MLB Player News

Walter (1-2) took the loss Wednesday against the Guardians, giving up two runs on two hits and no walks in six innings. He struck out seven.

Walter continues to provide length for the Astros, having now thrown at least five innings in each of his first seven starts in 2025. The 28-year-old southpaw also tallied 16 whiffs Wednesday, and he's now posted four quality starts for the year. Walter has logged a 3.98 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and a pristine 40:2 K:BB through his first 40.2 frames prior to the All-Star break, and he should continue to hold down a major-league roster spot to help eat innings for Houston's injury-riddled rotation.

Cecconi (4-4) earned the win Wednesday against the Astros, giving up two runs on five hits two walks in seven-plus innings. He struck out nine.

Cecconi was able to contain a hot Astros team, setting a season high in strikeouts during a quality start. The 26-year-old right-hander tossed at least six innings for only the fourth time among his 10 outings, and Wednesday also represented the seventh time this season that he threw at least five innings while surrendering two runs or fewer. Cecconi will bring a solid 3.44 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 56:18 K:BB through his first 55 innings into the All-Star break, and he should maintain a rotation spot at least until Shane Bieber (elbow) is ready to make his season debut.

Pallante (5-5) took the loss Wednesday against the Nationals, giving up seven runs on eight hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out one.

Pallante was knocked around, matching a season high in runs allowed and falling one hit allowed short of his season worst. The 26-year-old right-hander tends to pitch to contact, as he entered Wednesday with a 64.6 percent groundball rate in 2025, and that got him into trouble while tying a season low with one strikeout against Washington. Pallante will carry an ordinary 4.49 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 64:32 K:BB over 100.1 innings into the All-Star break, and he'll likely primarily remain a matchup-based streamer for fantasy purposes.

Gore (4-8) earned the win Wednesday against the Cardinals, giving up one run on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out seven.

The seven punchouts were Gore's most since his June 4 start against the Cubs, when he also struck out seven. Wednesday also marked the sixth instance in 19 outings during which the 26-year-old southpaw fired at least six frames while yielding one run or fewer, and he's now gone at least five innings in nine consecutive appearances. Gore sports a 3.02 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 138:35 K:BB over 110.1 innings, which helped him garner his first career All-Star selection in 2025.

Cease (3-9) allowed six runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight batters over six innings in a loss against Arizona on Wednesday.

Cease continues to flash impressive stuff with poor results -- he racked up 16 whiffs and eight strikeouts but allowed three long balls and six runs. The right-hander has now given up multiple home runs in three consecutive starts, yielding 14 runs (13 earned) across 16 innings during that stretch. Cease is tied for sixth in the league with 129 punchouts on the season, but he's also posted a poor 4.88 ERA and 1.33 WHIP.

Festa (3-3) earned the win Wednesday against the Cubs, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out three.

Festa held a formidable Cubs lineup to just two runs on three singles, and he was able to limit the damage during Chicago's two-run fourth frame. The 25-year-old right-hander tossed at least five innings while allowing two runs or fewer for just the third time in 10 outings this year. Festa owns a dicey 5.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 48:18 K:BB across 48 innings ahead of the All-Star break, but his rotation spot should remain intact for the near future with Bailey Ober (hip), Zebby Matthews (shoulder) and Pablo Lopez (shoulder) on the injured list.

Horton (3-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Twins, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five.

After firing seven shutout innings his last time out, Horton stumbled in Minnesota on Wednesday despite registering an impressive 19 whiffs. The rookie right-hander has now failed to make it through five frames in three of his last four starts, and he's walked multiple batters and been unable to fan greater than five in each of these outings. Horton will take a shaky 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB through his first 56.2 innings into the All-Star break, but he has a clear pathway to a rotation spot with the Cubs for now due to the absence of Justin Steele (elbow).

Pfaadt (9-6) earned the win over San Diego on Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out four batters over eight innings.

Pfaadt was both effective and efficient in the outing, needing a comfortable 99 pitches to get through a season-high eight frames. In fact, this was just the second time this season he's completed more than six innings -- his previous high was 6.1 frames May 8 against the Dodgers. Pfaadt didn't overwhelm batters with just seven whiffs and four punchouts, but he limited the Padres to only four hits. He's unlikely to pitch again until after the All-Star break; if that's the case, he'll finish the first half of the campaign with a 9-6 record despite a poor 5.16 ERA and 1.31 WHIP along with an 84:23 K:BB over 99.1 innings (19 starts).

Rocker allowed six runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two batters over 4.1 innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Wednesday.

Rocker was staked to a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third inning, but he couldn't hold the advantage. The right-hander was tagged for six runs over the third through fifth frames, serving up three homers -- including two to Mike Trout -- along the way. The six earned runs tied a season-worst mark for Rocker, with the other such instance coming in his season debut March 31 versus Cincinnati. Wednesday's poor outing snapped what had been a pretty strong run for Rocker, as he entered the day having posted a 2.49 ERA and 1.11 WHIP over his previous four starts.

Abbott (8-1) picked up the win Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 7.2 innings.

Abbott was pulled in the fourth inning of his previous start after allowing four earned runs. The 26-year-old bounced back Wednesday by firing seven scoreless innings before Heriberto Hernandez broke the shutout with an RBI single during the eighth frame. The outing marked Abbott's sixth quality start of the campaign and snapped a streak of three consecutive appearances with fewer than five Ks. He'll take a 2.07 ERA and an 83:24 K:BB over 91.1 innings into his next start, which won't come until after the All-Star break.