MLB Player News

Athletics pitcher Drew Pomeranz earned a hard luck loss Thursday against the Yankees.

Pomeranz performed well, giving up just two runs, one earned, over 7 innings. After Brian McCann reached second on an error, Alfonso Soriano drove him in to tie the game at one. Brett Gardner provided the spark the following inning, hitting a solo home run. 

The Athletics were shut down by Masahiro Tanaka, meaning Pomeranz took the loss despite pitching well. He allowed six hits and one walk during the appearance. Pomeranz struck out seven hitters. The loss dropped him to 5-3 on the year. His next start is slated to come against the Angels.

Rangers pitcher Nick Martinez struggled for the second outing in a row Wednesday, in a 6-5 loss to the Orioles.

Martinez allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings, though only four were earned. He had one unearned run come around in the first inning and one more in the third, and that proved to be the difference in the game. He scattered nine hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings of work, while striking out just one in the loss.

Martinez's ERA rose to 3.22 with the outing, while his record fell to 1-2 in his sixth start. His next outing is set for Monday against the Indians. 

Athletics starter Jesse Chavez was not at the top of his game Wednesday, but the offense picked him up in a 7-4 win over the Yankees.

Chavez allowed four runs in six innings of work, though was better than that number might indicate. He was nearly flawless outside of a our-run third inning, during which he allowed a three-run home run to Jacoby Ellsbury, the last run he would allow.

Chavez ended up allowing his four runs on seven hits in six innings, while he walked two batters. He also struck out five on 107 pitches and earned the win, as the offense rallied to score seven runs from the fourth inning on.

Chavez ended a two-start losing streak, and is now 5-3 with a 3.04 ERA for the season. His next start is set for Monday against the Angels. 

Prior to his last start, I wrote I had come around to Collin McHugh, but even then, I expressed concern that the element of surprise might be having some say in his success, pointing out that the only team to rough him up (Seattle) was the only one to face him a second time.

That changed in Tuesday's start, his second against the Angels, who he had faced just two weeks prior. After limiting them to two runs in seven innings May 21, he shut them out over five Tuesday, giving up just two hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Clearly, there's something to the arsenal change he made this season, abandoning a pitch-to-countact sinkerball approach for a power fastball-slider combo. He's striking out more than a batter per inning and hasn't had any real control issues.

Frankly, I don't know what more we need to see.

Mariners closer Fernando Rodney continued on a strong run Wednesday in shutting down host Atlanta.

Rodney converted his fourth straight save opportunity and 16th overall by blanking the Braves in the ninth. He forged a tie for the American League lead in that department by retiring Atlanta in order and fanning Evan Gattis to end it.

Astros pitcher Collin McHugh earned a win Tuesday, giving up two hits and two walks in five scoreless innings while striking out four in his team's 7-2 win over the Angels.

McHugh (4-3) delivered excellent numbers overall, but he labored through too many batters early in the game, exiting after just five innings due to having already thrown 97 pitches. He owns a 2.52 ERA and 54:14 K:BB ratio in 50 innings after posting back-to-back scoreless outings. McHugh is slated to square off with the Twins Sunday.

Indians pitcher John Axford wants to retake the closer's job he lost May 9, but it's unclear when that might happen, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Indians are doing well with a committee approach featuring Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Marc Rzepczynski and Scott Atchison.

Axford converted nine of 11 saves before losing the job. In his last three appearances, Axford has pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks, a vast improvement over his early wildness. 

"I feel great," Axford told the paper. "I feel calm. I feel relaxed. I feel like I have more control of myself out there. I'm a long guy (6-5) and I can get a lot of arms and legs going. If I can maintain it and keep those things under wraps and focused, the better I'll be."

Though he's already 25 and just manhandled the Rays in his first start Sunday, Red Sox starting pitcher Rubby De La Rosa does have some strikes against him.

Namely, his ability to throw strikes.

In his only other stint as a big-league starting pitcher in 2011 with Dodgers, he issued 31 walks in 60 2/3 innings, which was in line with his minor-league numbers. Prior to his promotion this year, he had issued 3.9 walks per nine innings in 10 starts for Triple-A Pawtucket.

Of all he did in his start against the Rays, what I'm buying least is the zero walks. As the prize of the deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett to the Dodgers a couple years ago (other than, you know, salary relief), De La Rosa has a high ceiling and the kind of stuff that could eventually make him a big source of strikeouts, but given his walk rate up to this point in his career, you can't expect every start to be as easy as this first one.

The Blue Jays' Marcus Stroman, meanwhile, has similar strikeout potential and throws strikes consistently, issuing just 2.3 walks in seven starts at Triple-A Buffalo. They're both sleepers, but if I was choosing between the two, I'd go Stroman.

Some Rotisserie league owners caught on to what Dellin Betances was doing in April and added him then. But the majority, not wanting to limit their pitching staffs' upside by committing a spot to a middle reliever, wanted to figure out what they had -- or what they could have -- at starting pitcher first.

After all, turning to a middle reliever is supposed to be a last resort. What little you gain in ERA and WHIP, you more than give up in strikeouts and wins.

Except in Betances' case, maybe not. For more on why he needs to be added in the 62 percent of leagues where he's still available (or at least all Rotisserie formats), check out my latest post on the Fantasy Baseball Today blog.

Yankees reliever Dellin Betances was "scary good" on Sunday against the Twins, reaffirming his status as New York's closer of the future, reports ESPN.com. Betances needed 10 pitches to strike out the side in the sixth inning.

The website expects Betances to push for the closer's job as early as 2015. Betances is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings.