MLB Player News

Gott tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Thursday's 5-1 victory over the Cardinals.

Gott entered Thursday's contest in the sixth inning with the Brewers up five runs, and he blanked the Cardinals over two frames while facing just one batter over the minimum. Gott did not appear in a big-league game in 2021, but he is doing his best to hold down a spot in the Brewers' bullpen, giving up just two hits and posting a 5:0 K:BB over three scoreless innings to date.

Rodriguez was designated for assignment by the Twins on Friday.

Rodriguez joined the major-league club Wednesday and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two in four relief innings against the Dodgers. Although the right-hander was able to preserve some of the team's other bullpen arms with his lengthy outing Wednesday, he'll now lose his spot on the 40-man roster after Kyle Garlick's contract was selected by Minnesota.

Smith has recorded two holds in three appearances to begin the season, posting a 0.00 ERA and 6:0 K:BB through 3.2 innings.

The right-hander put up strong numbers in 2021 in a middle-relief role, but Smith appears to have graduated to the setup corps this season. He's crediting usage of a sharper slider, as opposed to the cutter he had been leaning on as a breaking pitch, for his excellent early results, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports. "I just felt like when I threw the cutter and didn't get it where I wanted to get it, if I left it middle at all, it was just kind of flat and that's when I would give up damage," Smith said after Tuesday's win over the Phillies. "I kept the same grip. I just manipulate it a little differently now. I think curveball in my head while I'm holding it with my cutter grip, which turns it into a slider. It works for me, and it's been good. I'm happy where it's at right now."

Burke allowed one hit and struck out five over two scoreless relief innings in Thursday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Burke made his second appearance of the season, both coming in blowouts, but he's been effective. The left-hander, who was a starter before the Rangers shifted him to the bullpen in 2022, has allowed two hits, walked one and struck out 10 over four innings with a 0.00 ERA. It's a limited sample and pitching middle innings is not like working in high-leverage spots, but the Rangers are in need of someone to take hold of the closer role so Burke could move into a more prominent position in the bullpen if he keeps getting results.

Martin allowed one run on two hits and a walk over one inning in Thursday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Martin finished up the blowout win and probably wasn't being too fine with his pitches, but the left-hander has not had a clean inning yet in 2022. He's allowed runs in all three outings thus far, giving up five hits and two walks while striking out one over 2.1 innings.

King (1-0) allowed zero hits and one walk over 1.1 scoreless relief innings to pick up the win over the Angels on Thursday.

Starter Dane Dunning was pulled after eight outs and 86 pitches, but the Rangers were coasting at the time with an 8-2 lead. Dunning's inefficiency created a chance for King to collect his first win of 2022. King, who worked as a multi-inning reliever in 2021, vultured seven wins out of the bullpen last season, when Texas starters often needed relief. The rotation is off to a similar start this season (6.85 ERA while averaging four innings per start), so guys like King could be needed often in the middle innings. Mix in a potent offense (fourth in runs scored so far) and the recipe is there for more relief wins.

Brentz (0-2) took the loss Thursday versus the Tigers, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning.

Brentz has made a mess of his last two outings, and he's taken the loss in both. He allowed RBI singles to Victor Reyes and Austin Meadows in the seventh inning of this contest, and the Royals' offense wasn't able to get him off the hook. Brentz has now allowed four runs, four hits and four walks with four strikeouts through 2.1 innings. The 27-year-old was effective in a high-leverage role last year, but he could move to the middle innings if he doesn't get back on track soon.

VerHagen allowed one run on one hit and one walk with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings versus the Brewers on Thursday.

VerHagen followed starter Adam Wainwright, who was chased after 4.1 innings. The lone blemish on VerHagen's line was an RBI single by Kolten Wong in the sixth inning. This was the right-hander's first major-league appearance since 2019 after he spent two years in Japan. He wasn't able to win a job in the rotation during spring training, but he could be a candidate for spot starts later in the season if he continues to pitch well out of the bullpen.

Sanmartin pitches five scoreless innings against the Dodgers on Thursday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out two. He didn't factor in the decision.

Sanmartin was originally scheduled to start the contest, but the Reds instead tabbed Luis Cessa to work as an opener with Sanmartin following behind him. Cessa didn't perform well in the role, giving up five hits and three runs in one frame, but Sanmartin allowed Cincinnati to get back in the game with five scoreless innings. The left-hander yielded only two baserunners -- both on singles -- and threw 48 of 75 pitches for strikes. It remains to be seen how the Reds will use Sanmartin moving forward; if he moves back into a starting role, his next start will likely come in San Diego against the Padres next week.

Pilkington was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

Pilkington secured a spot on the Guardians' Opening Day roster this year, but he didn't make his major-league debut in any of the team's first six games of the regular season. The southpaw made 22 appearances (21 starts) at the Double-A level last year and posted a 3.13 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 100.2 innings, and he should now get a chance to face Triple-A competition for the first time. The Guardians haven't yet announced a corresponding move, but it's possible Josh Naylor (lower leg) will be able to return from the 10-day injured list.