MLB Player News

Civale (1-0) earned the win over Seattle on Saturday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he allowed two hits and one walk while striking out three batters.

In his 2023 debut, Civale largely silenced Seattle's bats, allowing just a pair of singles and a walk while preventing the Mariners from putting multiple runners on base in any inning. The right-hander didn't have overpowering stuff -- he notched just five swinging strikes and three punchouts -- but he consistently got ahead in counts, throwing 17 of 23 first pitches for a strike. Civale is trying to bounce back from last season, when he posted a career-worst 4.92 ERA, and he's off to a strong start with Saturday's performance.

Eflin (1-0) allowed one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Saturday against the Tigers.

Eflin took the mound for the first time in the regular season as a member of the Rays, and he delivered a strong performance. The lone earned run against him came in the fourth inning after he allowed a leadoff double. Otherwise, Eflin was in control and generated six groundball outs along with 13 swinging strikes across 74 total pitches. The only downside to the outing was that the Rays pulled him early in the game, and that may not be likely to change moving forward given the team's preference to aggressively deploy its bullpen and limit its starters' exposure to opposing lineups.

Eovaldi (1-0) picked up the win Saturday, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over five innings in a 16-3 rout of the Phillies. He struck out six.

The right-hander wasn't at his sharpest, throwing 49 of 82 pitches for strikes, but Eovaldi got all the run support he could have asked for. The 33-year-old has posted an ERA between 3.72 and 3.87 and a WHIP between 1.19 and 1.23 in each of the last three seasons, an impressive run of consistency, but after making only 20 starts in 2022 it's Eovaldi's ability to stay healthy that will be the biggest driver of his fantasy value. His next outing is scheduled to come during next weekend's three-game road series against the Cubs.

Schmidt didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Giants, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over 3.1 innings while striking out five.

While the K:BB was strong and he generated 12 swinging strikes among his 76 pitches, three of the five hits off Schmidt went for extra bases, including homers by Joc Pederson and Brandon Crawford. The latter's long ball chased the right-hander from the game. Schmidt's starting role is fairly secure for now given all the injuries in the Yankees' rotation, but he'll need to find a way to keep the ball in the park to avoid getting bumped once other pitchers get healthier.

Sandoval (1-0) earned the win over Oakland on Saturday, pitching five innings and allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out two batters.

The Angels staked Sandoval to an 11-0 lead with a huge top of the third inning, so the left-hander didn't face much stress in his season debut. The only run against Sandoval came on a Ramon Laureano solo shot in the fifth frame, and the hurler departed after that inning having thrown 86 pitches (56 for strikes). His overall performance wasn't dominant by any means -- he struck out only two batters -- but it was nonetheless a successful debut for Sandoval, who will likely face a tougher challenge his next time out, as he's tentatively scheduled to face off against the Blue Jays next week.

Gausman (0-1) took the loss Saturday as the Blue Jays fell 4-1 to the Cardinals, giving up three runs (all unearned) on eight hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out seven.

A Matt Chapman throwing error prevented Gausman from escaping the third inning and led to three St. Louis runs, but otherwise the veteran right-hander kept the Cards in check. He fired 64 of 90 pitches for strikes. Gausman has topped 200 strikeouts in each of the last two seasons, and barring injury, he should be in that range again. His next start currently lines up to come next week in Kansas City.

Urquidy stuck out five batters in four innings Saturday against the White Sox but gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. He did not factor into the decision.

The long ball was a problem for Urquidy, as he gave up a solo shot to Yoan Moncada in the second inning and a two-run homer to Seby Zavala in the fourth. He was able to finish that frame but didn't come out for the fifth. The right-hander doesn't keep the ball on the ground well, so homers could continue to be an issue, as his 1.51 career HR/9 indicates. He'll try to keep the ball in the park next week against the Twins in his next start.

Giolito allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk in five innings Saturday against the Astros, striking out six. He did not factor into the decision.

Giolito gave up two runs on four singles in the first frame but settled down after that, allowing just one unearned run on one hit and a walk in his final four innings. It wasn't enough to bring home a win, but it was a passable performance against the defending champions. His next start lines up for next week in Pittsburgh.

Kremer didn't factor into the decision after allowing five runs on six hits and three walks over three innings Saturday against the Red Sox. He struck out three.

Kremer was provided with plenty of run support with the Orioles scoring seven runs against Chris Sale while he was on the mound, but he wasn't able to work deep enough to qualify for a decision. The right-hander gave up two homers in the contest -- one to Adam Duvall and one to Alex Verdugo. He's scheduled to be back on the mound next week in a home start against the Yankees.

Sale allowed seven runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out six over three innings, taking a no-decision Saturday against the Orioles.

Sale gave up two homers to Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays in the first and another in the third to Cedric Mullins. It's a disappointing first outing for Sale albeit one that showed he can still miss bats, but the command was well below average for the 34-year-old. He'll get a chance to rebound next week against the Tigers in Detroit.