MLB Player News

Verlander (0-8) took the loss Friday, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks over 2.2 innings as the Giants fell 4-0 to the Blue Jays. He failed to strike out a batter.

All the damage off Verlander came in the second inning as Toronto batted around, but the 42-year-old righty couldn't keep traffic off the basepaths in his other two frames either. It's the first time he's recorded zero strikeouts in a start since July 2, 2017, and his 16-start winless streak to begin the season has set a new Giants franchise record. It's looking increasingly likely that 2025 will be the end of the road for the future Hall of Famer, but Verlander will keep looking for career win No. 263 when he takes the mound next week in Atlanta.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Ohtani will be limited to three innings in his start Monday against the Twins and will be piggybacked by right-hander Dustin May, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Over his five outings since making his Dodgers debut as a pitcher June 16, Ohtani has been followed in bulk relief by Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski or Emmet Sheehan, but Monday's contest will mark the first time that May has pitched behind him. After tossing a season-high three scoreless frames in his most recent appearance July 12 in San Francisco, Ohtani will replicate that workload Monday as the Dodgers continue to have him build up gradually coming off his September 2023 Tommy John surgery.

Harper went 3-for-4 with a double, two home runs and four RBI in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Angels.

The ball was flying out of Citizens Bank Park, with the two teams combining for six homers, and Harper led the charge for the Phillies by taking Jake Eder deep for a three-run blast in the third inning before adding a solo shot off Jose Fermin in the eighth. Harper has 12 homers in 69 games on the season, but he's caught fire in July -- over 12 contests on the month he's slashing .333/.429/.690 with nine of his 14 hits (six doubles, three home runs) going for extra bases.

McLain went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 8-4 win over the Mets.

McLain launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning to give Cincinnati the lead and later doubled and scored in the seventh. The first half of the season was a grind for McLain, but he hit .287 during the month of June and got himself on a run just before the All-Star break. McLain has hit safely in six of seven contests, including multiple hits in the last three, going 9-for-28 (.321) with two homers, two doubles, three RBI and six runs.

Luzardo came away with a no-decision in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Angels, giving up four runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out seven.

The ball was flying out of Citizens Bank Park, with the two teams combining for six homers, and Luzardo served up two of them -- a solo shot by Jorge Soler in the second inning, and a two-run blast by Jo Adell in the fourth. The southpaw got the hook after an inefficient 92 pitches (53 strikes), and he continues to have trouble regaining the Cy Young form he was flashing to begin the season. While Friday's homers were the first Luzardo had allowed since June 17, he's walked multiple batters in four of six starts during that stretch, stumbling to a 4.45 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 36:14 K:BB in 30.1 innings. He'll try to get back on track in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Red Sox.

Hays went 2-for-3 with two walks, two home runs and three RBI in Friday's 8-4 win over the Mets.

Hays helped the Reds overcome an early deficit with home runs on consecutive plate appearances in the fourth and sixth innings. He's been an RBI machine when healthy, knocking in 40 over 48 games this season. "Healthy" is the operative word; Hays has spent three separate stints on the injured list with hamstring and foot injuries.

Perdomo batted second in the order and went 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBI in Friday's 7-3 win over St. Louis.

Perdomo tripled in the first inning but was stranded there, and he then singled in a pair of runs in Arizona's three-run second inning. He took the second spot in the batting order against a right-hander, which typically is the domain of Ketel Marte, but Marte was placed on the restricted list to deal with a burglary at his home in Phoenix. Perdomo spent one game batting ninth just before the break, but that may have been a one-game decision. He's spent most of the last month in the upper third.

Alexander started at second base and went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Friday's 7-3 win over the Cardinals.

Alexander started the first game back from the All-Star break, while primary second baseman Ketel Marte was placed on the restricted list to deal with a burglary at his home in Phoenix. It's unclear how much time Marte will require, and manager Torey Lovullo referred to the absence as "a day-to-day situation," per Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Alexander has hit safely in three consecutive games, going 4-for-12 with three doubles and two RBI.

Freeland (2-10) earned the win Friday against the Twins, giving up one run on five hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out three.

It was one of Freeland's finest efforts of the season, as it was just the third instance in which he fired at least six innings while allowing one run or fewer. The left-hander has still issued multiple walks in five straight outings, and he's worked to a shaky 4.34 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 40:18 K:BB covering his last 10 appearances (56 innings). Although Freeland's next start is set to come versus the Cardinals at hitter-friendly Coors Field, St. Louis has a poor .618 OPS against left-handed pitching since the beginning of June.

Durbin went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an RBI double in Friday's 2-0 win over the Dodgers.

Durbin was the Brewers' offense in this contest, turning in the only multi-hit effort for either team. He opened the scoring with the RBI double in the fifth inning, then added his solo shot for insurance in the seventh. The infielder has been steady in July, going 11-for-30 (.367) over 12 games. He's up to a .265/.350/.382 slash line with five homers, 34 RBI, 35 runs scored, 13 doubles and eight stolen bases over 276 plate appearances.