MLB Player News

Whitley hurled four scoreless innings Friday, allowing just one hit without a walk and striking out five for Double-A Corpus Christi.

Whitley made his season debut after serving a 50-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. The 6-foot-7 right-hander, the organization's top prospect, obviously missed some development time, which will delay his estimated arrival in Houston.

Sale (5-4) took the loss Friday as the Red Sox fell 1-0 to the White Sox, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over eight innings while striking out 10.

The Boston offense failed to show up Friday, sending Sale to his third straight loss despite his ninth quality start of the season and fourth outing with double-digit strikeouts. The left-hander will carry a 2.83 ERA into his next start Wednesday in Baltimore.

Montas (3-0) got the win against the Royals on Friday, giving up two earned runs on six hits over 7.2 innings, striking out five and walking one in Oakland's 7-2 victory.

Make that three lights-out starts in a row for Montas, who has now won all three of his starts since making his season debut on May 27, and given up just three earned run over 22.2 innings in that time. His ability to work deep into games has been impressive, as this was the second start in a row where he's worked past the seventh inning. It's still too early to be forming definitive conclusions on him, but Montas is providing great returns so far, and he might be worth a stash to see if he's able to keep this up. He will have a tough assignment in his next start, as he's scheduled to face the Astros at home next Thursday.

Verlander (8-2) struck out nine and walked three in a win over the Rangers on Friday, allowing three runs on five hits in six innings.

Verlander gave up a leadoff home run to Shin-Soo Choo and a two-run double to Nomar Mazara, but kept the Astros in the game until the offense got going to pick up his fourth win in his last five starts. Verlander's 1.45 ERA and 0.76 WHIP lead all MLB starters, and his 113 strikeouts are good for fourth in the majors. He'll look to continue his dominance in his next start against the A's in Oakland.

Gonzales (7-3) allowed two runs on five hits in a win over the Rays on Friday, striking out three and walking zero in 7.1 innings.

Gonzales has earned a win in four consecutive starts, bringing his ERA down to 3.28 in the process. The 26-year-old has recorded seven quality starts this season, and is carrying a 62:17 K:BB in 74 innings. His .267 batting average against is a little high but he has managed to induce 11 double plays on the year, which is tied for third in MLB. His next start will be against the Angles at home.

Nicasio (knee) plans to keep throwing while on the disabled list and expects to only miss the minimum 10 days, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The veteran reliever went on the DL earlier in the day with what has been termed a "knee effusion". The injury may have been partly responsible for Nicasio's struggles in Wednesday's outing against the Astros, an appearance in which he failed to record an out. Nicasio's overall can-do attitude about his setback is admirable, but it remains to be seen if his plan to miss the minimum time required comes to fruition.

Lynn didn't factor into the decision against the Angels on Friday, giving up just one earned run on four hits over six innings, striking out seven and walking two as Minnesota lost 4-2.

The first-year Twin stumbled out of the gate in 2018 with an 8.37 ERA over his five outings in April, but he seems to have settled in lately, as this marked his fourth straight quality start since May 22. His 5.08 ERA and 1.68 WHIP are still bloated, but Lynn has been pretty consistent over his career and averaged a 3.06 ERA over his previous three seasons as a member of the Cardinals. That track record, combined with his strong pitching in recent weeks, means there's reason to believe those ratios will start to even out more as the season progresses.

Bassitt will get the nod Saturday against the Royals, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Bassitt is set to make his first appearance in the big-leagues since 2015, when he started 13 games and posted a 3.56 ERA and 64:30 K:BB across 86 innings. He'll take Trevor Cahill's (Achilles) spot in the rotation and will be officially called up prior to the game.

Nicasio was placed on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a knee injury, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The Mariners are officially calling Nicasio's injury "right knee effusion," which he appears to have tweaked during Wednesday's relief outing against Houston. There has been no timetable for his return at this point, but he will be eligible to return June 17.

Perez (elbow) had no issues after a bullpen session Wednesday, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

That makes two bullpen sessions this week without incident. Perez will move on to start doing fielding drills in the next few days.