MLB Player News

Pena went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Twins.

Pena has only three hits across his first 23 at-bats, though two have been home runs. He's also struck out just three times while walking twice, so more hits should start to fall in.

Walker went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Thursday's 5-2 win over Minnesota.

Walker had gone just 3-for-24 with no extra-base hits before launching a 402-foot homer off Joe Ryan to lead off the second inning Thursday. The Astros will hope it's the first of many for Walker, who posted an .803 OPS with 26 home runs and 84 RBI in 552 plate appearances with Arizona last season.

Ryan (0-1) took the loss Thursday against the Astros, allowing four runs on five hits across five innings. He struck out six.

Ryan started the day on a high note, striking out the side in the first inning. However, then gave up back-to-back home runs to Christian Walker and Jeremy Pena to start the second before Houston added two more runs in the fourth. The 28-year-old Ryan has allowed five earned runs on 10 hits while striking out 11 through his first 10 innings this season. He'll look to get in the win column in his next outing, currently scheduled for next week in Kansas City.

Hader picked up the save in Thursday's 5-2 win over Minnesota, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Hader is now 3-for-3 in save opportunities to start the year -- he's allowed one run while striking out three over three innings. The left-hander remains one of the top ninth-inning options in the league after logging 34 saves while posting a 3.80 ERA with a 0.96 WHIP and 105 strikeouts across 71 regular-season innings last year.

Brown (1-1) earned the win Thursday over the Twins, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings. He struck out eight.

The Twins got to Brown early Thursday, scoring a pair of runs in the first inning. However, the right-hander would settle in and follow up with five scoreless frames to turn in a second straight quality start. The 26-year-old Brown has allowed four earned runs while striking out 15 through his first 12 innings this year. Brown is currently lined up for a road matchup with the Mariners in his next outing.

Castillo is expected to be promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to start against the Giants on Friday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Not to be confused with the Luis Castillo already in Seattle's big-league rotation, this 30-year-old righty made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2022 and threw 3.2 shutout frames while striking out four batters across three relief appearances. He then spent the next two seasons in Japan and is now slated to make his first career start in the majors. A strong showing Friday could buy the lesser-known Castillo another turn through the rotation while the Mariners await George Kirby's (shoulder) return from the IL.

The Mariners optioned Diaz to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday.

Diaz made his one appearance for Seattle on Tuesday and allowed no runs on one hit with a strikeout in 1.1 innings. The southpaw has made the bulk of his appearances for Tacoma as a starter and figured to get a shot at securing a rotation spot in place of the injured George Kirby (shoulder), but he'll instead return to the minors after a relief appearance. Luis F. Castillo is expected to be promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to make his first career start Friday.

Mullins went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and an additional run scored in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Mullins led off the bottom of the first inning with a 374-foot blast off Tanner Houck, his third already this season, to cut Baltimore's deficit to 2-1. The 31-year-old Mullins has gotten off to a fast start, going 8-for-26 with 11 RBI and a pair of stolen bases in his first seven games. Thursday's outing was the first time Mullins has batted leadoff this year, though he's unlikely to remain atop the order with Gunnar Henderson (side) expected to rejoin the Orioles on Friday.

The Mariners reinstated Polanco from the paternity list Thursday.

After taking two days to welcome a new addition to his family, Polanco will officially be back in action for the Mariners' series opener against San Francisco on Friday. The 31-year-old has gone 6-for-15 with four RBI in four games this season and has collected a base hit in each contest. Leo Rivas was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma in a corresponding move.

Houck did not factor into the decision in Thursday's 8-4 win over Baltimore, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over four innings. He struck out six.

While Houck was staked to a 4-1 lead after two innings, the right-hander failed to qualify for a win after needing 82 pitches to make it through four frames. It's been a shaky start to the year for Houck, who's now given up seven runs across 9.2 innings in his first two outings. He'll look to get on track in his next start, currently lined up for next week at home against the Blue Jays.