MLB Player News

Verlander (4-4) cruised through eight innings against the Phillies on Tuesday, allowing only three hits and two walks while striking out 10.

Vintage performance from Verlander against a lowly Phillies lineup. The 33-year-old didn't allow runs for the second time this 2016, and he struck out at least 10 for the second straight game. It was easily one of his best starts in recent memory.

Darvish (elbow) will be capped at around 85-90 pitches in Saturday's start against the Pirates, MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan reports.

This will be Darvish's first big league start since undergoing Tommy John surgery on March 17, 2015, and he built up to 87 pitches in his last rehab outing. If all goes well, Darvish will get 22-23 starts through the end of the season and probably won't surpass 150 innings. The team has naturally been careful not to make public any internal pitch/innings restrictions for Darvish over the rest of the season, but he is returning late enough in the season that they may not need to take any drastic measures to protect him.

Odorizzi (2-2) allowed no runs on two hits and three walks while striking out seven to earn the win Tuesday at the Marlins.

Odorizzi threw 107 pitches to force his early exit despite keeping the Marlins off the board, and the bullpen barely held onto his three-run lead as the Rays squeaked out a victory. He's now allowed two or fewer runs in five of his last six starts, and he owns a 3.46 ERA to go along with a 1.21 WHIP.

Clevinger (0-1) pitched five innings, allowing six runs, seven hits and three walks while striking out four in Monday's loss to the White Sox.

In his second major league start, the 25-year-old right-hander was less than impressive. His propensity to give up fly balls did him in once again as he gave up two home runs, the second of which was a three-run shot by Brett Lawrie that broke open a tie game in the bottom of the fifth. Through two outings Clevinger holds an 8.71 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB. Things won't get any easier in his next start as he's scheduled to take the bump against the hard-hitting Orioles on Sunday.

Nolasco (1-3) allowed six runs on eight hits and two walks over 2.2 innings in a loss Monday against the Royals.

Nolasco has allowed at least four runs in six straight starts and seven of his nine this year, but this was by far his worst appearance of the season. He failed to last five frames for the first time and couldn't even serve as an innings eater. As has often been the case in Nolasco's career, he has a fine K:BB (46:11) but hitters are crushing his mistakes, as he has allowed 60 hits and seven home runs in just 52 innings, the drivers behind his 5.54 ERA.

Walker (2-4) allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out six over 7.1 innings in Monday's loss to the Athletics.

While Walker's chances of winning were hurt by unearned runs, his single earned run would still have been enough to earn a loss on its own as the Mariners failed to generate any offense against Oakland starter Rich Hill. The 23-year-old is now 0-4 in his last five appearances following a hot start, though it's tough to blame him for his poor record considering he has allowed two or less earned runs seven times in nine tries this season. Walker will head into a date with a subpar Twins offense Sunday looking for his first win since Apr. 25.

Hill (7-3) allowed just eight hits while striking out six without surrendering a walk over eight scoreless innings Monday against the Mariners.

Control continues to be the key to Hill's success, as he has pitched 15 scoreless frames in his two walk-free starts this season. The veteran is now riding a four-game winning streak, and has allowed just a measly five runs over 25.2 innings in that span. He'll look to keep the good times rolling in his next start Sunday against the Tigers.

Alvarez (shoulder) will begin playing catch Tuesday, Susan Slusser of the SF Chronicle reports.

Alvarez was well on his way to a full recovery from shoulder surgery when he suffered a setback in a rehab start on May 16. While the young righty has not had the smoothest recovery from his shoulder injury, him playing catch Tuesday is obviously a step in the right direction.

Darvish (elbow) will return to the rotation Saturday against the Pirates, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Rangers manager Jeff Banister confirmed that plan while meeting with the media Monday. Darvish had a 21:6 K:BB over 20 innings at Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock during his rehab assignment, but it remains to be seen if he'll face any short-term workload restrictions as he completes the return from Tommy John surgery this weekend.

Carrasco thew 50 pitches as well as an additional 10 bullpen pitches Monday, and is scheduled to throw a three-inning game in Lake County on May 28, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Carrasco's recovery is coming along nicely and he is nearing return to the Indians' rotation. There should be more clarity regarding his status following his three-inning start this upcoming Saturday.