MLB Player News

Skubal allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over 5.1 innings against Cleveland on Sunday. He did not factor in the decision.

The young lefty was impressive Sunday, yet he fell two outs short of a quality start. The 24-year-old debuted in 2020 and will have a lot of eyes on him moving forward given how highly touted of a prospect he is. Skubal will take the rubber against Cleveland again this upcoming Saturday.

Civale (1-0) allowed three runs on two hits while striking out six and walking three over seven innings to pick up the victory over the Tigers on Sunday.

The righty was dominant in his debut, throwing 57 of his 91 pitches for strikes. The 25-year-old looked sharp as he did in his 2019 rookie campaign, when he recorded a 2.34 ERA. Civale has recorded a 3.69 ERA throughout his brief career, and with the outlier of last year's small sample size, he looks to be complementary to Zach Plesac and Shane Bieber in a top-heavy rotation that can give opponents headaches.

Singer (0-1) allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks in a loss to the Rangers on Sunday. He struck out five.

The Royals' bats didn't give Singer much support, but the right-hander also struggled a bit the second time through the order. The 24-year-old allowed a three-run homer to Nate Lowe in the third inning and got into a jam again in the fourth before he was relieved by Jake Brentz. Singer had a solid rookie season with a 4.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 61 strikeouts across 64.1 innings in 2020. His next start is expected to be against the White Sox this weekend.

Lyles (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits and struck out eight over 5.2 innings in Sunday's win over the Royals.

The only damage on Lyles' line came in the sixth inning when Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer. The 30-year-old Lyles threw 52 of 76 pitches for strikes in a fairly efficient first start of the season. The right-hander was expected to begin the year in a tandem starter role, but it appears he may be closer to a traditional starter's workload earlier than expected. Lyles had a rough 2020 with a 1-6 record, 7.02 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 36:23 K:BB across 12 outings (nine starts). He lines up to face the Padres on Saturday.

German (0-1) gave up three runs on four hits and a walk while fanning two across three innings to take the loss Sunday against the Blue Jays.

German tossed nine scoreless innings while striking out 13 and walking just one during spring training, but he wasn't able to replicate those results in the season opener and lasted only three innings before being lifted. He will try to bounce back in his next start, scheduled for April 10 on the road against the Rays.

Hill allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks across four innings in a loss to the Marlins on Saturday. He struck out four and did not factor into the decision.

The veteran left-hander worked up to 71 pitches in his planned tandem start with Chris Archer and gave up a run apiece in each of his four frames. Hill was able to get 52 of his offerings into the strike zone, but his penchant for allowing hard contact -- he surrendered a pair of doubles and a solo home run -- helped lead to the relatively poor outing. Adam Berry of MLB.com reports Hill is slated to make a conventional start in his second turn through the rotation, which currently lines up for either Friday or Saturday against the dangerous Yankees.

Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker said Sunday that Ray (elbow) is "really close" to returning from the 10-day injured list, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Ray appears to have come out of his bullpen session Friday without any setbacks to his bruised elbow, and at this point, Walker said the lefty just needs to build back up after a brief shutdown period. He'll likely throw again Monday or Tuesday, and if all goes well, Ray could be ready to rejoin the rotation at some point during next weekend's series with the Angels.

The Blue Jays selected Milone's contract ahead of Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Though Milone was unable to secure a spot on the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster after attending camp on a minor-league deal, he had to wait only a few days to receive his first call-up of 2021. He'll provide Toronto with a lefty option out of the bullpen who's capable of eating innings. The Blue Jays transferred Kirby Yates (elbow) to the 60-day injured list to clear room on the 40-man roster for Milone.

Flexen (1-0) earned the win against San Francisco on Saturday, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six.

Flexen carried over the momentum from two strong Cactus League outings into the regular season, holding San Francisco to only one extra-base hit and no runs over five frames. He induced only eight swinging strikes and ran his pitch count up to 94, but those concerns are easy to look past considering the final outcome. Flexen turned his career around with a strong showing in the KBO last season, and he could quickly become a fantasy commodity if he's able to put together more outings like the one he posted Saturday. The right-hander's next start will come Sunday at Minnesota.

Lynn was charged with two unearned runs on six hits over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Saturday. He struck out six and issued two walks.

A ball that looked like a routine pop-up in the third caromed off center fielder Luis Robert's head, allowing David Fletcher to score and extending the inning. Lynn was effective otherwise, but inefficient; he could not complete five innings despite throwing 99 pitches. It was probably not the way he envisioned his White Sox debut, but there will be better days ahead, likely beginning next week at home against Kansas City.