MLB Player News

Stone (4-1) got the win Tuesday against the Giants, allowing one run on five hits and three walks while striking out two over six innings.

Stone walked more batters than he struck out, which is never ideal, but he generated a bunch of soft contact with the only run against him coming off a base hit in the sixth inning. That's now four straight quality starts for Stone during which he's allowed one run in each. Over his last six starts, the 25-year-old boasts a 2.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 18:12 K:BB in 36 innings. The strikeouts aren't there but Stone continues to give the Dodgers excellent length and tentatively lines up to face Arizona at home to begin next week.

Cease (5-3) took the loss Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out eight over 5.2 innings.

Cease blanked the Rockies through three before Ryan McMahon took him deep to lead off the fourth. He then ran into some trouble in the sixth, allowing an additional run before being pulled with two outs in the inning and being charged with a third run before the frame concluded. It was just the second time this year Cease has failed to complete six innings and his first since his season debut. The strikeouts continue to pile up, as he's punched out at least eight in four of his last five starts and is second in the majors with 68 over 55 innings. He now owns a 2.45 ERA and 0.78 WHIP and lines up for a tough test on the road against Atlanta next week.

Bassitt won't start Wednesday's game against the Orioles at Camden Yards, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Bassitt was slated to start Tuesday in Baltimore before the game was postponed due to inclement weather. Rather than pushing each member of their rotation back a day in the pitching schedule to accommodate the postponement, the Blue Jays will have Yusei Kikuchi take the hill on normal rest Wednesday. As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca notes, Bassitt has been hit hard by left-handed batters this season, and the lefty Kikuchi may give Toronto a better chance at coming away with a win against a lefty-heavy Baltimore lineup. The Blue Jays haven't announced their rotation plans for this weekend's series with the Rays, but expect Bassitt to start at least one of those games rather than having his turn skipped entirely.

Quantrill (3-3) earned the win over the Padres on Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings.

Quantrill has now won three straight decisions while allowing just two runs over his last 19.2 innings pitched. He blanked the Padres through six frames and was pulled after surrendering a leadoff walk to Jurickson Profar in the seventh, who would end up scoring in the inning. Dating back to April 15, Quantrill has allowed one or fewer runs in five of his six starts and is now down to a 3.66 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 36:20 K:BB in 51.2 innings. He'll look to keep the momentum going, as he tentatively lines up for a road start against the Athletics next week.

Kikuchi is slated to start Wednesday's game against the Orioles in Baltimore, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

After Tuesday's game was postponed, the Blue Jays hadn't initially named a starter for Wednesday's series finale. Rather than pushing Chris Bassitt back a day in the pitching schedule after he had been in line to take the hill Tuesday, the Blue Jays will instead move up Kikuchi and have him take the hill Wednesday on his normal four days' rest. Kikuchi took a loss his last time out Friday against the Twins, but he worked a season-high eight innings and lowered his ERA to 2.64.

Greene (2-2) got the win over the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five over seven innings.

Greene's only blunder of an inning came in the third after he allowed the first two guys on before they came around to score on a base knock from Blaze Alexander. He otherwise kept Arizona quiet and put together an excellent rebound outing after some mixed results against the Diamondbacks last week. Greene has walked at least a batter in every start this season, but his one free pass was significantly better than the nine he'd given up over his last two starts. The 24-year-old flamethrower now owns a 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 58:22 K:BB in 52.1 innings. He lines up to complete a two-start week against the Dodgers this weekend.

Cecconi (1-3) was charged with Tuesday's loss to the Reds. He allowed six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three over 5.2 innings.

Cecconi has been dynamite the first time through orders, when opponents are hitting .029 with a .084 OPS, but things go sideways after that. The second time through, Cecconi is allowing a .355 average and 1.283 OPS. He told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that Tuesday's outing brought the struggles into focus: "It's a mental thing," the right-hander said. Cecconi said when he starts to get hit, he focuses on locating the ball, which takes velocity off whichever type of pitch he's trying to execute. He vowed to use Tuesday as a lesson that he can take into his next start Monday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Sale (6-1) picked up the win in Tuesday's 7-0 victory over the Cubs, scattering two hits over seven scoreless innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.

The veteran southpaw simply overmatched Chicago's hitters, and the only runner to get into scoring position against Sale came after one of his two HBPs on the night. He generated 30 called or swinging strikes among his 92 pitches as he produced his second straight quality start and fourth of the season. Sale will take a 2.54 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and eye-popping 61:8 K:BB through 49.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Padres.

Taillon (3-1) took the loss Tuesday, surrendering seven runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks over four innings as the Cubs fell 7-0 to Atlanta. He struck out two.

The right-hander's own fielding error in the fourth inning softened the blow to his ERA, but Taillon's final line was by no means undeserved as he served up homers to Michael Harris and Matt Olson in his last frame. It's the first time in five starts Taillon has been taken deep multiple times, and he'll take a 1.61 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 18:8 K:BB through 28 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home this weekend against the Pirates.

Pivetta came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 5-4 extra-innings win over the Rays, allowing two runs on four hits over 5.2 innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The right-hander generated an impressive 32 called or swinging strikes among his 81 pitches, but both runs off Pivetta came on solo shots by Josh Lowe and Randy Arozarena, with the latter chasing him from the game one out short of his second quality start of the season. Pivetta has served up five homers in two starts since coming off the IL, a worrisome trend, but he'll carry a 3.48 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 22:2 K:BB through 20.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road this weekend in St. Louis.