MLB Player News

Gray improved to 2-2 on the season by throwing six innings Saturday against Cleveland, giving up two runs on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out seven.

It's the second straight positive start for Gray, who also gave up two runs on four hits in six innings last time out against the Astros. His ERA still sits at 6.00 for the season, though, after several poor starts in April. He'll look to keep things rolling Friday against Oakland.

Rodriguez was activated from the family medical leave list and will take the hill against Texas on Saturday.

Rodriguez, who was away from the team for the past few days while dealing with a family issue, will not be forced to miss a start as he's back with the Red Sox ahead of his sixth outing of the season. Through 26.1 innings of work, he's logged a 4.78 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with a 29:11 K:BB. In a corresponding move, the club optioned Bobby Poyner to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Berrios (3-3) went six innings for the win Friday over the White Sox, allowing four runs on six hits while striking out two and walking two.

Berrios gave up a two-run homer to Jose Abreu in the first and later surrendered an RBI groundout and another home run -- a solo shot by Leury Garcia -- to account for the runs allowed. After a couple rough outings in which he allowed nine runs in seven combined innings and couldn't get past the fourth inning in either start, Friday's performance was a definite improvement for the young righty. His next start will be a matchup with the Angels in Los Angeles.

Cole (3-1) got the win in a dominant, complete-game shutout of the Diamondbacks on Friday, giving up just one hit, striking out 16 batters and walking one as the Astros won 8-0.

Cole continued his utterly torrid start to the season against Arizona, becoming the second pitcher in the league to strike out 16 hitters in a game this season just a day after Seattle's James Paxton accomplished the same feat. Cole hasn't just been dominant to start his Houston career, he's been virtually unhittable, logging double-digit strikeouts in five of his seven starts for a ballistic 77:9 K:BB to go along with his 1.42 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. Quite simply, that's a Cy Young-caliber start that has made him one of the most valuable fantasy pitchers so far and he's showing no signs of slowing down. He'll look to continue this stellar run in his next start against Oakland on Wednesday.

Blackburn (forearm) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Sunday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Blackburn continues to progress in his recovery from the right forearm strain sustained in mid-March, and the bullpen session was expected after he advanced to throwing from 90 feet last week. The 24-year-old is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list at the end of May, and a return around that time still appears possible.

Ramirez (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day disabled list Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels needed a 40-man roster spot for Juan Graterol, who was called up to be the backup catcher while Martin Maldonado (personal) is away from the team. Ramirez was an obvious choice, as he underwent Tommy John surgery on April 18. He will still be out until sometime during the 2019 season.

Nicasio notched his 12th hold in a win over the Athletics on Thursday, allowing a hit and recording three strikeouts over a scoreless eighth inning.

Thursday's outing resulted in his fifth hold over the last seven appearances. Nicasio took the hill in each of the three games against the Athletics, and following a rare hiccup in Wednesday's loss during which he allowed a two-run home run to Jed Lowrie, he was back to his typically dominant self in the series finale. Factoring in Thursday's line, Nicasio now sports an impressive 19:1 K:BB across 16.2 innings.

Odorizzi got a no-decision in the Twins' 6-5 loss to the White Sox on Thursday, giving up five runs (three earned) on six hits over 5.1 innings, logging a season-high eight strikeouts and walking two.

Coming off a strong start in a win against the Reds, Odorizzi came out of this one with a solid final stat line as a couple of errors by his defense meant that two of the five runs he gave up were unearned. He's now got a 4.10 ERA and a 1.39 ERA through 37.1 innings and while he's probably not going to post world-beating ratios, he's been getting just enough strikeouts and limiting enough damage to stay in the conversation as a streaming option - although he probably shouldn't be considered much more than that. He'll take the mound next in a road matchup against the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Carrasco allowed six runs on nine hits -- including a homer -- while striking out seven over 5.1 innings in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays. He issued three walks and did not factor into the decision.

The Indians went off for seven runs in the fourth inning, taking Carrasco off the hook for the loss. Carrasco has now given up 10 runs in his last two starts (8.1 innings), but he was on a dominant run before that (2.31 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 28:6 K:BB in his first five outings) and there has been nothing to suggest he's dealing with a physical issue. He won't have it any easier next week in Milwaukee, but Carrasco still projects comfortably as a top-15 fantasy starter the rest of season.

McCullers allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over seven innings in a no-decision against the Yankees on Thursday.

Considering the opponent -- New York leads baseball in run scoring -- this was a big win for McCullers' fantasy owners, even if he didn't get another mark in the win column. The 24-year-old induced 14 swinging strikes on 108 pitches and is now up to four consecutive quality starts. Aside from one eight-run blowup on April 11, McCullers has been masterful, posting a 2.17 ERA in his other six outings. He will look to keep it going next week in Oakland.