MLB Player News

Lynch (0-1) was the pitcher of record in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to the Cardinals after giving up six runs on nine hits and a walk. He struck out seven in the 81-pitch outing.

Lynch put the Royals in an early 3-0 hole, as he served up a two-run home run to Nolan Arenado and a solo blast to Albert Pujols in the first inning. He followed up with a pair of smooth frames, but Lynch was stun by the long ball again in the bottom of the fourth, when Andrew Knizner sent a two-strike slider over the fence for a three-run blast. Lynch closed the night with a scoreless, 10-pitch fifth inning, but the damage from the home runs was too much from him to overcome.

Greinke and the Royals won't face the Cardinals on Wednesday after the game was postponed due to inclement weather in St. Louis, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

The two teams will make up the interleague game May 2. As a result of Wednesday's postponement, the Royals will most likely push each of their five starters back a day in the schedule. Greinke is thus expected to make his next start Thursday versus the Tigers in Kansas City.

Sandoval didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Marlins, allowing one unearned run over four innings on three hits and three walks. He struck out six.

The first outing of the season was a mixed bag for Sandoval, as the southpaw tossed only 40 of 71 pitches for strikes, and after striking out the side in the first inning, he had trouble keeping the bases clear. Sandoval faces a tougher test in his next scheduled start Tuesday, on the road in Houston.

Cortes didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Blue Jays, scattering three hits over 4.1 scoreless innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The lefty looked sharp in his first start of the season, tossing 46 of 72 pitches for strikes, but he didn't last long enough to get credit for the win despite leaving with a 3-0 lead. Cortes will look to last a little longer in his next outing, scheduled for Sunday in Baltimore.

Kikuchi (0-1) took the loss Tuesday, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks over 3.1 innings as the Blue Jays were downed 4-0 by the Yankees. He struck out two.

The southpaw got little help from his offense or defense, but Kikuchi created his own problems, throwing only 49 of 84 pitches for strikes before exiting his Toronto debut. Control issues are nothing new for the 30-year-old since he came to MLB, but he'll look to tighten things up in his next outing, scheduled for Sunday at home against the A's.

Garcia received a no-decision in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Arizona, allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout in four innings.

Garcia was cruising against a weak Diamondbacks lineup, but manager Dusty Baker opted to play it safe with the young righty and remove him before facing the lineup for a third time. After 173 combined innings last season, the 25-year-old's workload could be limited early, leading to more short starts, though he should be a producer in the strikeout department as he averaged more than one per inning in 2021. He's slated to toe the rubber against the Angels on Monday for his next start.

Perez (0-1) took the loss in Tuesday's 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Rockies, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts in four innings.

Perez was doomed by a third inning during which he permitted five baserunners and two of his three runs. The good news is he pitched well enough otherwise, though he'll need to strike out more batters to truly make an impact in our game. He's tentatively lined up to pitch next against the Angels on Sunday.

Bieber allowed three runs on two hits and two walks while striking out five over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against the Reds on Tuesday.

Bieber was perfect through three innings and had a no-hitter through five, but he plunked a batter and gave up back-to-back doubles in the sixth before being lifted. Anthony Gose entered the game and proceeded to serve up a game-tying homer to Tyler Naquin, leaving Bieber with the no-decision. While Bieber has been working with diminished velocity early on this season, the results have been strong regardless.

Velasquez allowed one run on two hits and three walks over four innings during Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Mariners. He had two strikeouts and didn't qualify for the decision.

The 29-year-old was targeting four innings for his White Sox debut Tuesday, and he covered exactly that with only 62 pitches. Velasquez surrendered a solo homer to Eugenio Suarez during the second inning but otherwise held down Seattle, though he did have some control issues with three walks. It's a strong start to the season for the right-hander, and he should remain a part of Chicago's starting rotation for the foreseeable future with Lance Lynn (knee) and Lucas Giolito (abdomen) on the injured list.

Whitlock (1-0) allowed one walk and struck out two over four scoreless relief innings to pick up the win in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over Detroit.

Boston manager Alex Cora's decision to pitch Whitlock on top of 42-year-old, left-handed starter Rich Hill worked as planned. Pairing these two pitchers every fifth day will be common. "There's a reason we like them together," Cora explained to Dana Wakiji of MLB.com. "They're gonna load up with righties against Rich and... then we can turn the page to Whitlock and we get a lot of good matchups for us. I think both of them complement each other well, 88 with ride and then 94-95 with that stuff. It's a good plan. It's just a matter of how long we can do it." Whitlock has made two appearances and allowed one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six over 6.1 innings. At this point, the Red Sox will keep him in this multi-inning role, though some appearances may evolve into a save opportunity.