MLB Player News

Verdugo went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 victory against the Angels.

Verdugo's fourth-inning solo shot equaled the margin of victory in the pitching-dominated matchup. The long ball was his eighth of the season, putting Verdugo well on pace to surpass the career-best mark of 13 homers that he's reached two separate seasons. In his first campaign as a Yankee, Verdugo has added 29 RBI, 27 runs, a stolen base and a .260/.321/.439 slash line through 221 plate appearances.

McCormick isn't in the Astros' lineup for Thursday's game against Seattle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCormick had sat out three games in a row before returning to Houston's lineup Wednesday, but an 0-for-4 performance will put him back on the bench for Thursday's series finale. Yordan Alvarez, Jake Meyers and Mauricio Dubon will start across the outfield while McCormick sits.

Singleton isn't in the Astros' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Singleton went 1-for-11 with five strikeouts through the first three games of Houston's series with the Mariners, so he'll get a day to regroup Thursday. Jose Abreu will draw a start at first base instead, batting eighth.

Diaz isn't in the Astros' lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Diaz has slashed just .207/.221/.268 since the beginning of May, and he'll now sit down for the final game of Houston's series in Seattle. Victor Caratini will take over behind the plate and bat seventh.

Blackburn (foot) remains in a walking boot and will likely be reevaluated when the Athletics return to begin their next homestand Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

The right-hander appears to still be some time away from returning if this latest report is any indication, considering he'll need to presumably go through at least a throwing progression that includes multiple bullpen sessions before being considered for activation. Blackburn's placement on the injured list is retroactive to May 11, but at this point, he appears to be tracking for a mid-June return at the earliest.

Raley is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.

It's the first time since May 7 that Raley wasn't in the lineup when the Mariners were facing a right-hander. Seattle is going with Dominic Canzone and Mitch Haniger as its corner outfield duo against Spencer Arrighetti.

Boyle (back) started Triple-A Las Vegas' loss to Sugar Land on Wednesday and fired 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and two walks while recording three strikeouts.

To label Boyle's start Wednesday an exponential improvement over his rehab debut last Thursday would be an understatement, considering the young right-hander didn't even record an out in that encounter with Triple-A Tacoma. Boyle was downright cruising in that context Wednesday, firing 25 of his 43 pitches for strikes -- and averaging 100.1 mph with his four-seamer per MLB.com -- during a much-needed confidence-building effort. Manager Mark Kotsay noted after the outing that Boyle felt as if he'd "turned a corner" with his back injury, but it remains to be seen if he'll get one more rehab outing before being activated.

Sano (knee) was pulled off his rehab assignment Thursday and returned to Anaheim, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Sano had been close to returning from his left knee injury, but he experienced a setback recently when he burned himself with a heating pad. He'll get some more time off to allow the burn to properly heal and will restart a rehab assignment once the Angels feel he's ready to do so.

Baumann (2-0) got the win in an extra-inning victory over the Astros on Wednesday, firing a perfect 10th inning.

Just traded to the Mariners from the Orioles on May 22, Baumann was making his second appearance in a Seattle uniform Wednesday and was called on in the 10th after closer Andres Munoz had already worked the ninth. Baumann nearly got through the inning on a minimum number of pitches, locating all five pitches for strikes while retiring Chas McCormick, Victor Caratini and Jose Altuve. The veteran right-hander then became the pitcher of record when J.P. Crawford hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the home half of the frame, giving Baumann his first win since April 10 in what was his fifth straight scoreless appearance.

Kelly (2-2) took the loss against the Rays on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on two hits over one-third of an inning.

Kelly located six of his nine pitches for strikes, but he allowed a leadoff double to Amed Rosario and an eventual walk-off RBI single to Jose Siri in what was a quick Rays game-winning rally. The right-hander saw an eight-appearance streak of not allowing an earned run snapped with the stumble, but Kelly retains an impressive 2.70 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 30 innings (26 appearances) this season.