MLB Player News

Wacha registered a no-decision during Saturday's 7-6 loss to Seattle, allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

Wacha was staked to a three-run lead before he took the mound but surrendered two runs apiece in each of the first two innings to fall behind early. The 30-year-old righty has now permitted more than two runs in just two of 10 starts and sports a dazzling 2.33 ERA through 54 innings, though his 6.0 K/9 is on pace for the lowest rate of his career by far. Wacha is slated to pitch again next weekend at home against St. Louis.

Kirby didn't factor into the decision during Saturday's 7-6 win against Boston, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings.

A first-inning J.P. Crawford error led to three runs, and a J.D. Martinez two-run shot in the fifth put Kirby in line for the loss, but Seattle ultimately prevailed during a back-and-forth game. The 24-year-old rookie has now struck out three or fewer batters in four of seven starts but has at least seven in each of the other three. Kirby has been solid thus far with a 3.65 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 35:4 K:BB in 37 innings and lines up to face the Angels midweek.

Lorenzen (6-3) earned the win during Saturday's 11-6 victory over the Mets, allowing one run on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

Los Angeles jumped on New York starter Carlos Carrasco early, letting Lorenzen cruise to an easy win while surrendering his lone run in the seventh when reliever Aaron Loup let an inherited runner cross the plate. Lorenzen, a first-year Angel, has now surrendered one or zero runs in five of his 10 starts, though Lorenzen is yet to combine run prevention with strikeouts as he's surrendered a total of 11 runs during his three turns with at least seven strikeouts and hasn't surpassed five in any other start. Lorenzen sports a 3.45 ERA and is set to toe the rubber against Seattle next weekend.

Giolito struck out eight batters in five innings Saturday against the Rangers but allowed four runs on six hits and three walks. He did not factor into the decision.

Giolito allowed two baserunners in both of the first two innings but retired the side in order in the third and fourth frame, carrying a 5-0 lead into the top of the fifth. It all unraveled from there, as he loaded the bases with none out before allowing a sacrifice fly and three-run homer. He was able to escape the inning with a narrow one-run lead, but his teammates in the bullpen were unable to stem the bleeding in a game they'd eventually lose 11-9. He's now had two shaky starts in his last three, as he'd previously allowed six runs against the Blue Jays in his final start in May, another outing in which he struck out eight. He'll face a tough task next week as he aims to reverse the slump, as he's expected to face the Astros in Houston on Friday.

Perez escaped with a no-decision Saturday against the White Sox despite allowing seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits, striking out four while walking two.

Perez owns a modest 20.0 percent strikeout rate, so the 1.56 ERA he carried into this start was always going to rise once the hits started falling. They fell early and often in this one, with the White Sox scoring twice in the second inning, three times in the fourth and twice more in the fifth. Perez also gave up just his second homer of the season, a two-run shot to Jake Burger. The outing raised his ERA by over half a run to 2.18 on the year and stands in stark contrast to the 0.88 ERA he posted across his last nine starts, serving as a reminder that this is a pitcher with a career 4.55 ERA we're talking about, not one who regularly finds himself in Cy Young contention. He'll try to get back on track next week in Detroit.

Baz (0-1) gave up five runs on three hits and three walks in 2.1 innings while striking out just two batters Saturday against the Twins, picking up the loss in his season debut.

Baz entered the season with plenty of hype, but arthroscopic elbow surgery in late March kept him on the shelf for the first two months of the campaign. His season debut certainly didn't go as he would have liked, as the Twins scored five runs in the third inning on a Luis Arraez grand slam and a Jose Miranda double. One bad outing shouldn't dent Baz's significant pedigree, though it does serve as a reminder that expecting dominance immediately after a return from elbow surgery may have been unwise. He'll look to get back on track next week, when he lines up to face the Orioles on Friday.

Valdez (6-3) took the loss Saturday versus the Marlins, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in six innings.

The Marlins were able to take advantage of some sloppy defense in the second inning to piece together a three-run rally. Only one of the four runs on Valdez's line came directly off a hit -- a groundout, a fielder's choice and a walk accounted for the others. With this loss, the southpaw saw his five-start winning streak end. He has a 2.64 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 61:28 K:BB through 75 innings in 12 starts this year. Valdez is projected for a home start versus the White Sox next week.

Wells (3-4) allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four over six innings, earning the win Saturday over the Royals.

Wells picked up his third quality start of the year in this contest, including his second in his last three outings, though it wasn't his sharpest performance. The Royals scored once in the first inning and twice in the fourth before the Orioles' offense picked up the pace to pull ahead. Wells threw 60 of 84 pitches for strikes in this contest as he continues to adapt to a starter's workload. He's posted a 3.86 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and a 33:11 K:BB through 53.2 innings in 12 starts. The right-hander is scheduled for a tough road start versus the Blue Jays next week.

Lynch (2-6) allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings, taking the loss Saturday versus the Orioles.

The Royals led 3-0 after four innings, but a Cedric Mullins RBI single in the fifth and a three-run Tyler Nevin home run in the sixth knocked Lynch from the game en route to the loss. The 25-year-old southpaw has lost three starts in a row, and five of his six defeats on the year have been in his last seven outings. He's at a 5.50 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 50:23 K:BB across 54 innings in 11 starts, and it's unclear how much longer the Royals will tolerate his struggles. Lynch is projected for a road start versus the Athletics next week in a battle between the American League's two worst teams.

Eovaldi (hip) won't start Tuesday against Oakland as previously scheduled, but there's a chance he starts as soon as Wednesday, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

The Red Sox previously maintained that Eovaldi would make his next start on schedule despite the fact that he returned to Boston to have his right hip checked out, but that's evidently no longer the case. The fact that a Wednesday start is still in play suggests that the team still isn't particularly worried, though a decision on when he'll next take the mound won't come until Monday's off day. Nick Pivetta will jump ahead of him to start Tuesday's series opener.