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Jameson Taillon SP | TOR
Cubs' Jameson Taillon: Beats Brewers for third win
Taillon (3-0) earned the win over the Brewers on Saturday, allowing two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
The bullpen allowed Milwaukee back into the game with five runs, though Hector Neris ultimately shut the door to preserve the win. Taillon's seven strikeouts Saturday set a season high after he'd previously topped out at four Ks in an outing. Since returning from a back injury, Taillon has allowed just three earned runs with a 16:5 K:BB over 24 innings. Regression will come at some point, but Taillon will have a great chance to keep the good times rolling next weekend in Pittsburgh.
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Ranger Suarez SP | BOS
Phillies' Ranger Suarez: Posts quality start Saturday
Suarez (6-0) collected the win Saturday versus the Giants, permitting three runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.
There was a rain delay before the game and more inclement weather during the contest, but Suarez seemed undaunted as he became the first six-game winner in baseball (Tyler Glasnow joined him later Saturday). It speaks to how well Suarez has pitched this season that this was easily his worst start since his first outing of the season when he allowed three runs in five innings. The three runs the left-hander gave up Saturday matched his total from his previous five starts. With a matchup versus the Marlins looming next week, Suarez has a good chance to keep rolling.
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Ben Lively SP | CLE
Guardians' Ben Lively: Continues to impress
Lively (1-1) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out five batters over six innings.
Lively got through four scoreless frames before the Angels posted a run in the fifth, but that was all the scoring the right-hander ended up allowing. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has yielded exactly one run in each of his past three starts, and he's given up a total of five earned runs across 21.2 innings on the season for a sterling ERA of 2.08. It's a bit difficult to imagine Lively continuing this level of success given that he entered the campaign with a 5.05 ERA across 208.2 career innings as a major-leaguer, and his Statcast numbers show that despite his strong start to the season, he has given up plenty of hard contact while rarely getting batters to chase. However, it's also worth noting that his strikeout numbers have tangibly risen -- Lively had a career 6.9 K/9 prior to this season but is at a 10.0 K/9 through four starts this year.
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Austin Gomber SP | TEX
Rockies' Austin Gomber: Six scoreless in no-decision
Gomber allowed four hits and two walks over six scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Pirates on Saturday. He struck out three.
Gomber matched zeros with rookie phenom Jared Jones through six frames in a game that wasn't decided until the bottom of the ninth when Jack Suwinski broke a scoreless tie with an RBI single. Gomber was far less dominant than Jones from a swing-and-miss standpoint with eight whiffs to Jones' 17. Still, it was a quality start, Gomber's second in seven turns this season. He lines up for a tough home start against the Rangers his next time out and should still be handled with extreme caution despite his quality surface stats (3.79 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) to date.
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Keaton Winn RP | SF
Giants' Keaton Winn: Can't escape first inning
Winn (3-4) took the loss Saturday in Philadelphia, allowing five runs on four hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch over just two-thirds of an inning.
In fairness to Winn, the weather in Philadelphia for this one was nasty and the right-hander never seemed comfortable. Granted, Ranger Suarez pitched in the same conditions and posted a quality start. Winn had been on a roll prior to this one, yielding exactly one run over six innings in each of his last three starts, so this could be just a little bump in the road. His next outing, unfortunately, is tentatively lined up to come at Coors Field.
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George Kirby SP | SEA
Mariners' George Kirby: Undergoes MRI on Saturday
Kirby underwent an MRI on his right knee Saturday after being removed early from his start against the Astros on Friday, but the results are still pending, MLB.com reports.
Kirby's night ended Friday after a relatively modest 88 pitches due to the lingering right knee issue, which he conceded after the game he'd been dealing with "for the last couple of weeks." The general feeling after the game was he would be able to make his next start without issue, but manager Scott Servais said Kirby was sent for an MRI "just to make sure we're treating it the right way." Servais confirmed Kirby's arm felt good and added that he still expected the talented right-hander to make his next scheduled start, which is slated for Wednesday at Target Field against the Twins.
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Jared Jones SP | PIT
Pirates' Jared Jones: Brilliant in no-decision
Jones did not factor into the decision in Saturday's win against the Rockies. He allowed one hit and no walks while striking out 10 over seven scoreless innings.
The 22-year-old right-hander bounced back from a rather modest showing his last time out, matching his career high with 10 strikeouts. Jones got 17 swings and misses on 96 pitches and touched 100 mph with his heater a couple times. While he has a losing record at 2-3, Jones is off to a historically great start to his career. He became the first pitcher in Pirates history with an outing consisting of seven shutout innings, one hit or fewer allowed, 10 strikeouts and zero walks Saturday, and per MLB's Sarah Langs, Jones is the first pitcher since at least 1901 with 50-plus strikeouts and five or fewer walks in his first seven career starts.
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Ryne Nelson SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ryne Nelson: Confirmed to start Sunday
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo confirmed Saturday that Nelson (elbow) will return from the injured list to start Sunday against the Padres, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.
Lovullo had indicated previously that it was likely to be Nelson making the start, and now he's made it official. The right-hander had to go on the IL in mid-April after taking a comebacker off his pitching elbow, but he'll make his return Sunday while skipping a rehab assignment. Nelson holds a 4.60 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB in 15.2 innings this season.
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Lance Lynn SP | STL
Cardinals' Lance Lynn: Stumbles against former club
Lynn came away with a no-decision Saturday, giving up five runs (four earned) on four hits and three walks over five-plus innings in a 6-5 extra-inning loss to the White Sox. He struck out four.
Facing the team he spent two-plus seasons with before getting dealt to the Dodgers last July, Lynn struggled to find the strike zone on a rainy day and exited the game after 94 pitches (53 strikes). The veteran right-hander has worked at least five innings in five straight outings, and this was the first time in 2024 he's been tagged for more than four runs. Lynn will take a 3.28 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 33:16 K:BB through 35.2 innings into his next start, which is scheduled to come next week in Milwaukee.
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Spencer Turnbull RP | TOR
Phillies' Spencer Turnbull: Available in relief Sunday
Turnbull will be available out of the Phillies bullpen Sunday versus the Giants, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Turnbull could end up piggybacking starter Taijuan Walker, though manager Rob Thomson didn't explicitly say that would be the case. From a performance standpoint, Turnbull has earned a spot in Philadelphia's rotation with a 1.67 ERA and 36:10 K:BB in 32.1 innings this season, but the team also wants to keep an eye on his workload since he hasn't thrown more than 56.2 innings in a season since 2019. Turnbull seems likely to make another start at some point in the not-too-distant future, but it may take an injury to another starter before that happens.