MLB Player News

Manoah (1-2) took the loss against Boston on Wednesday, allowing five runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk while striking out three batters over five innings.

Manoah clearly didn't have his best stuff Wednesday, as he induced just three swinging strikes and tied a season low with three punchouts. Still, he navigated through three scoreless frames before Toronto's defense let him down. Two errors in the fourth -- including one by Manoah himself -- helped lead to two runs, and another error in the fifth opened the door for Boston's three-run frame. This was the third time on the campaign that Manoah has given up at least five runs in a start, though only two were earned Wednesday. The right-hander holds a disappointing 4.71 ERA and 1.65 WHIP through 36.1 innings.

Battenfield will start Friday's game against the Twins, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

After recently moving to the bullpen to open up rotation spots for fellow rookies Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee, Battenfield will get a chance to pick up a start while the Guardians skip the struggling Zach Plesac's (7.59 ERA, 1.97 WHIP in 21.1 innings) turn through the rotation. Battenfield has given up at least three earned runs in both of his last two appearances and holds unremarkable ratios for the season (4.67 ERA, 5.89 FIP, 1.56 WHIP), but a solid showing against the Twins might be enough for him to stick in the rotation over Plesac.

Lorenzen (1-1) allowed one run on four hits across seven innings to earn the win in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mets. He walked two and struck out one.

Outside of the low strikeout total, Lorenzen was great, and he was able to earn his first win of the year as the Tigers provided eight runs of support. The righty missed the first three weeks of the season with a groin injury and now has a 5.14 ERA across four starts. He's tentatively lined up to take the mound again Monday against Cleveland, where he'll look to build from this positive outing.

Crawford was pulled from Wednesday's game against Toronto due to left hamstring tightness, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Details regarding the severity of Crawford's injury likely won't come out until Thursday, per Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican. Until then, fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day.

Wentz allowed five runs on nine hits across six innings and did not factor into the decision in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Mets. He walked one and struck out two.

With Detroit playing two games Wednesday, the team needed some length from Wentz in the opener, so he stayed out there despite getting tagged for three home runs. On a more positive note, he only needed 83 pitches to cover six innings, though his ERA did bump up to 6.67 for the season. Wentz should stick in the rotation with the likes of Beau Brieske (elbow), Matt Manning (foot), Casey Mize (elbow) and Tarik Skubal (elbow) all out at the moment. Wentz is tentatively set to start again early next week against Cleveland.

Severino (lat) will throw a live batting practice session Friday instead of beginning a rehab assignment, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

The plan had been for Severino to begin a rehab assignment with High-A Tampa on Thursday, but the Yankees have decided they would rather have the pitcher work in a more controlled environment. If everything goes well Friday, he'll then begin a rehab assignment next week. Severino is expected to return from the 15-day injured list in mid-to-late May.

Ray underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas at the TMI Sports Medicine facility. Ray will travel to Arizona in a few weeks following his initial recovery to begin his rehab. The left-hander has already been ruled out for the remainder of the 2023 season, and it's very likely that Ray will miss time to begin the 2024 campaign as well.

Heaney allowed six runs on four hits and four walks over 4.2 innings during Wednesday's 12-7 loss to the Diamondbacks. He struck out five and didn't factor in the decision.

The 31-year-old struggled with his command and threw just 49 of 92 pitches for strikes, resulting in a season-high four walks. The left-hander was also victimized three times by the long ball, with Christian Walker going deep twice. Heaney entered Wednesday having given up only five earned runs over his previous four outings, and he'll attempt to get back to that form early next week in Seattle.

Valdez (2-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings in a 4-2 loss against the Giants. He struck out eight.

Valdez recorded his sixth consecutive quality start Wednesday, holding San Francisco to just a pair of runs in the sixth inning. However, the 29-year-old left-hander was ultimately outdueled by Logan Webb in the 4-2 loss. Despite his losing record, Valdez has been excellent this season with a 2.60 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 45:10 K:BB. He'll be counted on to continue anchoring Houston's rotation following injuries to Luis Garcia (elbow) and Jose Urquidy (shoulder).

Houck will remain in the Red Sox's rotation for now and start Sunday in Philadelphia, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

While manager Alex Cora committed to Houck making his next scheduled start, he did not guarantee anything beyond that. Notable is that James Paxton's (hamstring) rehab assignment window runs out May 8, one day after Houck's start. Houck has been roughed up for 10 runs (nine earned) over 11 innings in his last two starts.