MLB Player News

Boyd (0-1) had to settle for a no-decision in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Orioles, allowing one run on two hits and three walks over 6.1 innings while striking out six.

The left-hander continued his impressive start to the season, as Boyd has given up exactly one run in each of his three outings, delivering a quality start each time. His 11:4 K:B in 19.1 innings indicates how much he's been relying on his defense, however, and just how fragile his 1.40 ERA actually is. Boyd will next take the mound Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Gausman (1-1) came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's loss to the Tigers, allowing two runs on nine hits over six innings while striking out four.

The right-hander threw 64 of 97 pitches for strikes but got a little too much of the plate at times, as both runs came off solo shots by Jeimer Candelario and Miguel Cabrera. Gausman's now delivered two straight quality starts, shaving his ERA down to 5.57 in the process. He'll look to keep his momentum going Monday at home against Cleveland.

McKenzie (forearm) continues to progress and is nearing activation from the 7-day disabled list.

McKenzie has been on the shelf since late March due to forearm soreness. In recent weeks, the right-hander has been able to begin building his arm back up and appears to be on the verge of returning to the minors in the coming weeks.

Bieber tossed seven scoreless innings Tuesday in his start with Double-A Akron. He gave up four hits and no walks and struck out six.

Bieber has opened the 2018 campaign with 20 scoreless innings, during which he has posted a remarkable 23:0 K:BB. With BB/9 rates below 1.0 at each of his four stops across three professional seasons, Bieber's control is matched by few pitchers at any level of the minors, but his low-90s fastball could make strikeouts more difficult to come by once he reaches the big leagues.

The Rays haven't listed a probable starter for Sunday's game against the Twins, suggesting that Chirinos isn't a lock to receive the nod when his turn in the rotation would come up, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Manager Kevin Cash has never officially named Chirinos the Rays' No. 4 starter, though that seemed to be a foregone conclusion after the right-hander dazzled with 9.1 shutout innings in starts April 5 and 11 that were classified as bullpen games. The 24-year-old likely would have sewn up a rotation spot with another strong outing Wednesday against the Rangers, but that didn't come to fruition, as he was blasted for six runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. One poor outing doesn't completely overshadow what has been an impressive body of work thus far for Chirinos, but the Rays could nonetheless give the youngster a temporary break from starting. Even if he's bypassed for the Sunday nod, there's a good chance that Chirinos would still pitch multiple innings in relief that day with another bullpen game on tap for Tampa Bay.

Berrios' start Wednesday against the Twins in San Juan, Puerto Rico will happen as planned despite the general power outage on the island, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports.

Hiram Bithorn Stadium is less affected by the power outage than the rest of the island, as it's equipped with generators which can run for 48 hours. Puerto Rico Series Director of Operations John Blakeman is confident that the game will be unaffected, saying, "We are fully prepared," so expect Berrios to be able to make his scheduled start unless further reports come out that indicate otherwise. The young righty is off to an excellent start to the season, with a 2.18 ERA, a 32.0 percent strikeout rate and a 1.3 percent walk rate through 20.2 innings.

Carrasco's start Wednesday against the Twins in San Juan, Puerto Rico will happen as planned despite the general power outage on the island, Marly Rivera of ESPN reports.

Puerto Rico is suffering from an island-wide power outage, but Hiram Bithorn Stadium is equipped with generators which can run for 48 hours. "We are fully prepared," said Puerto Rico Series Director of Operations John Blakeman, so expect Carrasco to be unaffected by the issue.

McCullers (2-1) allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out 11 in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Mariners.

McCullers, who was coming off the worst start of his career, had apparently heard enough about the problems he was having when opposing batters got a third look at him. Prior to Tuesday, the 14 batters seeing him a third time slashed .769/.786/1.308. On Tuesday, he retired all five Mariners that got a third look at him. He incorporated more changeups and two-seamers along with his signature curveball and produced his best game of the season. The lone blemish was Robinson Cano's first-inning home run -- McCullers went on to retire 19 of the final 20 batters faced. This altered approach is something he's been working on since spring training, but like changing any habit, it's not always comfortable. McCullers should take Tuesday's results to fuel his next start Sunday in Chicago against the White Sox.

Odorizzi (1-1) went five innings in a loss to Cleveland on Tuesday, allowing four runs on six hits while delivering six strikeouts and one walk.

All six hits allowed went for extra bases. He gave up three doubles and three homers, including back-to-back solo shots from Jose Ramirez and Michael Brantley to open the sixth, which subsequently ended his night. He hadn't allowed a hit through the first two innings, and didn't give up a run through four, but that ended with a two-run blast from Francisco Lindor in the fifth. Odorizzi is now 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 21.1 innings for his new club. With the off day Thursday, Odorizzi may be in line to face his former team in Tampa in his next outing.

Kluber (2-1) got the win over the Twins on Tuesday, striking out six and walking two while giving up one run on five hits in 6.2 innings.

This was Kluber's shortest outing in four starts this year, yet it was still a solid performance. The lone run he allowed was on an RBI double in the seventh by Brian Dozier, who was the last batter Kluber saw for the night as Andrew Miller then entered in relief. In four starts, Kluber has put up typical Kluber numbers, allowing just 16 hits in 29.2 innings while posting a 33:6 K:BB ratio. The ace right-hander will next take on the Orioles in Baltimore.