MLB Player News

Giolito (1-0) picked up his first win after allowing two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out eight over 6.2 innings -- including carrying a no-hitter into the seventh -- Sunday against Kansas City.

Giolito nearly made it through seven strong innings but was pulled just before his 100th pitch with two outs in the seventh. He fired 68 of 99 pitches for strikes and had a no-hitter going before surrendering two runs on three hits that led to his exit. This is a welcome sight for the White Sox, especially after Giolito struggled on the hill throughout spring training (8.84 ERA over 18.1 innings). His next outing is slated for Sunday against Seattle.

Carrasco (0-1) took the loss after surrendering six runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.1 innings Sunday against the Twins.

Carrasco allowed a run in the second, another in the fourth and four more in the fifth before being yanked from his 2019 debut. He pounded the strike zone throughout the game, hurling 45 of 65 pitches for strikes, but he evidently caught too much of the plate at times. Carrasco will aim for a better result in his next start, which is slated for Saturday against Toronto.

Bieber won't be needed as a starter until late next week at the earliest, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Bieber will be available out of the bullpen in the meantime. The 23-year-old had a fair amount of sleeper buzz this spring due to his promising peripherals in his debut season, but the fact remains that he's firmly the Indians' fifth starter for now, so he'll be treated in ways similar to other, less talented fifth starters. If the Indians elect not to give any of their top four starters any extra days off, Bieber's first start may not come until April 7 against the Blue Jays.

Red Sox pitching coach Dana LeVangie questioned Rodriguez's game plan and pitch mix following Saturday's loss to the Mariners, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

LeVangie wanted Rodriguez to throw his cutter to right-handed batters, but the lefty didn't make them uncomfortable with it. LeVangie wanted to see changeups to left-handers, but the pitch was rarely used against them. Rodriguez said he didn't have confidence in his fastball, which he wasn't commanding, and the damage may have been due to that. Whatever the root cause for the poor results -- not executing pitches or the gameplan, or both -- it calls into question the decision to carry Blake Swihart, who was the catcher Saturday, over Sandy Leon. Swihart may not be as familiar with Rodriguez as Leon. The Red Sox are now 5-12 when Swihart catches dating back to last year, while going 55-23 when Leon started in 2018.

Kikuchi will remain stateside with the Mariners despite the death of his father in Japan on Saturday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Kikuchi issued a statement through the team Saturday confirming that he'd remain with the Mariners in accordance with his late father's wishes. The 27-year-old southpaw has been solid through his first two regular-season starts, generating a 2.53 ERA and 0.84 WHIP over 10.2 innings.

Rodriguez (0-1) allowed six runs (five earned) on eight hits while striking out five and walking three over 4.1 innings in a loss to the Mariners on Saturday.

The Mariners tagged Rodriguez for runs in three of the five innings in which he pitched, and he couldn't get out of the fifth inning. Like Friday night, the Red Sox battled back and nearly got their starter off the hook, but Boston stranded the tying run at third. Rodriguez is looking to repeat last year's numbers while adding more innings this season. He went 13-5 with a 3.82 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 129.2 innings in 2018.

Odorizzi gave up one run on one hit and two walks over six innings during Saturday's loss to the Indians. He recorded 11 strikeouts and did not factor in the decision.

Odorizzi's lone mistake came during the fourth inning as Hanley Ramirez connected for a solo home run. The 29-year-old right-hander illustrated how insignificant poor spring results can be as he looked as sharp as ever in his season debut. Odorizzi currently lines up to start at Philadelphia in Friday's series opener.

Glasnow (1-0) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over five innings while striking out four in a 3-1 victory over the Astros.

He served up a solo shot to Alex Bregman in the first inning, but Glasnow settled down after that, throwing 51 of 77 pitches for strikes before exiting. Quality starts could be tough to come by this season for the 25-year-old given Tampa's reluctance to let any pitcher face the opposition batting order a third time, but his solid control in this one is a positive sign for his development. Glasnow will next take the hill April 5 in San Francisco.

Turnbull (0-1) took the loss Saturday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out five over five innings against the Blue Jays.

Turnbull pitched reasonably well but was touched up for all three runs in the fourth inning on two hits, a walk and a Justin Smoak two-run homer. The 26-year-old righty steadied and pitched a scoreless fifth but did not come out for the sixth inning. Turnbull will look to improve his 5.40 ERA Thursday at home against the Royals.

Chirinos will start Sunday's series finale against the Astros, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Rays plan to use Chirinos in a traditional starting role Sunday rather than employing an opener. The 25-year-old logged 89.2 innings during his rookie campaign last season but made only seven starts and had a 3.51 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. Chirinos will have a tall task Sunday against the high-powered offense of the Astros.