MLB Player News

Loup, out since spring training with a forearm issue in his pitching arm, got two outs while giving up a hit and striking out one Friday for Triple-A Buffalo.

It was Loup's third straight appearance for Triple-A Buffalo. The lefty appears on track to meet his expected return date on May 28.

Manaea (1-3) threw six innings in Friday's loss against Detroit, in which he allowed three runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four.

Manaea registered a quality start, but it wasn't enough to lead his team to a win, and he lost for the second straight game. The 24-year-old lowered his ERA to a 7.03 which is still quite high, but at least he's gone a minimum of six innings in his last three outings. He will look to get back to winning ways during his next start against the Twins on Wednesday.

Fulmer (4-1) threw 7.2 scoreless innings in a win against the Athletics on Friday, allowing only three hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

After struggling in the first four starts of his career, Fulmer seems to have settled down with only one run allowed in the last 14.2 innings. He has struck out 14 and walked two over that span, so things are definitively looking up for him. He will look to keep it going in his next start against the Yankees on Thursday.

Kelly allowed five runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out eight, but lasted just 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Blue Jays on Friday night.

Kelly collected an impressive eight strikeouts, but he also struggled with location, needing 94 pitches (just 54 strikes) to record 13 outs. He also served up a pair of home runs as his ERA ballooned to 6.30 on the season. He has good stuff, but fights to maintain consistency, making him a risky fantasy play when he takes on Baltimore in his next start.

Jimenez was transfered from Single-A Lakeland to Double-A Erie Friday, Chris Iott of MLive.com reports.

As one of the Tigers' best pitching prospects, Jimenez is off to a great start to the season and has received this promotion to Double-A as a result. He has allowed just five hits and has recorded 28 strikeouts through his first 17.1 innings this season.

Boxberger (abdomen) surrendered one hit in an otherwise clean inning in Double-A Montgomery's 5-4 victory over the Jackson Generals on Wednesday night. He also struck out a batter.

The hard-throwing closer was actually credited with the hold as well, coming in to the game in the eighth inning and successfully preserving a 3-2 lead. While the outing was certainly another step in the right direction, it remains to be seen if it will be sufficient to warrant Boxberger's return to the major league club without an additional rehab appearance.

Giles picked up his first save as an Astro on Thursday, though not without some misadventure, as he allowed a run on two hits against the Orioles.

With Luke Gregerson having pitched on consecutive days, the Astros turned to Giles for the ninth, finally (if briefly) fulfilling the dreams of fantasy owners who picked him up on draft day. Of course, it was a mixed bag, as he snapped a streak of nine consecutive scoreless appearances while recording the save. Gregerson's given no reason to take his job away and Giles still owns a painful 5.75 ERA, so there's no change currently in the works here.

Santiago lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing six runs (five earned), five hits and two walks while striking out two in Wednesday's loss to the Rangers.

Santiago's ERA has jumped from 3.42 to 4.58 over his last two starts. Through his first 10 starts of the season, Santiago has posted a career-worst 7.04 K/9 and 1.80 HR/9. Pinpointing the cause for his early-season struggles is tough considering his fastball is up a tick, and his control is basically the same as it has always been. He'll look to rebound in his next start Tuesday against the Tigers.

Neal (0-1) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits over just four innings against the Mariners on Wednesday in his first career start.

While the ratios were nice at Triple-A, Neal gives up a ton of contact, and it's often hard contact. He let Adam Lind hit a pair of homers, including a three-run job that capped off a six-run third inning to put the game out of reach. It's hard to imagine the A's rolling him out again in the near future unless they really get desperate in the rotation -- Neal has posted nice ratios in Triple-A, but hardly strikes out anyone, a profile that doesn't generally play in the majors.

McHugh struck out a season-high 10 batters Wednesday, but lasted just 5.1 innings against Baltimore, allowing three runs on eight hits and a walk.

Despite this falling short even of the low standard for a quality start, it's promising to see the 28-year-old righty walk just one while missing plenty of bats for the second straight outing. Unfortunately, McHugh will probably be left remembering the painful ending more than anything else, as he gave up three hits and a wild pitch before being lifted. Fortunately, the Astros went on to win anyway.