MLB Player News

Davies (1-0) allowed two earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings to earn the win Sunday against the Pirates.

Davies was sharp in his Cubs debut facing a weak Pirates lineup. He cruised through five scoreless innings before allowing a two-run home run to Collin Moran in the sixth inning. The 28-year-old provides consistent quality starts despite not having high strikeout totals. The Cubs will rely heavily on him this year after parting ways with Jon Lester and Jose Quintana in the offseason.

Houser (0-1) gave up two runs on four hits and two walks over five innings in a loss to the Twins on Sunday. He struck out four.

Houser was just decent in his season debut. The Twins played some small ball to scrape together a run in the first, and Mitch Garver added a solo shot in the fifth on Houser's watch. The 28-year-old right-hander enters 2021 with a shaky grasp on a spot in the rotation after he posted a 5.30 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 44:21 K:BB across 56 innings in 2020. Houser will need to tighten things up on the mound or else risk a demotion to the bullpen. He lines up for his next start Saturday in St. Louis.

Eflin allowed a run on four hits and a walk while fanning eight across seven innings Sunday against the Braves. He didn't factor into the decision.

Eflin left the game shortly after giving up a home run to Travis d'Arnaud in the seventh inning, but that was the only mistake he committed all game long -- the right-hander was dominant and opened the campaign with a quality start. Eflin posted career-best marks in both ERA (3.97) and WHIP (1.27) last season, and he appears to be carrying that momentum into 2021. His next scheduled start will come on the road against the Braves on April 10.

Anderson gave up one run on four hits and two walks while fanning seven across five innings Sunday against the Phillies. He didn't factor into the decision.

Anderson posted an excellent 11.4 K/9 in six starts last season, and while he might not be able to replicate those numbers over the course of a full campaign, he got off to a strong start this season while falling just three outs shy of recording a quality start. His next scheduled start will come April 10 at home against the Phillies again.

Mets manager Luis Rojas said Carrasco (hamstring) threw two innings Sunday in a simulated game at the team's spring-training facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Rojas indicated that Carrasco made use of his full repertoire in the 30-pitch outing, an encouraging sign of where the right-hander stands in his recovery from a torn right hamstring. Carrasco was projected to miss 6-to-8 weeks at the time he received his diagnosis March 18, and while that timeline is seemingly still in place, he looks to be trending closer to six weeks of total recovery time at this point.

The Dodgers placed Gonsolin on the 10-day injured list Sunday with right shoulder inflammation.

Gonsolin didn't appear in any of the Dodgers' first three games of the season, so his IL stint can be backdated to April 3. According to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times, manager Dave Roberts said Gonsolin had been dealing with the injury for "the last few days," so the Dodgers will shut him down temporarily with the hope his inflammation calms down. Los Angeles called up Dennis Santana from the taxi squad in a corresponding move.

Gray (full body cramping) is expected to make his next start, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Word out of Colorado is that Gray is fine after he left Saturday's game with full body cramping. Gray more than held his own in a brutal home matchup against the Dodgers in his 2021 debut, allowing only one run on four hits while striking out seven over five innings. He has a more favorable matchup this coming week against the Diamondbacks, but it's at home, and it's still difficult to feel good about Gray against any opponent at Coors.

Mahle averaged 95.1 mph with his fastball in Saturday's win over the Cardinals, up from 93.9 mph last season. He touched as high as 98 mph in the start, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Seven of Mahle's nine strikeouts came on his fastball. Mahle said that he didn't do anything in particular to increase velocity this offseason. "(It was all) adrenaline and (my) first real game with fans," Mahle said. "A lot of stuff goes into it. (I) didn't work on my (velocity), it just kind of comes with doing all the stuff off the field, and a lot of adrenaline."

The Nationals announced Sunday that Denaburg (shoulder) recently underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Denaburg was believed to be entering 2021 at full health after having recovered from the arthroscopic right shoulder surgery he required in October 2019, but the 2018 first-round pick has a new arm injury to contend with. He'll end up missing the entire 2021 season and a large portion of the 2022 campaign while he recovers from the elbow injury. Given that he has yet to pitch at a full-season affiliate and now has two major arm procedures on his ledger, the 21-year-old doesn't look like an especially enticing player to hold in dynasty leagues.

Webb (0-1) took the loss against Seattle on Saturday, hurling 5.1 innings and allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out five.

Webb looked dominant in Cactus League play, allowing only one run and posting a 22:2 K:BB across 17 innings. The story was much different in his initial outing of the regular season, however, as the right-hander allowed too much traffic on the basepaths and yielded three runs between the third and fourth innings. Webb will look to rebound in his next start, currently slated to take place Saturday at home against Colorado.