected road start in San Francisco.

Freeland (6-7) earned the win over the Dodgers on Saturday. He allowed three runs on six hits and hit one batter while striking out six and walking none in six innings.

Freeland gave up one run in the first inning and two more in the third before retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. The Rockies rallied ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning to put the southpaw in line for the win, and the bullpen preserved the two-run advantage. This was his second straight quality start and win, and he's turned in eight quality starts this year. For the season, Freeland owns a 4.63 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 82:33 K:BB across 114.2 innings in 20 starts. His next appearance is tentatively scheduled to be a road start in San Diego next week.

Anderson (9-6) earned the win Saturday over the Diamondbacks. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out nine over six scoreless innings.

Anderson gave up both baserunners in the fifth inning, but he was able to strand runners on the corners. Atlanta's offense gave him enough support to weather a shaky ninth inning from A.J. Minter, resulting in Anderson's third win in five July starts. The right-hander allowed 11 runs in 24.2 innings for the month, though it's worse than it looks -- the Angels tagged him for seven runs last Sunday. For the season, he owns a 4.99 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 90:49 K:BB across 101 innings in 20 starts. He's projected for a tough road start versus the Mets next week.

Cueto didn't factor into the decision during Saturday's 3-2 win against the Athletics, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts in seven innings.

Cueto was tagged for two solo shots early but limited the damage thereafter -- retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced -- and Chicago eventually rallied to erase a potential loss. The 36-year-old has now posted six straight quality starts, and he's gone 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA across 40 innings in that span, though he's struck out a combined two batters over his last two starts. Cueto carries a 2.86 ERA and 1.17 WHIP into his next start, scheduled to come midweek against Texas.

Lauer (7-3) earned the win over Boston on Saturday, pitching five innings and allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out four batters.

Lauer wasn't at his most efficient in the outing -- he needed 94 pitches to complete five frames and walked three batters for his third straight game -- but he stuck around just long enough to earn his first victory since mid-June. The lefty hurler's success was partly due to keeping the ball in the park for the first time in his past five starts. Lauer has been effective as a mid-rotation starter for the Brewers, complementing his seven wins with a 3.75 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 107:37 K:BB across 105.2 innings.

Stripling did not factor in the decision against Detroit on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five batters over 4.1 innings.

Stripling breezed through four scoreless frames before running into trouble in the fifth. He allowed the first three batters in the inning to reach base, then gave up a sacrifice fly before being pulled for Adam Cimber. Cimber allowed one more run to score but otherwise contained the damage to preserve Stripling's four-game streak of allowing two or fewer runs. Stripling has pitched pretty effectively for Toronto, but he's exceeded five innings only once in his past six starts.