MLB Player News

Sale (6-4) picked up the win in Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the Orioles, allowing one run on two hits and four walks over six innings while striking out nine.

The run scored after the left-hander had exited the game -- Sale walked the first two batters in the seventh before getting the hook, and was somewhat pointlessly ejected by home plate umpire Brian Knight as he was walking to the dugout after complaining about the strike zone. The result still snapped the left-hander's personal three-game losing streak, and Sale will carry a 2.75 ERA into his next outing Tuesday in Minnesota.

Nicasio (knee) will toss a bullpen session this weekend in hopes of returning from the DL next week, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.

Nicasio played catch Monday after recently receiving a cortisone shot in his right knee. The right-hander didn't experience any issues during the brief session and will further test his knee on the mound at some point this weekend.

Rodriguez (8-1) allowed two runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four over 5.2 innings in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Orioles.

While the results are good -- Rodriguez is 8-1 with a 3.64 ERA -- this was the eighth time in 13 starts that he's failed to pitch six innings and manager Alex Cora wants more. "Eduardo was good; I think the next step for him is to go deeper into the game and keep that pitch count down," Cora told Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. Getting deep into games has been a struggle for Rodriguez throughout his career in Boston. Being able to put batters away earlier in counts, particularly with his changeup, is the next step in his development. "Sometimes we feel like with his stuff he can bury guys right away," Cora said. Rodriguez will try to put that plan into place Sunday on the road against the Mariners.

McCullers (8-3) allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over seven innings in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Athletics.

The Athletics touched McCullers for runs in each of the first two innings -- although only one ball was a hard hit -- before he settled in over his final five scoreless frames. It was his third straight quality start, all games that the Astros have won. He'll next take the ball Sunday against the Royals, who rank 28th in runs per game.

Odorizzi did not factor in the decison during Tuesday's win over the Tigers, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings. He stuck out four and issued four walks.

After issuing two walks or fewer in his previous eight starts, Odorizzi didn't have his best command Tuesday, issuing the four free passes. The 28-year-old battled through five innings and now has a 4.19 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with 72 strikeouts across 73 innings this season, and is next slated to start Sunday at Cleveland.

Manager Bob Melvin reported Tuesday that Bassitt would be the "first option" to replace Trevor Cahill (Achilles) in the rotation when Cahill is placed on the disabled list, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Bassitt will likely be recalled from Triple-A Nashville in the coming days to fill Cahill's spot in the rotation, as the starter is expected to be placed on the 10-day disabled list with an Achilles injury. Bassitt twirled seven innings of one-run ball against the Royals on Saturday.

Oaks was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.

Oaks was sent back to the minors to free up a roster spot for Justin Grimm, who was returned from the disabled list in a corresponding roster move. The 25-year-old made two appearances during his most recent big-league stint, allowing three runs while striking out four across 4.2 innings of relief. He'll likely rejoin the Storm Chasers' starting rotation.

Heaney (3-5) was roughed up for five runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts over just three innings in a loss Monday to Seattle.

Heaney lasted into the fourth inning, but gave up home runs to Nelson Cruz and Ryon Healy before Mike Scioscia had enough and yanked him. It has been back and forth lately for Heaney, who has now allowed five, zero, five and one run in his past four starts, including Monday night's effort. This marks just the third time Heaney has allowed a home run in a start, but the second time he has give up three (April 20 against San Francisco). Despite the inconsistency, Heaney will take a solid 3.68 ERA into his next start Sunday against Oakland.

Giolito (4-7) allowed four runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts over five innings to take the loss Monday against Cleveland.

Giolito actually threw more balls (47) than strikes (46) and finally paid for his inability to hit the strike zone as the floodgates opened in a three-run fourth inning. This start marked the seventh time in just 13 starts that Giolito walked more batters than he struck out. No matter how good his stuff is, that won't cut it in the show. He'll take a 7.09 ERA into his next start Saturday against Detroit.

Carrasco (8-4) struck out 11 and allowed just two hits and a walk through seven shutout innings to earn the win Monday over the White Sox.

Carrasco reached double-digit strikeouts for the third time this season, including each of his past two starts. He is now up to 94 strikeouts in just 90 innings and is on pace for his third 200-strikeout campaign in the past four seasons. His off-speed pitches -- changeup, slider and curveball -- combined to induce 15 swinging strikes on just 59 offerings, an absurd 25.4 percent rate. If Carrasco gets ahead in the count, it's almost impossible to touch him. He has lowered his ERA from 4.50 to 3.90 with his past two starts and will look to keep things moving in the right direction Saturday against the Twins.