MLB Player News

Boston manager Alex Cora removed Perez from Monday's game after five innings and 71 pitches for matchup reasons, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Perez appeared to be cruising after giving up one run over five innings, but Cora opted to bring in Matt Andriese in the sixth. The manager explained that several right-handers were due up in the sixth, and Andriese was well rested to go multiple innings. Furthermore, when Cora was asked about Perez's ability to go deeper, he indicated that he rued a decision made during Perez's previous start. "We left him in against a righty and we got burned," Cora said, referencing the two-run single Perez allowed to Detroit's JaCoby Jones in the sixth inning of his previous start. "Today, we felt like five innings was perfect." Whether Cora will be hesitant to let lineups see Perez three times going forward is not clear, but the left-hander has thrown more than five innings just three times in seven outings.

Houck (arm) is getting treatment for a sore flexor muscle, an injury the Red Sox feel is relatively minor, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Houck was forced out of his start Tuesday for Triple-A Worcester, but manager Alex Cora indicated the injury is not a long-term concern. "The training staff and everybody that I've talked to, they feel very comfortable that this is just something short-term," the manager said. Houck, who is considered Boston's top depth starter, has been shut down for an undetermined length of time.

Odorizzi (forearm) will face live batters Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Odorizzi recently threw a 37-pitch bullpen session over the weekend and is progressing toward a return to Houston's starting rotation. If all goes well, a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugarland would be the next step. The club may want him to make a couple of starts in the minors, putting him on a path to return late May. In the meantime, Luis Garcia will take Odorizzi's turns in the rotation.

Garcia allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Monday.

The Astros' batters squandered opportunities early on, but they built a 5-1 lead entering the sixth inning before the wheels came off. Garcia was cruising until he gave up back-to-back home runs, both off cutters that didn't cut, to Jared Walsh and Justin Upton -- leaving him two outs shy of what would have been his first quality start. Brandon Bielak relieved Garcia and did not pitch well, eliminating the possibility of a win for the young starter. He's been the rotation fill-in for Jake Odorizzi (forearm), who is scheduled to throw to hitters Wednesday and could miss another two or three starts. Garcia is next scheduled to throw Saturday at home against Texas.

Suarez (1-0) was credited with the win in Monday's 5-4 victory over the Astros after allowing one run on five hits and three walks over four-plus innings of relief. He struck out one.

It was far from a dominant outing for the lefty in his season debut, but he gave the Angels a chance to mount a comeback after opener Junior Guerra dug them into an early hole. Suarez tossed 40 of 72 pitches for strikes, so he won't be available to pitch again for a few days, potentially making him a candidate to be optioned back down to Triple-A Salt Lake. If he sticks around, Suarez would need multiple injuries in the Angels' the rotation to have a chance at starting.

Gibson allowed one run on four hits and two walks over six innings in Monday's loss to the Giants. He struck out six and did not factor in the decision.

The only damage against Gibson came on a fourth-inning solo homer by Brandon Belt. After his horrid first outing of the season, the 32-year-old has turned in seven consecutive quality starts, lowering his season ERA to 2.28 in the process. He's lined up to take the mound in Houston this weekend.

Perez gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings Monday against the Orioles. He didn't factor into the decision.

Perez surrendered a solo blast in the second inning, the only run he would surrender in his outing. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old southpaw, the Red Sox produced just one run on the evening, resulting in the no-decision. Perez continues to show consistent stuff early in the year, allowing two or fewer runs in five of his first seven starts. He sits with a 4.01 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 32:12 K:BB across 33.2 frames.

Dunn, whose next scheduled turn in the rotation would normally come Tuesday, will instead start Wednesday against the Dodgers, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The young right-hander will flip spots with Yusei Kikuchi on a temporary basis, with manager Scott Servais calculating the latter is a better bet to require fewer innings out of his bullpen. Dunn has pitched to an impressive 3.51 ERA and serviceable 1.29 WHIP through his first five starts, but he's yet to go deeper than 5.2 innings in any of those outings.

Kikuchi, whose next turn in the rotation would have normally come Wednesday, will instead switch places with Justin Dunn and start Tuesday's series opener against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The logic behind the switch is to up the chances of the bullpen getting additional rest after Monday's team off day. Kikuchi has gone seven innings in each of his last two starts, and despite the temporary move up in the rotation, he'll still operate on five days' rest versus Los Angeles.

Suarez will follow Junior Guerra out of the bullpen Monday against the Astros, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear if this is a traditional opener and follower setup, as the Angels haven't specified exactly how many innings Guerra is supposed to pitch. Suarez has made 17 starts and four relief appearances thus far in his big-league career but hasn't had much success, struggling to a 7.99 ERA and 6.95 FIP.