MLB Player News

Nola (0-1) took the loss against the Nationals on Sunday, allowing five runs on six hits and no walks with eight strikeouts over 5.1 innings.

Nola cruised through three innings before surrendering all five runs on home runs in the fourth and sixth frames. While the veteran remains one of the game's most durable arms, he has allowed 30-plus homers in each of the past two seasons. He'll look to bounce back in a tough matchup against the Dodgers next weekend.

Ashcraft allowed two hits over a scoreless eighth inning in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Giants.

Ashcraft worked around traffic with the help of a double-play grounder to earn his first hold. Cincinnati's late-game deployments are under scrutiny after the club placed closer Alexis Diaz (hamstring) on the injured list, and Ian Gibaut blew a save Opening Day. Going back to Ashcraft's days as a starter, Reds coaches have mused about the right-hander's makeup being suited for the bullpen, including as a closer. On Saturday, he worked in a set-up role for Emilio Pagan. This is a not a situation where once Diaz is healthy, he'll automatically get the closer's role back. He had trouble throwing strikes in limited Cactus League usage, which did not please manager Terry Francona.

Irvin didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's loss versus the Phillies. He allowed two runs, seven hits and two walks over five innings, striking out two.

Irvin was a workhorse last year in Washington with 187.2 innings pitched, but he lasted just five innings in his first start of the season. He was lifted at 83 pitches, but he should be able to go longer as he continues to build up his pitch count. He held the Phillies scoreless through three innings before giving up a two-run homer to Bryson Stott in the fourth inning. The righty left the game in a 2-2 tie before the Washington bullpen surrendered nine runs over the final four frames. He will look for his first win of the season in an expected start next week against the Diamondbacks.

Luzardo (1-0) got the win on Saturday versus the Nationals, striking out 11 batters while allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over five innings.

The left-hander made his Phillies' debut and was electric aside from a two-run homer off the bat of Keibert Ruiz, Luzardo struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth inning and then watched his offense erupt for five runs in the top of the sixth inning to break open a 2-2 tie, putting him in line for the win. Sitting at 95 pitches, his day was done from there. Luzardo is lined up for a tough matchup against the Dodgers next week.

Vasquez did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 1-0 win over Atlanta. He allowed four walks and four hits while striking out three across six scoreless innings.

Although he wasn't as effective as counterpart Spencer Schwellenbach, Vasquez was able to induce double plays in the first and fourth inning and got out of another sticky situation in the sixth to keep Atlanta off the board. Vasquez was able to beat out Stephen Kolek for the final spot in the Padres' rotation in spring training, and the former's performance Saturday has validated that decision for the time being. Vasquez's next start is tentatively slated for next weekend against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Schwellenbach came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 1-0 loss to the Padres. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four across six scoreless innings.

It was an outstanding 2025 debut for Schwellenbach, who constantly put batters behind with 13 first-pitch strikes, and he retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. The right-hander's efforts weren't enough to get the win, as Atlanta failed to generate any runs and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The 24-year-old right-hander had a strong spring training certainly carried that momentum into his first start of the regular season Saturday. Schwellenbach is slated to pitch against the Marlins at home next week.

Canning (0-1) took the loss Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four across 5.2 innings against Houston.

Canning went through the first four innings of Saturday's game unscathed but lost the shutout when he gave up a solo home run to Jeremy Pena in the fifth frame. Canning was close to earning a quality start, but his last pitch thrown was smacked into deep center field by Yordan Alvarez for an RBI double that gave the Astros a one-run lead in the sixth inning. The loss is disappointing, but it was a good start to Canning's Mets tenure, and it was promising to see his fastball top out at 96 mph after hovering around 93-to-94 mph in spring training. He'll look to earn his first win in a Mets uniform next week and is lined up to face the Blue Jays at home.

Sasaki completed 1.2 innings against Detroit in a no-decision Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out two batters.

As he did in his first big-league start, Sasaki battled his control while running up his pitch count. The right-hander needed 61 pitches to retire five batters Saturday and threw just 32 of those offerings for strikes. He's now issued nine free passes over just 4.2 frames in his first two major-league starts, though he's gotten away with yielding a relatively modest three runs over that span. Sasaki averaged just 2.0 walks per nine innings during his four seasons in Japan, so there's reason to believe that his early control issues will be corrected in time. However, until he is able to throw strikes more consistently -- especially with his offspeed offerings -- Sasaki figures to struggle to go deep into games.

Pfaadt (0-1) took the loss against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out five batters over six innings.

Pfaadt held Chicago scoreless for three frames before giving up a run in the fourth inning. The Cubs tagged him for two more runs on a Kyle Tucker homer in the fifth, and Arizona was never able to catch up. Pfaadt was pretty efficient in completing six frames on 78 pitches, and he gave his fantasy managers a boost with a quality start despite the loss. His second start of the campaign is expected to come against Washington next week.

Imanaga (1-0) tossed seven innings in a win against Arizona on Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out four batters.

Imanaga fell behind when he gave up a run in the second inning, but that was the only time the Diamondbacks managed to cross the plate while he was in the game. The southpaw threw 91 pitches -- 63 of which were strikes -- and induced 14 whiffs in his first victory of the campaign. Imanaga has surrendered just one run over 11 frames despite posting a mediocre 6:6 K:BB across his first two starts of the year.