MLB Player News

Boston will stick with a six-man rotation through the end of its upcoming road trip, meaning Houck will make at least one more start before manager Alex Cora settles on a decision about a five-man rotation, Molly Burkhardt of MLB.com reports. Houck is tentatively expected to start next Wednesday in Baltimore.

Brayan Bello's season debut this week gave the Red Sox six capable starters, each of whom has pitched in the previous six games, with James Paxton's return from a hamstring injury also looming. A tentative plan which would send Houck to the bullpen when everyone was healthy may have changed Thursday, when he threw a seven-inning gem against the Twins. Houck has been one of the team's most consistent starters, going at least five innings in three of four outings and never allowing more than three earned runs. Paxton's most recent rehab appearance came out of the bullpen, which suggests the club is leaning toward a long-relief role for him. That would leave Houck and Nick Pivetta, who starts Friday, battling for the No. 5 starter job.

Sandoval (1-1) took the loss against the Yankees on Thursday, allowing five runs on four hits and six walks while striking out five batters over four innings.

Sandoval was in trouble from the get-go, allowing the first three batters he faced to reach base. The southpaw ended up being tagged for five runs in the opening frame, and the damage was partly due to poor control, as he issued three walks. To Sandoval's credit, he was able to give the Angels three more innings and didn't allow any additional runs despite not having his best stuff, but the first-inning damage proved too much to overcome. Altogether, he issued six free passes, tying a career-high mark and matching the total he had given up in his first three starts combined. This was also Sandoval's first outing this season allowing more than one earned run. As a result, his ERA jumped from 1.23 to 3.38.

Cortes (3-0) earned the win over the Angels on Thursday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out seven.

Cortes cruised through four hitless innings before Brandon Drury opened the fifth with a leadoff single. Los Angeles put together two more hits and a pair of runs in that frame, but Cortes bounced back with a scoreless sixth before departing after issuing a walk to begin the seventh. The lefty hurler ended up being charged for one more run, but he still notched his second straight quality start and third win of the campaign. Cortes has punched out seven batters in consecutive contests and holds a 3.09 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB across 23.1 innings on the season.

Houck (3-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk over seven innings against Minnesota. He struck out seven.

He was sharp Thursday and allowed just three runs, with most of the damage coming on a two-run homer by Willi Castro during his final frame. Houck threw a season-high seven innings as the Red Sox cruised to an 11-5 win, improving his record to 3-0. He has a 4.29 ERA. 1.24 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB through his first four starts this season (21 innings) and has yet to surrender more than three runs in any outing. While Boston may still consider moving the 26-year-old right-hander to the bullpen when James Paxton (hamstring) returns, Houck has made a solid case to stay in the rotation.

Kent is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Round Rock with a strained oblique, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The 6-foot-3 righty struck out three in three scoreless innings during his first start of the year for the Express on April 4 but has not pitched since. Kent boasts an excellent fastball/slider combination, but he is still working on developing starter-caliber command and secondaries beyond his breaking ball. He has six career starts at Triple-A under his belt and is on the 40-man roster, so we could see Kent pitching in the majors in some capacity later this season.

Teodo is on the injured list at High-A Hickory with minor forearm tightness, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

With young, hard-throwing pitching prospects, there usually isn't such a thing as "minor" forearm tightness, but per Grant's report, Teodo is only expected to need several days off from throwing before ramping back up. He has some of the best stuff in the system, but Teodo may not have good enough command or control to start long-term. The 22-year-old can touch 101 mph with his four-seam fastball as a starter and also has a plus slider that can touch 94 mph.

The Twins don't want to rush Prielipp back as he gets symptomatic treatment for general elbow soreness, according to president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

We can't really downplay any elbow issue with a pitcher, especially one like Prielipp who recently returned from Tommy John surgery. However, as Falvey notes, Prielipp's fastball/slider combination was outstanding in camp prior to him getting shut down, so there is enough upside here to be patient in deeper dynasty leagues unless the diagnosis worsens.

X-rays turned up negative on Maeda's left ankle after he was struck by a comebacker Thursday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Maeda took a 111.6 mph line drive off his left leg in the second inning of his start Thursday afternoon against the Red Sox and did not return for the third inning, but he was walking around the postgame clubhouse without a limp and didn't even have the ankle wrapped. It sounds like he might be able to fill his next scheduled turn in the Twins' rotation next week against the Yankees. The 35-year-old righty allowed one run (on a solo homer) over two innings Thursday before exiting. He issued one walk and recorded no strikeouts.

Miller didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 12-2 loss to the Cubs, allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five across 4.1 innings. He also uncorked a wild pitch and hit a batter.

The much-anticipated major-league debut of the hard-throwing right-hander went very well from an individual standpoint, even as the Athletics suffered a 12-2 loss that was mostly the fault of the bullpen. Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports Miller threw his trademark four-seam fastball on 53 of his 81 pitches, generating 27 swings and six whiffs in the process. Miller's heater also averaged a blistering 99.3 mph, maxing out at 102.5 mph and registering at 100 mph or higher a whopping 15 times. The highly encouraging outing against a hot lineup -- which included a second inning during which he struck out Cody Bellinger, Edwin Rios and Patrick Wisdom -- is one of the few reasons for optimism thus far in what appears to be another forgettable season for the rebuilding Athletics. Miller's opportunity to put together an even better encore is slated to come early next week against another talented lineup in that of the Angels.

Maeda was removed from Thursday's start against the Red Sox after being struck on the left ankle by a comebacker, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

A 111.6 mph screamer off the bat of Jarren Duran appeared to catch Maeda flush on the ankle in the bottom of the second inning. Miraculously, Maeda was able to gather himself to throw Duran out at first base before crumpling to the ground in pain. He was able to walk off the field under his own power. Maeda has been diagnosed with a left ankle contusion for now, but he's headed for X-rays to see if there's any more damage. The righty allowed one run over two innings before being lifted.