MLB Player News

Sale is scheduled to make his next start Wednesday against the Mets in Atlanta, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After striking out a season-high 11 batters in seven innings in his most recent start last Monday in Milwaukee, Sale was denied a two-start week when Atlanta opted to push him off his previously scheduled turn Sunday against the Rockies. Grant Holmes ended up getting the start Sunday, and Sale will now end up returning to the hill on eight days' rest for the second game of the home series versus the Mets. The decision to push Sale back in the schedule wasn't the result of any health concern; instead, Atlanta simply wanted to have the reigning Cy Young Award winner make each of his next three starts against divisional rivals as the 31-39 squad looks to make up ground in the NL East. After Wednesday's outing, Sale will tentatively line up to make his next two starts June 23 on the road against the Mets and June 28 at home versus the Phillies.

Woodruff (elbow/ankle/shoulder) tossed a 25-pitch bullpen session Sunday and checked out fine physically, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.

Woodruff looks to be fully recovered at this point from his October 2023 shoulder surgery, but a couple of unrelated setbacks on the health front during his rehab assignment have delayed him from making his 2025 MLB debut. He was briefly shut down in mid-May after experiencing ankle tendinitis following his sixth rehab start, and after returning to action May 21, he made three more starts before exiting his most recent outing with Triple-A Nashville on June 3 when he was struck in his pitching elbow by a comebacker. Fortunately, Woodruff suffered nothing more than a contusion on the elbow, and after completing his side session Sunday, he acknowledged that the recent time off allowed him to clean up his pitching mechanics. According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Woodruff is slated to throw another bullpen session of about 40 pitches Wednesday or Thursday before restarting his rehab assignment. He'll likely need to get stretched back out to around 80 pitches over the course of two or three starts in the minors before potentially returning from the 60-day injured list shortly before the All-Star break.

Johnson hit a solo home run in his lone at-bat in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Johnson got the Giants within a run with his eighth-inning homer. He saw some steady action just after he was called up in early June, but he's since taken on a bench role as a spare outfielder. He's batting .235 with a homer, a double, one RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base over 19 plate appearances this season.

Hjelle allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over 3.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Sunday.

Facing a top-tier offense on short notice after the Giants traded Sunday's projected starter, Kyle Harrison, to the Red Sox just before game time, Hjelle put in a fine performance. He allowed a sacrifice fly to Andy Pages in the first inning and a solo home run to Tommy Edman in the second, but the Giants got him off the hook with three runs in the fourth. Over 7.2 innings this season, Hjelle has allowed four runs while adding a 6:5 K:BB. This was his longest outing in the majors this season at 54 pitches (33 strikes), so it's unclear if he'll be stretched out as a starter -- he hasn't filled that role in the minors since 2023, instead functioning as a multi-inning reliever. Assuming Justin Verlander (pectoral) is good to go in the coming week, there may not be an opening in the Giants' rotation anyway.

Edman went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

Edman's 10th homer of the season came in the second inning, producing a 2-0 lead for the Dodgers. The 30-year-old was given two days off earlier in the week in addition to a team off day Thursday, so it's possible the Dodgers are trying to prevent an aggravation of an ankle injury that bothered him earlier in June. Edman still looks to be the starter at second base, though the team's complement of hitters is fully healthy and Hyeseong Kim has looked good in limited playing time. It's a competitive lineup, and Edman's .247/.283/.463 slash line may not be enough for him to be an everyday option. He's added 34 RBI, 30 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple and a stolen base over 53 games.

Pages went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

Pages delivered the opening run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and his three-run homer in the fifth provided the game-winning run. He had gone nine games without a long ball, batting .219 (7-for-32) with three RBI in that span. The outfielder's been fairly steady at the plate this season, posting a .281/.320/.480 slash line with 13 homers, 46 RBI, 33 runs scored and six stolen bases over 68 contests as a near-everyday option who can play all three outfield positions.

Scott struck out three batters in a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

Scott was tasked with protecting a one-run lead while facing the heart of the Giants' order. He got the job done on 13 pitches (10 strikes), earning his third save in seven outings in June. Scott has allowed three runs (one earned) over seven innings this month. He's now at a 3.86 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 38:4 K:BB while adding 13 saves and six holds over 32.2 innings. The Dodgers' bullpen situation remains a bit fluid, but Scott is firmly in the high-leverage mix as he continues to be deployed in critical spots regardless of inning.

May (4-4) allowed three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out three over six innings to earn the win over the Giants on Sunday.

May gave up all three runs in the fourth inning, but the Dodgers regained the lead on an Andy Pages three-run homer in the fifth. That was enough to give May his first win over three starts in June -- he's allowed 11 runs (10 earned) with a 9:10 K:BB over 17 innings this month. The right-hander has pitched to a 4.46 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 67:30 K:BB through 72.2 innings through 13 starts on the year. May is tentatively scheduled to draw a home start versus the Nationals his next time out.

The Dodgers announced that Ohtani (elbow) will serve as the team's starting pitcher for Monday's game against the Padres.

For the first time since making his last appearance as a pitcher with the Angels on Aug. 23, 2023 before undergoing his second career Tommy John surgery less than a month later, Ohtani will step back on an MLB mound. The Dodgers initially planned to have Ohtani throw at least one more simulated game this week before potentially clearing him to serve as a two-way player, but the right-hander reportedly pushed to resume pitching in MLB games, and the front office and medical staffs were comfortable honoring the request, per DodgerBlue.com. Though Ohtani tossed 44 pitches over three innings in his most recent sim game this past Monday, manager Dave Roberts said that the 30-year-old will operate as an opener in his first start, according to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register. With that in mind, Ohtani might be limited to 1-to-2 innings Monday, and he'll likely be built up gradually over the course of multiple outings before he's capable of handling a traditional starter's workload. In the meantime, Ohtani will continue to serve as the Dodgers' everyday designated hitter on his non-pitching days. He closed out the weekend on a high note, going 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants.

Crawford (quadriceps) has gone 2-for-9 with a walk while making a pair of starts in center field since returning to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley lineup Saturday.

Crawford missed just over a week's worth of action due to a quad injury, but Lehigh Valley never placed him on its injured list before he checked back into the starting nine this weekend. The 21-year-old is now batting .344/.411/.439 with 23 steals in 29 attempts through 54 games at Triple-A, and his contact skills and speed could earn him a look in the majors at some point later this summer if the Phillies aren't satisfied with the production the duo of Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas are providing in their center-field platoon.