MLB Player News

Lyles won't start Friday against the Royals as planned, as the game has been rained out, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

More rain is in the forecast Saturday, so Friday's game has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Sunday. Lyles is scheduled to start Saturday's game against Kansas City, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Bieber and the Guardians won't play Friday against the Blue Jays after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

Bieber is coming off his longest start of the season, and he allowed a run on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven during that outing. The right-hander will start in the first game of a doubleheader against Toronto on Saturday, while Triston McKenzie will take the mound in the nightcap, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Gausman and the Blue Jays won't play Friday against the Guardians after the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

Since Friday's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader Saturday, Gausman will start in the matinee while Ross Stripling takes the mound in the second game, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports. Gausman is off to a hot start in 2022, as he has a 2.27 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 41 strikeouts and no walks in 31.2 innings over his first five starts.

Kirby has a 1.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 32:5 K:BB across 24.2 innings through five starts for Double-A Arkansas.

The Mariners have been steadily capping him at five innings, which makes sense because he only threw 67.2 frames last year, but the limited workload does offer some cause for skepticism about Kirby's ability to make big-league fantasy contributions in 2022. Nonetheless, it's clear that Double-A hasn't been much of a challenge for him (nor was it last season), so Kirby's likely to bump up to Triple-A before long, with his MLB debut to follow sometime this summer. As long as you keep your expectations for this year in check, you won't be disappointed; after all, Kirby is arguably the best pitcher in the minor leagues not named Grayson Rodriguez.

Cole won't start as scheduled Friday against the Rangers since the game was postponed due to inclement weather.

The game will be made up via a doubleheader Sunday, while Cole will start Saturday's contest, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports. The veteran right-hander hasn't allowed a run over his past two starts with a 15:3 K:BB across 12.2 innings.

Velasquez is listed as the probable starter for Friday's game against the Red Sox.

Velasquez is coming off his best start of the season after picking up the win Saturday against the Angels with 5.2 scoreless innings. Overall he has a 4.58 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 19:7 K:BB across 17.2 innings this year.

Velasquez won't start Friday against the Cubs since the game was postponed due to inclement weather, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The game will be made up via a doubleheader on Saturday, and Velasquez will presumably start one of those contests. Saturday's originally scheduled pitcher, Dallas Keuchel, should start the other game of the twin bill.

Bello allowed one unearned run on three walks while striking out five over seven hitless innings Thursday in the second game of a doubleheader for Double-A Portland.

Bello lasted seven innings for just the second time in his career and did it with a flourish. The right-hander is off to a flying start for the Sea Dogs, posting a 1.95 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 11 walks over 27.2 innings.

Houck (2-2) picked up the loss Thursday, allowing seven runs on five hits, one walk and a hit batsman while striking out four over 2.1 innings against the Angels.

Houck's second turn as a piggyback pitcher behind Rich Hill did not go as well as his first. After Hill's five scoreless innings, Houck allowed a two-run home run to Jared Walsh in the seventh inning then was raked for five runs in the eighth. It's unclear what the next step is for Houck, who opened the season in the rotation but pitched in relief since missing a turn in Toronto due to his unvaccinated status. What is becoming clear is that Boston can't afford to leave Garrett Whitlock in the rotation -- he's much more valuable in the bullpen, which is seriously underperforming (4.50 ERA, 25th) -- so Houck could return to the rotation as a traditional starter.

Ray (2-3) suffered the loss against the Rays on Thursday, allowing four runs on seven hits and one walk over 6.2 innings. He struck out five.

Ray had one bad inning in the start -- Tampa Bay netted four runs against him in the fourth -- but that was enough to seal his fate on a night when Seattle produced only three runs. The southpaw nonetheless can take some positives away from the performance, as he racked up 15 swinging strikes and tossed his most innings since his first start of the campaign. Ray has gone at least six frames in all but one of his appearances this season and has a 4.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 31:13 K:BB across 30.1 innings. He's lined up to face Philadelphia at home early next week.