MLB Player News

Keller allowed three earned runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out four across 5.1 innings Wednesday against the Brewers. He did not factor into the decision.

Keller was knocked around in the outing, as four of the hit eight hits he surrendered went for extra bases. Even so, he avoided a disastrous start by getting timely outs and limiting Milwaukee to only three earned runs. Through nine starts this season, Keller has completed six innings only twice and at least five innings on only five occasions. The end result has been a 6.52 ERA across 38.2 innings. Keller will look to get on track in his next outing, currently projected to come Tuesday at Tampa Bay.

Means didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Rays after allowing four runs on six hits and a walk while fanning six across 6.1 innings.

Means was coming off two straight scoreless outings -- including his no-hitter against the Mariners on May 5 -- and hadn't allowed more than two runs in five straight appearances prior to Wednesday. Means also saw his streak of five straight quality starts come to an end, but this was just a minor step in the wrong direction for the Orioles' ace. The lefty still owns a sterling 1.70 ERA on the season and is expected to make his next start during the series against the Twins on the road next week.

Cobb (blister) will be activated from the injured list to start the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Twins, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The righty will make his first start since May 4, when he put together his best outing of the season by firing five scoreless innings during which he recorded eight strikeouts, albeit while issuing five walks as well.

Giolito (3-4) recorded 11 strikeouts and earned the win Wednesday at Minnesota after giving up one run on two hits and three walks over eight innings.

The 26-year-old surrendered a third-inning homer to Nelson Cruz but otherwise allowed only one hit while making his longest start of the season. Giolito has a 4.35 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 61:21 K:BB over 49.2 innings this season.

Odorizzi (forearm) will make his next rehab appearance Sunday with Triple-A Sugar Land, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The exact timeline for Odorizzi's return to Houston is unclear, but his third rehab start with the Triple-A squad will be the next step toward the righty's activation from the injured list. Odorizzi struggled considerably in his first two MLB starts of 2021 before suffering the forearm strain in his third outing, though he will still likely slot in as a back-of-the-rotation starter for the Astros once healthy.

Valdez (finger) will make another rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Sugar Land, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Valdez continues his quicker-than-expected rehab from a fractured finger on his pitching hand. The lefty will likely still require multiple additional rehab starts to build up for starting MLB games, but the lack of setbacks has been a promising sign for Valdez and his return, which figures to come in early June.

Farrell was recalled by the Twins on Wednesday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Farrell began the minor-league season with Triple-A St. Paul and posted a 1.93 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB in 4.2 innings across three relief appearances. He'll now rejoin the major-league roster after Michael Pineda (thigh) was placed on the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Manager Rocco Baldelli suggested Wednesday that Maeda (groin) would be ready to make a start during the Twins' upcoming three-game weekend series in Cleveland, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Michael Pineda's (thigh) status for the three-game set in Cleveland is uncertain, and none of the other three members of the Minnesota rotation will be available Friday, so expect Maeda to get the nod in the series opener if his sore groin is presenting no further issues. After experiencing minor groin tightness in his most recent outing last weekend against the Athletics, Maeda was apparently able to throw without incident Tuesday. Coming off a brilliant 2020 campaign, the soft-tossing right-hander has been a disappointment for fantasy managers through his first eight starts of 2021, going 2-2 while posting a 5.26 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 7.9 K/9.

Bubic threw six shutout innings Tuesday against the Brewers but was not involved in the decision. He allowed just one hit while walking two hitters and striking out four.

Bubic was brilliant in his first start of the season and had the Brewers' hitters fooled with his frequent usage of a fastball-changeup combination. He induced plenty of weak contact but unfortunately couldn't get the win, as the Royals weren't able to break a scoreless tie until the eighth inning. The 23-year-old now owns a 0.96 ERA and 14:9 K:BB over 18.2 innings and should figure to stick in the rotation for the time being after this impressive performance. His next start is projected to be early next week against the Rays.

Heaney allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out just one batter over three innings Tuesday against Cleveland. He did not factor into the decision.

Heaney allowed all five runs in the first inning. The damage started on a two-run homer by Jose Ramirez and worsened after another two runners crossed home on a fielding error and the final run of the frame scored on a sacrifice fly. The 30-year-old had little trouble the rest of his outing but had to be pulled after just three innings with his pitch count already at 81. Heaney's ability to miss plenty of bats is typically his saving grace, but he managed just one strikeout Tuesday while walking two batters in a disappointing performance. He'll take a 5.31 ERA into his next scheduled start against Oakland over the weekend.