MLB Player News

Francis will start Sunday's game against the Athletics, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Francis will make his first start since being activated from the 15-day IL on Tuesday. The 28-year-old surrendered four runs and tossed 57 pitches in long relief Tuesday and has yielded 12 runs over 8.1 innings during his only two starts this season. However, he'll have the luxury of facing an Athletics lineup that is scoring just 3.6 runs per game in 2024.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Saturday's 7-0 win over the A's.

The shortstop is heating up again, collecting four doubles among his seven hits over the last six games. Bichette's sluggish start to the season is fading in the rearview mirror -- over his last 24 contests, he's batting .302 (29-for-96) with two homers, eight doubles, eight runs and 14 RBI.

Bradish (2-0) earned the win over Tampa Bay on Saturday, allowing one hit and no walks while striking out nine batters over six scoreless innings.

Bradish was given two extra days of rest after struggling against the Rays in his previous start, and the extra time off proved to be a remedy to getting him back on the track. The right-hander allowed an infield single to the first batter he faced in the outing, then retired the final 18 hitters to step up to the plate against him. Bradish is still easing his way back after missing the first month of the campaign due to an elbow injury, which explains why he was pulled after just 88 pitches, but that was enough for him to pick up both his second win and second quality start. If he returns to pitching on a regular five-day schedule, Bradish is next lined up for a tough road matchup against Atlanta.

Tucker (lower leg) is aiming to return to the Astros' lineup Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Tucker is hopeful to return after the minimum 10 days on the injured list with a bruised right shin. He's been steadily improving since sustaining the injury and is down to using just one crutch after being seen Friday on two. Mauricio Dubon should handle most of the right field work until Tucker returns, though Joey Loperfido should get into the mix after recently being called up.

Gausman (5-4) picked up the win Saturday, giving up five hits and a walk in a complete-game shutout during Toronto's 7-0 victory over Oakland. He struck out 10.

It was the first shutout of Gausman's career, and the veteran right-hander was dominant all afternoon, firing 76 of 109 pitches for strikes while tying his season high in Ks. He's produced four quality starts in his last five trips to the mound, lowering his ERA on the season to 4.00 with a 1.25 WHIP and 69:16 K:BB through 69.2 innings. Gausman will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next weekend against the Guardians.

Woods Richardson (2-1) took the loss Saturday as the Twins were downed 4-0 by the Pirates, allowing one run on six hits over 6.1 innings. He struck out six.

The right-hander put together one of his best performances of the season, blanking the Bucs until serving up a solo shot to Rowdy Tellez in the seventh inning, but Woods Richardson got no run support at all. He recorded 17 swinging strikes among 97 pitches en route to his third quality starts among 10 trips to the mound in the majors this season. Woods Richardson will take a 2.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 42:11 K:BB through 50.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the A's.

Perales was removed from Saturday's start at Double-A Portland with an injury to his throwing arm, Geoff Pontes of Baseball America reports.

Perales stepped off the mound after throwing a pitch and was hanging his throwing arm. He was visited by a trainer for a brief moment before exiting to the dugout. Saturday's outing was just Perales' second at Double-A and he tossed five scoreless innings with seven punchouts in his Portland debut. An update on his status should come later this week.

Gray allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four over 2.1 scoreless innings in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Giants.

Gray appeared in relief of Andrew Heaney on Saturday in the former's first appearance since May 21, after he was placed on the IL with a groin strain. The right-hander certainly looked healthy, as he struck out four of the nine batters he faced. Overall, Gray is 2-2 with a 2.12 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 60:18 K:BB across 59.1 innings this year. He's currently scheduled to rejoin the rotation next week on the road versus the Dodgers.

Heaney (2-7) took the loss Saturday against the Giants, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out five.

All three of the runs charged to Heaney came off the bat of Heliot Ramos -- the outfielder opened the scoring with a double in the first inning before adding a two-run homer in the third. The 33-year-old Heaney had earned wins in his previous two appearances (one in relief), delivering 8.1 scoreless innings in that span. Overall, he sports a 4.06 ERA with a 1.27 WHIP and 58:15 K:BB across 62 innings this season. Heaney is currently lined up for a road start next week in Seattle, though he could find himself back in the bullpen due to Jon Gray returning from the IL.

Garver went 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk in Saturday's loss to the Royals.

The designated hitter took Alec Marsh deep in the fifth inning to tie up the score. It was Garver's seventh homer of the season and his second in his last three games. Garver has struggled to the tune of a .180/.292/.348 line thus far, but he may be starting to turn it around with eight RBI and four extra-base hits over his last six games.