MLB Player News

Some close to Indians ace Corey Kluber believe his early-season struggles were related to missing Yan Gomes, who is on the shelf with a with a sprained MCL, CBSSports.com Jon Heyman reports.

However, Kluber didn't seem to have any issues on Wednesday when he put together one of the best pitching performances of the season, striking out 18 -- the most in a game since Ben Sheets in 2004 and the most by an American League pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1998. 

Kluber is 1-5 with a 4.27 ERA over 52 2/3 innings pitched.

Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin is out of the starting lineup for Thursday's contest against the Astros. It appears to just be a rest day for Martin, who started the last two games and seven of the last eight behind the plate.

Josh Thole catch Drew Hutchison and hit eighth in the batting order.

Playing in his first game of the season, Tigers catcher Bryan Holaday had quite the afternoon against the Twins on Thursday. Holaday, who was recalled over the weekend when Alex Avila went on the disabled list, recorded a career-high three RBI as he went 3 for 5 on the afternoon.

Holaday hit the second home run of his career, a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth inning, and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

"When I hit it, it was about as good as I could," Holaday said, per MLive.com. "Then I saw (Eduardo) Escobar go back to the wall and I thought he was going to catch it. So I was happy when I saw it go over."

He will likely return to the bench on Friday, as James McCann has been the regular catcher since Avila's injury.

The Royals gave center fielder Lorenzo Cain and catcher Salvador Perez the day off Thursday against the Royals, per MLB.com. With both players out, manager Ned Yost inserted Drew Butera behind the plate and in the eighth spot, and Jarrod Dyson in center field and in the ninth spot in the order.

Kansas City is favored (-110) against the Rangers in Arlington, per VegasInsider.com.

Angels catcher Carlos Perez started for the sixth time in an eight-game span on Wednesday and went 1 for 4 at the plate, making him 7 for 22 with one home run and four RBI since joining the major-league roster.

"Any time a player plays well, you're going to earn more playing time," manager Mike Scioscia said before Wednesday's game, per MLB.com. "That's what Carlos has shown."

Chris Iannetta had a batting average below .100 at the time Perez was called up and has hit just .101/.203/.116 in 69 at-bats.

"Chris understands the start he got off to, he understands the need for us to get a little bit of production behind the plate, and he also understands how well Carlos has played when he's been out there," Scioscia said. "Chris has confidence in the way he can play, and hopefully we're going to see some signs of it when he gets his opportunity."

While Scioscia indicated that "we're going to need them both," Perez appears to be settling into a regular role while he continues to produce at the plate.

The speedy recovery of Indians catcher Yan Gomes will start a rehab assignment at Class A Lake County Friday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Gomes was supposed to be out as long as two months after sustaining a knee injury on April 11. But he could be back after a six-week absence if all goes well.

The Indians are in desperate need of their starting catcher. Backup Roberto Perez has struggled at the plate and in handling pitchers, particularly ace Corey Kluber.

Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart received another day of rest Wednesday afternoon against Oakland, after going 0 for 3 with a strikeout the previous night. Sandy Leon will get the start and bat ninth for Boston on Tuesday.

Swihart is hitting .133 (4 for 30) with two doubles since joining the majors.

Boston is an underdog (+131) at Oakland, per VegasInsider.com.

Indians catcher Yan Gomes performed agility drills in the outfield and is running the bases again on Tuesday, according to MLB.com.

Gomes is working his way back from a sprained MCL suffered earlier this season. The team has not announced plans for next steps, though if he makes it through Tuesday's workout without issue, he could begin a rehab assignment in short order.

Roberto Perez, who is batting a meager .173 on the season, continues to be the starting catcher in Gomes' absence.

Indians supposed ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is still missing injured catcher Yan Gomes. And the numbers back it up, per Fox Sports.

Since the start of 2014, he is 18-9 with a 2.39 ERA when Gomes catches and 0-5 with a 5.13 ERA with anyone else behind the dish. Kluber sported a 2.63 ERA this year when Gomes was lost. He is 0-4 with a 6.10 ERA pitching to Roberto Perez.

Gomes, who is rehabbing ahead of schedule, is expected back in about four weeks.

Tigers catcher James McCann is ready to take over as the starter behind the plate and utilize information from injured Alex Avila, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"He has so much information that you only get from working with each individual pitcher," McCann said. "He's worked with (Justin) Verlander for years. He's worked with (David) Price for all last half season. He has information on each of those guys that no one has unless you've actually caught them like he has. So he's been able to help me out with a lot of those nuances. And just game-calling and just understanding different situations and controlling the running game, everything that goes into being a catcher."

Manager Brad Ausmus said McCann has an important role with pitching coach Jeff Jones to help organize all batter information and relaying it to pitchers.

"You don't want to turn it into white noise," Ausmus said. "There's kind of a trickle down effect, what Jonesy has, what the catcher gets and what he gives the pitcher."

McCann is hitting .313 with five RBI in 48 at-bats this season.

"It's probably a little sooner than I would have wanted him to face a bunch of righties, but it's kind of been necessitated at this point," McCann said. "I think he's up to the task. To me, he's a mentally strong kid."