MLB Player News

Manaea (0-1) picked up the loss Sunday against the Astros, allowing five runs on six hits in 4.2 innings and striking out four while walking three.

The Astros' bats were going all series -- they scored 35 runs in 36 innings -- and Manaea couldn't do anything to slow them down. They got on him right away, scoring in each of the first three innings. Kyle Tucker hit a solo shot in the first, while Jason Castro followed up with a two-run homer in the second. Yuli Gurriel added two more with a third-inning double. It's a disappointing beginning to the season for Manaea, who started last year slowly as well, struggling to a 9.00 ERA in his first four starts. He'll face the Astros again in his second start of the year, which should come in Houston on Friday.

Sulser allowed a hit and struck out three over two innings in Sunday's 11-3 win over the Red Sox.

Sulser was one of the Orioles' last additions to their Opening Day roster, and Sunday was his first appearance of the year. He finished 2020 with a 5.56 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 19:17 K:BB. While the right-hander saw save opportunities last year, he's expected to work more often in middle innings in 2021. Cesar Valdez, Tanner Scott and Shawn Armstrong are expected to share closing duties.

Norris (0-1) allowed four earned runs on four hits across 1.2 innings to take the loss in Sunday's game against Cleveland. He struck out one.

Norris came on in the sixth inning and allowed an inherited runner to score to make it 3-2 in favor of Detroit, but the lefty really ran into trouble in the seventh. He started the frame by allowing three straight hits and two runs, then was tagged for a two-run home run by Jordan Luplow with one out that made it 6-3 in favor of Cleveland. Norris was effective in long relief for the Tigers last season, posting a 3.25 ERA and 1.16 WHIP across 27.2 innings, so he should be able to bounce back from the rough outing.

Zimmermann allowed three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five over six innings in Sunday's win over the Red Sox.

The lefty was dominant in his debut, with his lone mistakes being to J.D. Martinez on a solo shot in the fourth and RBI double in the sixth. The 26-year-old rookie was impressive given it was his second career start, throwing 54 of his 73 pitches for strikes and striking out five. Zimmermann is scheduled to pitch on Saturday against the Red Sox again.

Merryweather recorded the save Sunday against the Yankees after tossing a scoreless ninth inning while fanning two.

Merryweather recorded his second save of the season in dominant style, as he tossed nine of his 11 pitches for strikes and didn't have any problem recording the final three outs of the game. Merryweather is now 2-for-2 in save opportunities this season, and he could get more opportunities down the road, though Jordan Romano might serve as the team's primary closer going forward.

Borucki (1-0) tossed 0.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's win over the Yankees.

Borucki earned his first win of the season and needed only two outs to accomplish that feat. He tossed five of his eight pitches for strikes and easily retired Jay Bruce and Gary Sanchez. Borucki is not expected to see the mound in high-leverage situations though, so his upside isn't very high going forward. However, he has started the year with back-to-back scoreless outings.

McHugh surrendered three earned runs on three hits and a walk over one inning of relief in a loss to the Marlins on Saturday. He struck out one.

The veteran was tagged by Adam Duvall for a solo home run for one of the three runs notched against him, and he managed to get just 12 of his 25 pitches into the strike zone. The appearance was McHugh's first taste of regular-season action since Aug. 30, 2019, and it followed an uneven spring in which he pitched to a 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and .333 BAA across six innings. McHugh is likely to work mostly in low-leverage middle-relief scenarios for the time being.

Trivino recorded four strikeouts and allowed an earned run on a solo home run over 2.2 innings of relief in a loss to the Astros on Saturday.

The 29-year-old also fired a perfect inning on Opening Day, making it a very encouraging start to the season for Trivino after an excellent spring. The right-hander could conceivably work himself back into more high-leverage relief situations as the season unfolds if he's able to continue generating a similar caliber of performance.

Graveman was credited with his first hold in a win over the Giants on Saturday, recording five strikeouts over two hitless innings. He did not issue any walks but did hit a batter.

The veteran right-hander was locked in during his 2021 regular-season debut, throwing first-pitch strikes to five of the seven hitters he faced and getting seven swinging strikes as well. The former starter's ability to work multiple innings out of the bullpen as he did Saturday is expected to be a valuable commodity throughout the season, and Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports manager Scott Servais was already raving about what he was able to get from Graveman in his first appearance. "Just unbelievable," Servais said. "The stuff was awesome. ... Phenomenal. If we continue to get those kind of efforts out of Gravey -- he emptied the tank in that second inning, we knew we were probably going to stretch him a little bit tonight, and he was throwing the ball so well."

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Sunday that Mata (triceps) was cleared to begin a throwing program late in spring training, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Mata ended up missing most of camp after being diagnosed with a slight UCL tear in his right elbow. Fortunately, he was able to treat the injury through rest and rehab rather than surgical means, so Mata will now turn his focus to advancing through his throwing progression ahead of the minor-league season. He may not be fully cleared by the time Triple-A Worcester begins its season in May, but Mata shouldn't be in store for a lengthy stint on the injured list if he's able to steer clear of any setbacks in the coming weeks.