MLB Player News

Eovaldi (1-0) allowed just one walk over six no-hit innings in his season debut Wednesday against the Athletics.

Eovaldi was absolutely brilliant in his return from two Tommy John surgeries, his first appearance since 2016 with the Yankees. His fastball reached 100.2 mph according to Brooks Baseball and averaged 98.5, and his splitter was electric, averaging 89.8 mph and inducing three swinging strikes in just 13 offerings. Eovaldi was limited to 70 pitches and the Rays will probably handle him with intense care as 2018 progresses, but the stuff he showed Wednesday night was top tier. He'll make his second start Tuesday against the Nationals.

Keller didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 11-8 win over the Twins, allowing one run on three hits and a walk over three innings while striking out three.

The rookie threw 29 of 51 pitches for strikes before getting the hook, and Keller did manage to generate eight swinging strikes while he was on the mound. While his fantasy value is muted until he's stretched out enough to have a chance at a win, Keller will take a 2.13 ERA into his next outing Tuesday on the road against the Angels.

Whitley threw three innings of a simulated game earlier this week and is scheduled to toss another one, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Whitley, whose 50-game suspension lapsed May 29, is building up his arm strength after he suffered a latissimus strain a couple of weeks ago that delayed his throwing program. After the next simulated game, the organization will huddle up to determine if any further arm buildup is required before he's shipped off to Double-A Corpus Christi.

Rodriguez (6-1) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out seven over 6.2 innings in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Rodriguez stayed on a roll Wednesday, tying his season high for innings and retiring the first 13 batters faced. A couple of mistakes cost him runs in the sixth inning, but he was as sharp as he's been all season and worked ahead in the count, throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of 23 hitters faced. Getting deep into games has been a recurring issue for the left-hander, but getting those early strikes helped keep his pitch count down early in the game. Rodriguez has a 2.25 ERA over his last five starts as he prepares for his next turn Tuesday against the Tigers.

Rodon (shoulder) will not be activated to start Sunday against the Brewers, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

There was hope after Rodon's latest rehab start Tuesday that the White Sox might activate the left-hander from the disabled list to take his next scheduled turn at the major-league level, but the team tapped Dylan Covey to start Sunday. Rodon fired five scoreless innings and 86 pitches Tuesday for Triple-A Charlotte, but it sounds like the White Sox want to see a little more from him. "We still want him to get up six times, get a little higher (pitch count)," manager Rick Renteria said just before the team announced Covey to start. We presume he'll make a fourth rehab start Sunday, although the White Sox haven't made that official. They have a doubleheader coming up Tuesday and it's a possibility Rodon could be used then.

Severino (8-1) got the win Wednesday, striking out 11 over seven innings while allowing two runs on four hits and a walk against the Astros.

Severino was dominant from the get-go, striking out seven of the first nine batters he faced on his way to inducing 15 swinging strikes in all. The 24-year-old has put together a stretch of nine straight quality starts, fanning at least 10 with one walk or fewer in three of those. His eight wins trail only Max Scherzer (nine), and he now boasts 10.6 K/9 to go along with an elite 2.31 ERA and 0.97 WHIP. Next on tap is a road start in Detroit on Monday.

Keuchel (3-7) took the loss Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven over five innings against the Yankees.

Keuchel allowed just a pair of singles through the first four frames, but the wheels started coming off after that. He allowed two runs in the fifth followed by two more when he came back out to start the sixth. His 3.65 ERA would suggest he deserves a better fate than seven losses (tied for most in the AL), but he did himself no favors in this one with three free passes and a pair of wild pitches. The lefty will look to get back in the win column Tuesday against the Mariners.

Kluber (8-2) got the win Wednesday, pitching six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts, no walks and three hits allowed against the White Sox.

Kluber likely could've gone another inning as his pitch count sat at 90 through six frames, but with Cleveland already ahead by nine runs there was no need to push him any further. The 32-year-old finishes May with an absurd 41:1 K:BB over 39.1 innings in the month, and he hasn't allowed an earned run in three of his last four starts. Kluber is now sporting a minuscule 2.02 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, and next lines up to take on the Brewers on Tuesday.

Eovaldi (elbow) was activated from the 60-day DL and will start Wednesday against the A's.

Jake Faria (oblique) was moved to the 60-day DL to make room for Eovaldi on the roster. The 28-year-old Eovaldi will toe the rubber in a big-league game for the first time since August of 2016 after recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. He only built up to 71 pitches in his final minor-league rehab outing, and he struggled mightily in that game (eight earned runs over four innings), so most will want to take a wait-and-see approach.

Oaks was called up from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Oaks will join the big-league club after Blaine Boyer (back) was placed on the disabled list. In nine starts at Triple-A, he's posted a 2.50 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 27 strikeouts and 20 walks across 54 innings.