MLB Player News

Brown went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in a 1-0 victory against Texas on Thursday.

Brown produced the only two extra-base hits in the pitching-dominant matchup, and his second-inning solo blast ended up accounting for the lone run in the contest. The long ball was the first of the season for the veteran outfielder, who is still sporting a meager .175/.250/.275 slash line on the campaign. Brown may be getting warm, however, as both of his multi-hit games have come over his past four contests, and he's gone 4-for-13 with a pair of RBI over that span.

Gray (0-1) took the loss against Oakland on Thursday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out nine batters over five innings.

Gray yielded seven runs (five earned) over 7.1 innings across his first two starts of the campaign but managed to emerge without a loss on his record. Naturally, he took defeat for the first time Thursday in what was easily his best outing of the season, as he gave up just one run (on a Seth Brown solo homer) and punched out a campaign-high nine batters while inducing 13 swinging strikes. The outing at least gave Gray's fantasy managers a reason to hope for better days moving forward after his poor initial pair of starts, and he'll look to build on Thursday's performance in his next outing, which projects to be another good matchup versus Detroit next week.

Miller earned a save against the Rangers on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect inning of work.

Miller was tasked with protecting a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, and he did so impressively, throwing 13 of 16 pitches for strikes and punching out two of the three batters he faced. The strikeouts were against two of Texas' top hitters -- Marcus Semien and Corey Seager -- giving added emphasis to how well Miller pitched under pressure. The right-hander has registered a save in each of his past two appearances and hasn't allowed a run since his first outing of the campaign. He's posted 12 punchouts to just three walks over seven frames and certainly looks like Oakland's top option for closing duties.

Sears (1-1) earned the win against Texas on Thursday, pitching 6.1 scoreless innings during which he allowed one hit and three walks while striking out five batters.

Sears didn't allow a hit until the seventh frame, when Adolis Garcia knocked a one-out single to left field. While the left-handed hurler did issue three leadoff walks, only one of those batters got past first base. Oakland scored just one run in support of Sears, but it was enough for him to pick up his first win, as the Athletics' bullpen managed to complete the shutout. This was the first good outing of the season for Sears -- he entered the game having allowed nine runs across 9.1 innings over his first two starts.

Loperfido has hit .289/.356/.711 across 51 plate appearances with Triple-A Sugar Land.

Loperfido made a positive impression in spring training and has carried that over to the minor-league season. He mashed his sixth home run of the season Thursday against Albuquerque and has collected at least one hit in five consecutive games. While Loperfido's surface stats are impressive, he also has a 37.2 percent strikeout rate, an area he'll almost certainly need to improve upon before getting the call to Houston.

The Blue Jays plan to promote Rodriguez to the major-league club sometime this weekend, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Rodriguez joined the Blue Jays this offseason on a multi-year deal after pitching in Japan for the previous four seasons. He's started a pair of games with Triple-A Buffalo, working a total of 6.1 shutout innings with a 10:3 K:BB. It's unclear how the club intends to deploy Rodriguez, though he may take the rotation spot of Bowden Francis, who has struggled significantly early on in the campaign.

Dubon went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Thursday against the Royals.

Dubon was in the lineup for the third time in the last four games, two of which have come in center field in the place of Jake Meyers. The former has picked up a total of 13 plate appearances in that span, collecting four hits and a double with two runs scored and an RBI. Meyers is likely to return to a more regular role, but Dubon is a capable replacement if he continues to be called upon.

Altuve went 3-for-4 with a walk and a double Thursday against the Royals.

Altuve has reached base in every game of the regular season and Thursday marked his fifth multi-hit performance. He's also chipped in three homers and 10 runs scored across 14 contests. The only downside to Altuve's line to begin the new campaign is that he's attempted only one stolen base and was unsuccessful.

Devers (shoulder) is not likely to return to the Red Sox's lineup Friday against the Angels, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Devers was held out of Thursday's game against Baltimore with soreness in his shoulder. The team is hoping he'll avoid a stint on the injured list, though it appears likely that he'll miss his second consecutive game Friday. Pablo Reyes started in Devers' place at the hot corner Thursday.

Gonzalez has X-rays come back negative on his left wrist Thursday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Gonzalez was held out of Thursday's lineup after suffering a wrist injury Wednesday. The issue isn't expected to be serious, which was at least initially confirmed by the X-ray results. However, he was wearing a splint Thursday, so the potential length of his absence remains unclear.