MLB Player News

Gilbert is still projected to make his major-league debut in 2021, but the Mariners plan on him logging the bulk of his innings in the second half of the campaign despite the rotation vacancy created by James Paxton's season-ending elbow injury, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais noted Wednesday that the organization will be careful with all of its minor-league arms, especially those on the cusp of the majors, after many went without pitching in official games all of 2020. The Mariners would prefer to have the 23-year-old Gilbert finish out the season at the big-league level as opposed to deploying him at the front end of the campaign and then shutting him down early once he reaches his innings limit.

Cease (illness) is feeling good and is expected to start Friday's game against the Red Sox, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Cease was placed on the injured list Wednesday after displaying COVID-like symptoms, but manager Tony La Russa said Thursday that all of the right-hander's tests have come back negative so far. Cease still has one more test to clear, but he's still in line to make his scheduled start as long as he continues to test negative.

Rodon (2-0) no-hit Cleveland on Wednesday, allowing only a hit batsman while striking out seven.

Rodon wasn't even originally scheduled to start Wednesday -- he had his Monday start pushed back due to a stomach illness. The delay certainly proved to work in the left-hander's favor as he hurled his first career no-hitter and the 20th in franchise history. Rodon came achingly close to a perfect game, but he plunked Roberto Perez on the back foot on an 0-2 pitch with one out in the ninth. The mistake didn't throw Rodon off his mission, however, as he subsequently struck out Yu Chang before inducing a Jordan Luplow groundout to secure the historic feat. Rodon has now started the campaign with 14 scoreless innings and has allowed only two hits while posting a 16:3 K:BB. His next start will be at Boston on Monday.

McCullers (1-1) pitched Wednesday against the Tigers despite dealing with side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine he received a couple days ago, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. The right-hander allowed six runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 3.2 innings.

The 27-year-old labored throughout the contest and threw only 46 of 87 pitches for strikes, and manager Dusty Baker said the pitcher received fluids through an IV after the game. McCullers should have plenty of time to return to full strength for his next turn through the rotation Tuesday at Colorado.

Berrios (2-1) allowed four runs on four hits and three walks while striking out five over 4.1 innings as he took the loss against the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Berrios was zoned in for the first four innings, allowing just a shallow single to Alex Verdugo, but completely fell apart in the fifth frame. The 26-year-old allowed four of the first five batters to reach and walked in a run with the bases loaded before his day came to an early end, and Tyler Duffey subsequently allowed all three inherited runners to score. Berrios has been excellent for the most part to begin the year and will look to get back on track against the Athletics on Tuesday.

Garcia worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless inning and record the save in Wednesday's win over the Astros. He struck out two.

Garcia earned his second save of the season in as many chances, which leads the team, and he had to work for it. He entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth inning following a poor showing from Jose Cisnero, but he managed to only allow a single run as the Tigers escaped with the 6-4 win. Gregory Soto is the only other Detroit player with a save this season, and he was asked to navigate through the heart of the Houston order in the eighth. All three pitchers seem to be in the mix for saves at this point, but Garcia could earn more opportunities if he continues to excel in tough spots.

Arihara (1-1) allowed three hits and no walks while striking out five across 5.2 scoreless innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Rays.

Arihara earned his first major-league win in a strong effort against the Rays. After punching out only two batters across his first two starts combined, Arihara showcased more swing-and-miss stuff by generating 12 whiffs on 85 total pitches. He's also showcased exceptional control of his pitches, walking only one batter across 14.2 frames this season while maintaining a 3.07 ERA. Arihara projects to take his next turn through the rotation Monday at the Angels.

Rodriguez (2-0) allowed one run on five hits and a walk while striking out five over five innings as he earned the win over the Twins in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

Rodriguez had a bit of a strenuous first inning, as he allowed the Twins to put together three singles and gave up his only run of the day on a sacrifice fly to center by Kyle Garlick. The 28-year-old southpaw didn't let up much thereafter, pitching out of a two-on, nobody-out scenario in the third and giving the Twins nothing more after Jorge Polanco led off the fourth with a double. Rodriguez has yet to top 80 pitches in either outing so far, as the Red Sox continue to monitor his workload early on after he missed all of 2020 with a heart condition and experienced a dead arm period during spring training. He'll look to remain perfect in a meeting with the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Maeda (1-1) gave up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks while fanning five across 4.1 innings in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Red Sox. He was tagged with the loss.

Maeda was coming off a strong six-inning, two-run outing the last time out, but he was unable to slow down Boston's red-hot offense and surrendered his first loss of the campaign while posting his shortest start as well. He will try to turn things around in his next start, scheduled for April 19 on the road against the Athletics.

Eovaldi (2-1) allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five across five innings in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Twins. He earned the win.

Eovaldi had allowed just one run in each of his first two starts of the season, and while he was unable to keep that streak going, he still limited the damage to just two runs and five baserunners before departing the contest. Eovaldi now owns a 2.08 ERA across his first 17 innings and will look to keep this strong run going in his next scheduled start at home against the White Sox on April 19.