MLB Player News

Gittens is over his ankle injury but will head back to the minors. He’ll likely be back in September.

Verlander threw another bullpen Saturday, and Giants manager Bob Melvin told reporters that the future Hall of Famer “felt good” after that session. Melvin mentioned that the team is still discussing what moves will be made to get Verlander back in the rotation, but all signs point to him making a start in the next week.

Gorman’s homer made it a 7-1 game in the fifth and ended Jose Quintana’s afternoon. With Brendan Donovan missing the last four games, Gorman has now gotten to start six straight games. Going into this stretch, he’d started just six of the Cardinals’ previous 21 games. He’s batting .321/.424/.714 in 33 plate appearances this month, so one imagines the Cardinals will stick with him after Donovan returns, which could result in less playing time for Jordan Walker, Alec Burleson and Pedro Pagés (since Iván Herrera would likely do less DHing).

Pallante was given seven runs of support, but the Cardinals still didn’t trust him to finish off the fifth with three runs already in during the inning. Kyle Leahy took over and retired William Contreras and Christian Yelich to end the rally. Pallante remained 4-3 with a 4.83 ERA. He’ll face the Reds next.

We wouldn’t say Helsley made it interesting today, but this is the fourth straight appearance in which he’s allowed a run. The previous three times, it resulted in blown saves. William Contreras did the damage today, hitting a 389-foot homer. There’s no way the Cardinals want to pull Helsley from the closer’s role, but he can’t keep giving up runs every time out.

The last three earned runs came after Quintana intentionally plunked Willson Contreras in the fifth inning, and while it did sort of seem warranted, it might well have cost the Brewers the game, which they ended up losing by three runs. The goes as both Quintana’s shortest start and the most runs he’s allowed this season. He dropped to 4-2 with a 3.35 ERA ahead of a start against the Twins next weekend.

The Brewers targeted Contreras after what must have been a brain fart caused him to back into the running lane while Caleb Durbin was coming down the line. The 5-foot-7 Durbin ran into Contreras’s backside and went flying, but he wasn’t seriously hurt and was able to stay in the game. It also probably didn’t help that Rhys Hoskins was hit by a pitch afterwards. Jose Quintana plunked Contreras in the upper arm in his next at-bat, at which point Contreras, who seemed fine with the whole thing, retrieved the ball and handed it back to the pitcher. Also fun: both William and Willson wound up trading solo homers in the ninth inning today, making it the first time the brothers have homered in the same game.

Tarnok was signed to a minor league contract in December. The 26-year-old will get a chance to make his first MLB appearance since 2023 when he was a member of the A’s organization. A corresponding move will be announced Sunday.

Donovan has missed four consecutive games with a sprained big toe, but a carbon-fiber orthotic in his shoe has helped to ease his toe pain. The 28-year-old will likely need some maintenance days, but it’s a positive development that he can get back on the field this weekend.

Caminero led off the fourth inning with a solo homer off Tylor Megill and drew a walk in the same inning as the Rays hit around the order. The home run snaps a four-game hitless streak for Caminero. The talented 21-year-old third baseman is up to 16 homers while slashing .245/.286/.490 with 38 runs scored and 45 RBI across 276 plate appearances.

Mauricio took Drew Rasmussen deep for a solo homer in the fifth inning, his second of the season. The home run broke a three-game hitless streak for the 24-year-old infielder. Mauricio will likely need to pick it up at the plate to avoid losing playing time once Mark Vientos (hamstring) returns from the injured list.