Bubic (elbow) scratched from rehab start

Dingler is likely headed for X-rays to rule out any potential fractures after taking a foul tip off his right hand behind the plate during the early stages of Wednesday’s game at Comerica Park. He finished 1-for-1 with a run scored prior to leaving the contest in the second inning. Clearly, the Tigers weren’t going to take any chances by letting him continue. There should be a definitive update on his status following the contest. The 27-year-old was named to the American League’s roster for next week’s Midsummer Classic, his first All-Star Game selection.

It’s a significant relief that Kurtz isn’t dealing with an injury after he appeared to jam his hand trying to field an errant throw from teammate Zack Gelof in the opening frame. He was replaced by Jeff McNeil at first base in the second inning. The 23-year-old on-base machine is slated to start next week’s All-Star Game at first base for the American League. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale in Detroit.

Machado was in a great deal of pain after fouling a ball off his shin during Tuesday’s contest at Petco Park. The 34-year-old receives an extremely rare day off with Sung-Mun Song taking over at the hot corner in his absence. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now. He’s endured an abysmal first half at the plate, slashing .188/.282/.404 with 18 homers, 51 RBI and two steals in 374 plate appearances through 89 games.

Rengifo receives the call to replace an injured Samad Taylor (oblique) on San Diego’s bench after latching on with the organization back in late June. The versatile 29-year-old was cut loose by the Brewers last month after hitting .205//280/.254 with zero homers and three steals across 209 plate appearances in 57 games. He’s a part-time role player at this stage of his career.

So much for Taylor avoiding a trip to the injured list. The Padres are going to give him some extra time off heading into next week’s All-Star break. The 27-year-old wraps up a strong first half with a .330/.410/.398 slash line with one homer, 11 RBI and six steals in 102 plate appearances over 26 games. He’s certainly looked like a viable reserve outfielder.

It’s a significant relief that Warren won’t require elbow surgery after hitting the injured list with a forearm strain prior to Wednesday’s game against the Royals. The 30-year-old middle reliever has forged a respectable 4.63 ERA across 35 innings this season. There is no timetable for his return yet.

The cycle continues. Carrasco is poised to elect free agency and re-sign with Atlanta on a new minor league pact. He’ll remain stationed on the doorstep of the majors until he’s needed to gobble up innings as a mop-up reliever. Nothing to see here.

Kessinger provides Pittsburgh with some additional infield depth at Triple-A Indianapolis after losing starting shortstop Konnor Griffin (finger) for the next two months. The 28-year-old didn’t take very long to find a new home after being cut loose by the Mets earlier this week. He appeared in 49 games for the Astros from 2023-2024.

Cease was at 102 pitches after seven, but he clearly wanted to continue, and after a nine-pitch eighth, he was allowed to start the ninth. He wound up throwing just three pitches then, the last of which was a clean single from Heliot Ramos. Tyler Walker replaced him and preserved the shutout against his former club. Cease, who pitched a no-hitter for the Padres in 2024, struck out 11 and walked three. He has six 10-strikeout games this season and 31 for his career. The first-time All-Star closes out the first half 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA. He’s second in the majors with 148 strikeouts and seventh in ERA.

The runs all came in the first. Two soft hits to left field opened the game, and after George Springer walked to load the bases with one out, Daulton Varsho hit a liner to right that a sliding Jung Hoo Lee couldn’t catch, resulting in an RBI single. Kazuma Okamoto then followed with a grand slam on a ball 328 feet down the right field line. It would have been a homer only in San Francisco and in Yankee Stadium, according to Statcast. So, that’s the five runs. Only the homer, which wasn’t even a barrel, was hit harder than 72 mph. Webb allowed just one hit and one walk after the first. The All-Star gave up 12 runs in his last two starts to finish the first half 5-7 with a 3.86 ERA. Still, he’s throwing just fine.