MLB Player News

Gonzalez, 27, is heading back to the minors now that Jake Cronenworth (ribs) is healthy enough to come off the injured list. Gonzalez will be back at some point as a bench option for the Padres this summer.

Verlander scattered four hits and averaged 93.5 mph on his fastball during his latest rehab outing. The really encouraging sign here is that he was able to sustain his velocity through the 64-pitch outing. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer figures to rejoin Detroit’s rotation this weekend to take the ball against the Mariners at Comerica Park. He’s been on the shelf recovering from a hip impingement since early April.

It was Whitlock’s first side session since hitting the injured list with knee inflammation last week. The 29-year-old isn’t expected to miss a ton of time and it’s possible he’s ready to rejoin Boston’s high-leverage mix by mid-June.

Matz gave up six hits, walked none and struck out two. He fell to 4-3 on the season with the loss. This is two very poor outings in a row for Matz as he’s now allowed 11 runs over 4 2/3 innings in his last two starts. He got off to a bad start Tuesday when Gleyber Torres hit a home run in the first at-bat of the game. He’s allowed nine home runs in 46 innings (1.76 HR/9). Matz will take a 5.48 ERA into his start against Red Sox next week.

Alonso put Baltimore ahead with a 400-foot shot off Red Sox starter Connelly Early into the iconic Green Monster at Fenway Park. The 31-year-old middle-of-the-order masher has gone deep four times in his last 15 games and is up to 12 round-trippers through 61 games in his Orioles debut.

Garcia got the call to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and needed just 14 pitches (10 strikes) to end it. He struck out Willson Contreras and Masataka Yoshida before getting Mickey Gasper to fly out to end it. He’ll continue handling the closing duties for Baltimore until Ryan Helsley (elbow) is ready to return at some point later this month.

Baz authored his fourth consecutive quality start, limiting Boston’s lineup to just a pair of sacrifice flies over seven strong frames. He finished with six strikeouts and only issued a pair of walks. The 26-year-old former top prospect has allowed three earned runs or fewer and completed at least six innings in four straight outings since May 9, lowering his ERA from an inflated 5.48 to a more palatable 4.29 mark during that span. He’ll close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the division-rival Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre on Sunday.

Early was burned by the long ball as homers by Coby Mayo and Pete Alonso accounted for most of the damage against him in this one. The lackluster outing snapped a streak of four consecutive starts where he had allowed three earned runs or fewer dating back to May 8. The 24-year-old southpaw holds a strong 3.26 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 63/23 K/BB ratio across 66 1/3 innings across 12 starts this season. He looks and feels like a top-40 range fantasy starter for years to come. He’ll face a tough challenge his next time out with a road tilt against the Yankees on Sunday. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s postseason when he locks horns with Cam Schlittler at Yankee Stadium.

Flaherty gave up five hits, walked two and struck out six. The win was his first of the season as he improved to 1-7. Flaherty retired the side in order in the first inning before pitching out of jams in the second, third and fourth innings. While the 30-year-old right-hander has a 4.50 ERA in 20 innings over his last four starts, his 26/3 K/BB has been impressive. Flaherty may have turned a corner in his season after a disastrous start. He’s back on the fantasy radar in mixed leagues for his next start against the Twins next week.

Not good. Miller has been pulled back from swinging a bat and is back to rehabbing a lingering back issue that he’s been dealing with since spring training. There is no timetable for Philadelphia’s top prospect to return to game action. It’s starting to feel like a lost season for Miller and the lost development time certainly will adversely impact his timeline to the majors.