MLB Player News

Ortiz tossed six shutout innings Wednesday, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out eight for Double-A Biloxi.

The beefy right-hander has been pitching at Double-A since May of 2016, logging a total of 168.1 innings at the level over that span. Given his experience against this caliber of competition, it's hard to get too excited about anything he does until he gets a promotion to the much more challenging Pacific Coast League. That said, the eight strikeouts were a welcome sight, as his season high for strikeouts in 2017 was seven, on one occasion.

Mayers was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old was sent back to the minors earlier in the week, but he'll be summoned to the majors once again in response to Sam Tuivailala (knee) landing on the disabled list. Mayers logged two innings in his first stint with the Cardinals this season, allowing one run on three hits to go with a strikeout. He'll likely function in a middle-relief role.

Hoffman (shoulder) covered three innings in his rehab start Tuesday for High-A Lancaster, surrendering two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out two.

Hoffman tossed 44 pitches in the outing and will likely need to build up to the 75-to-100 range before the Rockies are comfortable activating him from the 10-day disabled list. It will probably take him another two or three starts to get to that level, so don't expect the right-hander to be ready to go until later in the month. Unless the Colorado rotation is hit by further injury in the next couple of weeks or one of its members suffers a dramatic downturn in performance, it's likely that Hoffman will be optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque once activated.

Santillan tossed six scoreless innings Wednesday, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out eight for High-A Daytona.

He has 13 strikeouts and has not allowed a run through 10 innings to start the season. The hard-throwing righty has almost given up as many walks (four) as hits (five), which matches his reputation as an electric starter with shaky command/control who may eventually need to move to the bullpen. He turns 21 on April 15, and should continue to put up impressive numbers in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League.

Gsellman struck out the side in a perfect eighth inning during Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Marlins to pick up his second hold of the season.

Squeezed out of the rotation mix in the spring, Gsellman has instead been dominant out of the bullpen for the Mets, posting a 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 12:2 K:BB through six appearances and seven innings. It would likely take a couple of injuries to get him in contention for the closer spot, but in fantasy leagues where setup men with big strikeout rates have value, Gsellman should be rostered.

Alexander gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in Wednesday's 16-6 loss to Oakland.

It wasn't a great night for Dodgers pitchers, but this was the second time Alexander has given up multiple runs through five appearances. The 28-year-old has struggled with his control (six walks through 4.1 innings), but he has maintained his extreme groundball tendencies (10.0 GB/FB ratio). Alexander figures to turn things around after posting a 2.48 ERA and 3.27 FIP over 69.0 innings with the Royals last season, but he is currently behind Tony Cingrani on the Dodgers' depth chart in terms of left-handed relievers slated for late-inning appearances.

Neris blew his first save despite striking out a pair, as he allowed three hits and a run in the ninth inning Wednesday against Cincinnati.

Neris also gave up three runs on a pair of hits and a home run against Atlanta on Opening Day to take the loss in a non-save situation. He was nearly perfect in his three subsequent appearances, with four strikeouts and just one hit allowed in three innings. He remains the primary option in the ninth inning for Philadelphia.

Pivetta held the Reds to just two runs on five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts through seven innings but was stuck with a no-decision in Wednesday's start.

Pivetta was coming off 5.2 shutout innings with nine strikeouts in his last start. In 2017, Pivetta struggled mightily but had flashes of brilliance, with 140 strikeouts in 133 innings. Now, it looks like he's starting to put it together. Pivetta hasn't walked a batter in either of these past two starts. He walked 57 batters (3.9 BB/9) in his rough 2017 campaign, and if that control improvement proves to be real, Pivetta could do big things in 2018. It's too early to believe fully just yet -- these starts were against the Marlins and Reds, after all -- but Pivetta is becoming worthy of fantasy attention.

Suarez allowed four runs on four hits and struck out seven over 5.1 innings in a loss Wednesday against Arizona.

Making his major-league debut, Suarez pounded the strike zone, recording 62 strikes in just 83 pitches. But one could make the argument Suarez should have nibbled more. He served up three extra-base hits among the four hits he allowed, including a pair of home runs. Suarez's efficiency had to impress Giants brass, but his time in the majors could be short, as Johnny Cueto (ankle) is not expected to be out for long.

Garcia held the Mets hitless for six scoreless innings Wednesday, walking two and striking out three, but he came away with a no-decision in a 4-1 loss.

The young left-hander threw 44 of 77 pitches for strikes before Marlins manager Don Mattingly took him out of the game, and Drew Steckenrider then quickly gave up a hit in the seventh inning to break up the combined no-hitter bid. Garcia did more than enough to remain in the rotation for now, but if he stays on schedule he'll face a tough test in his next outing Tuesday on the road against the Yankees.