MLB Player News

Chirinos (0-1) took the loss Tuesday against the Rangers, yielding six runs on seven hits and three walks over 5.2 innings while striking out three.

Though Chirinos' previous starts had been labelled "bullpen games," he was given a longer leash in this one, throwing 89 pitches and only coming out after yielding a home run with two outs in the sixth. The 24-year-old hadn't given up a run in his first three appearances, so he was due to hit a bit of a road bump eventually. Despite the poor outing, Chirinos figures to get another turn through the rotation. He's lined up to face the Twins on Sunday.

Nicasio was credited with his seventh hold in a 2-1 win over the Astros on Monday, firing a scoreless eighth inning.

He got eight of 12 pitches into the strike zone while serving as an effective bridge to the dominant Edwin Diaz in the ninth. Nicasio has been a workhorse for manager Scott Servais despite some hiccups, as he's already logged 8.2 innings across eight appearances. Some issues keeping the ball in the park have helped lead to a bloated 5.19 ERA, a number out of whack with the sub-3.00 figures he generated in his two 2017 stops with the Pirates and Cardinals.

Paxton (1-1) held the Astros to just one run on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts through six innings to earn the win Monday night.

Paxton has been on fire since allowing six runs to Cleveland in his first start. Over his three subsequent starts, Paxton now has 24 strikeouts against just five walks and a 2.65 ERA. He induced a brilliant 14 swinging strikes on 106 pitches Monday night, an exemplary performance against a stacked Houston lineup.

Keuchel (0-3) allowed just two runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in an eight-inning complete game but was still left with the loss Monday night against the Mariners.

Keuchel remains winless, but this was finally a performance worthy of a former Cy Young winner. The main blemish was a solo home run off the bat of Nelson Cruz in the fourth inning, but other than that, Keuchel was exceptionally sharp. He induced 14 grounders against just four flyballs and threw 24 first-pitch strikes to 31 hitters as he hit his spots all night long. If Keuchel can find this form with regularity, the Astros' lineup will deliver him the wins before long, perhaps in his next start Saturday in Chicago against the White Sox.

Blackburn (forearm) is expected to begin a throwing program Friday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Blackburn was moved to the 60-day disabled list April 5, but he's scheduled to play catch Friday up to a distance of 60 feet. He'll look to progress through his throwing program as he aims for a return by the end of May.

Severino (3-1) tossed six scoreless innings while earning the win Monday against the Marlins, allowing one hit and one walk with eight strikeouts.

Severino was flat out dominant in this one, throwing first-pitch strikes to 15 of 20 batters as he registered a season high in strikeouts. He curiously induced just one groudball out as opposed to nine flyouts. He likely could've gone deeper into the game, but he was spotted a massive lead and exited luxuriously after just 86 pitches. Severino has been excellent in the early going, posting a 2.63 ERA and a 10.5 K/9 through 24 innings.

Perez (1-2) allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits and three walks while striking out four over four innings in Monday's 8-4 loss to the Rays.

That's two straight games in which Perez has allowed eight runs. He's been fooling no one this season, giving up 29 hits and 18 runs over 12.1 innings (13.14 ERA). His early-season struggles could be an unexpected side effect of the fractured bone in his right (non-throwing) elbow, sustained in December, that forced him to alter his offseason program and delayed his normal spring routine. Perez was never a master at missing bats, but he limited hard contact in 2017 to 33.3 percent of batted balls. Through his first two starts in 2018, that rate ballooned to 59.0 percent. Perez has been bad enough to remove from the rotation, but he gets a two-week stay while Doug Fister (hip) remains sidelined. He'll look to fix himself between now and Sunday against the Mariners.

Snell (2-1) got the win over the Rangers on Monday, giving up just one earned run on five hits in 6.1 innings, striking out nine and walking none in Tampa Bay's 8-4 victory.

It was the second straight strong outing for the 25-year-old left-hander, who has given up just two earned runs to go along with 19 strikeouts over his past 12.1 innings. He also showed improved control in this start as he didn't issue a single walk against Texas after surrendering five free passes to the White Sox in his last start. Aside from one dud outing against the Yankees in his second start of the year, the early-season returns have been strong from Snell, who now sports a solid 2.95 ERA and 1.08 WHIP to go along with 26 punch-outs in 21.1 innings -- numbers that would make him a rock-solid fantasy option if he's able to maintain the pace.

Chirinos will start Tuesday against the Rangers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos will get his third start of the season and is coming off a solid outing in which he tossed 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out five. He's yet to allow a run through 14.1 innings this season and owns an impressive 0.70 WHIP. Unless he starts to significantly regress, Chirinos should continue to function as the Ray's No. 4 starter, although he should not be expected to log much more than five innings per start.

Clevinger is scheduled to make his next start Saturday against the Orioles, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Clevinger will take the hill Saturday on seven days' rest, a result of two postponements over the past weekend in addition to team off days Monday and this coming Thursday. The pair of off days this week will allow the Indians to get by with a four-man rotation until April 24, leaving Josh Tomlin to serve out of the bullpen in the short term.