MLB Player News

Whitlock allowed two hits and struck out two over two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against the Twins.

Whitlock, a Rule 5 draft pick, owns a 1.50 ERA with seven strikeouts and no walks over six spring innings. A starter in the minors, Whitlock appears to be winning a spot in Boston's bullpen, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Eovaldi allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out three over four innings in Sunday's spring game against the Twins.

Eovaldi was largely unscathed through the first three innings, executing the game plan of pounding the zone, but it came unglued in the fourth when he allowed three runs and five hits. "He was good, pounding the strike zone," manager Alex Cora told Ian Browne of MLB.com. "Home run, [Buxton] hit the ball hard, [Miguel] Sano on the breaking ball, but besides that, obviously we don't like the hits, but it's weak contact and the more he pounds the strike zone with his stuff, he's going to be successful and we like that." Eovaldi threw 64 pitches (51 strikes) and 10 of them lit up 100 mph on the radar gun. He'll get two more starts before the end of camp and is on schedule to start the second game of the regular season.

Arihara allowed two hits and struck out three over a scoreless four innings in Sunday's spring game against the Rockies.

Arihara has made the typical progression in spring outings, working his way from two to three and now four innings. He'll get at least two more spring starts to get ready for the start of the regular season. Arihara is projected as one of the top three rotation members.

Javier allowed one walk over a scoreless inning in Sunday's spring game against the Nationals.

This was the first game action since March 3 for Javier, who was away from camp on health and safety protocols. He's expected to be part of the starting rotation and feels there's enough time to get ready for the regular season, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. With 17 days remaining before Opening Day, Javier could get three more outings to build pitch counts and innings.

McCullers allowed three hits and struck out six over four scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against the Nationals.

Like all pitchers, McCullers has worked on a measured progression in early camp: a fastball-dominant first outing followed by a second outing focusing on specific pitches. In Sunday's outing, however, he and catcher Martin Maldonado worked to formulate plans to face specific hitters multiple times and use all four pitches, according to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. "I was able to go into the game with that mindset, more like a starting mentality," McCullers said. "Settling in, mixing my pitches and having to think that I was going to probably face these guys two times, not exposing everything too early." McCullers threw 55 pitches (35 strikes) and should get at least two more starts to prepare for the regular season.

Gonzales fired four scoreless innings in a Cactus League loss to the Rockies on Saturday, allowing two hits and no walks while recording five strikeouts.

The left-hander stretched out to 58 pitches, impressively throwing 44 for strikes. Gonzales has fired six scoreless spring frames across his first two outings, and Saturday he notably put on his impressive performance against a Rockies lineup full of regulars.

Bundy pitched 4.2 scoreless innings against Chicago in a Cactus League game Sunday, yielding two hits and one walk while striking out two.

Bundy was scheduled to throw four innings heading into the contest, but he ended up getting a couple more outs in the fifth due to his efficient pitch count. The right-hander finished with 53 pitches overall, then proceeded to throw some more in the bullpen following the outing, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Bundy has yet to allow a run through two spring starts and is lined up to take the mound for the Angels on Opening Day.

Lynn allowed one hit and three walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings in Sunday's spring game against Athletics.

Lynn's command was off for a second straight start. He's handed out seven free passes over the last six spring innings but remains unscored upon in eight Cactus League frames. The good news is that he's building his pitch count; the bad news is the inefficiency. Despite the lack of command, Lynn told Scott Merkin of MLB.com that he feels good physically and shook off the walks.

Manager Rocco Baldelli named Maeda the starter for Opening Day against the Brewers on April 1, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

The 32-year-old had a dominant first year in Minnesota last season with a 2.70 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 80:10 K:BB across 66.2 innings, so it's not much of a surprise to see him at the head of the rotation for 2021. Maeda is hoping to utilize his curveball more this season after throwing it on only 3.4 percent of pitches in 2020.

Wacha was impressive while logging three innings and facing one batter to simulate the start of a fourth frame in an intrasquad game Saturday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports. "He creates a lot of depth on the cutter and the changeup," manager Kevin Cash said. "Asking [pitching coach Kyle Snyder] at different times, 'Which one was that?' I guess it doesn't matter if it's going underneath the barrel."

Wacha's primary three-pitch arsenal of a fastball, cutter and changeup has worked extremely well for him thus far this spring ahead of what both the Rays and the veteran right-hander hope will be a resurgent season. Prior to Saturday's outing, Wacha had logged three scoreless frames across his first two Grapefruit League outings against the Red Sox and Twins.