MLB Player News

Sale (1-1) took the loss Wednesday to the Rays, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits with two walks over four innings. He struck out six.

Sale showed promise in his previous outing but took another step backward in his third start of the season. The 34-year-old lefty allowed a three-run blast to Randy Arozarena in the first inning and gave up two more earned runs before exiting in the fifth. Sale's lack of command has been noticeable, as he has given up 15 runs in just 12 innings this year. He will need to make significant improvements to get back on track.

Canning didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings. He struck out four without walking a batter.

The right-hander missed all of last season due to a stress fracture in his back and was making his first big-league start since July 2021, but Canning showed no signs of rust as he produced 15 swinging strikes among his 69 pitches, firing 49 strikes in total. The Angels are likely to ease Canning back in slowly and could keep him in a sixth starter role that results in somewhat sporadic playing time, but with Jose Suarez struggling out of the gate, it's also possible the team will decide to see if Canning is ready to take the mound every fifth day or so.

Bradley (1-0) earned the win Wednesday against the Red Sox, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk over five innings. He struck out eight.

Bradley proved himself in his MLB debut, retiring 10 of the 12 batters he faced after handing out a free pass to begin his outing. The 22-year-old rookie was highly efficient, throwing 52 of 78 pitches for strikes and striking out eight batters over five solid innings. As Zach Eflin continues to recover from a back injury, Bradley is expected to be given at least one more start, tentatively scheduled for this weekend against Cincinnati.

Gore didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Angels, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks over 3.2 innings. He struck out six.

The strikeouts were impressive, but the southpaw needed 88 pitches to record his 11 outs, and he got the hook after walking in Hunter Renfroe with two outs in the fourth inning. Gore's line would have looked a lot worse had Mason Thompson not bailed him out by getting Taylor Ward to ground out with the bases loaded to end the frame. Gore sports a 3.00 ERA and 18:10 K:BB through three starts and 15 innings, but he'll need to sharpen his control if he's going to maintain palatable ratios. His next trip to the mound is likely to come next week at home against the Orioles.

Wheeler didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Marlins, allowing one run on three hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out six.

The quality start was the first of the season in three tries for Wheeler, and he left the game with a 2-1 lead only to see the bullpen squander it -- a familiar story in recent years for Phillies starting pitchers. The veteran right-hander generated 15 swinging strikes among his 95 pitches, and Wheeler will take a 4.02 ERA and 18:7 K:BB through 15.2 innings into his next outing, likely to come early next week on the road against the White Sox.

Rodriguez allowed one run on seven hits across six innings and did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's 10-inning loss to the Blue Jays. He walked one and struck out three.

Rodriguez held his own against a tough Toronto lineup, but the 2-9 Tigers weren't able to give him much support. The lefty had allowed seven earned runs across 10 innings in his first two starts, so this was a step in the right direction, though fantasy managers would like to see more strikeouts moving forward. Rodriguez lines up to face the Guardians early next week.

Cabrera didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Phillies, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out four.

After issuing 13 free passes in only 6.2 innings over his first two starts of the season, Cabrera had a much better command of the strike zone in this one, tossing 50 of 82 pitches for strikes. The 24-year-old right-hander still has a 4.63 ERA, but Wednesday's improvement should keep him in the Marlins' rotation as the team doesn't have many other options for his spot at the moment. Cabrera will attempt to take another step forward when he next takes the mound, likely early next week at home against the Giants.

Blackburn (finger) covered three shutout innings in his rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Las Vegas, scattering two hits and issuing no walks in the 34-pitch outing.

Blackburn didn't strike out any batters in the rehab start, but making bats miss typically isn't part of his game plan for success even when he's not building back up from an injury. Since opening the season on the 15-day injured list with a right middle fingernail avulsion, Blackburn has made two rehab starts, but he'll likely need to increase his pitch count to the 75-to-90 range over the course of one or two more minor-league outings before he's cleared to join the Oakland rotation.

Giolito (0-1) took the loss Wednesday against Minnesota, allowing one run off five hits over six innings while walking two batters and striking out seven.

Aside from hitting Kyle Farmer in the face with a pitch, it was a solid outing for Giolito, though not a very efficient one -- it took him 108 pitches to get through six frames. His lone blemish came on a Michael Taylor bases-loaded groundout that ended up driving in a run. Giolito still might not have the prettiest statline to look at on the year, but Wednesday was certainly a nice bounce-back performance from his last start in Pittsburgh, when he gave up seven runs.

Gray (2-0) earned the win Wednesday against the White Sox, allowing zero runs off three hits over five innings while walking two batters and striking out five.

Chalk up another impressive start for the 33-year-old veteran, who has now allowed just one earned run through his first 17 innings on the mound and boasts a 19:7 K:BB ratio. While Wednesday's start certainly wasn't as impressive as his 13-strikeout performance Friday against Houston, Gray has yet to show signs of slowing down through three starts.