MLB Player News

Heaney (1-2) took the loss Tuesday, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings against the Rockies.

Despite the loss, it was Heaney's second straight quality start and third straight outing allowing two or fewer runs. The lefty's ERA sits at an inflated 4.78, but he's posting strong strikeout numbers (9.9 K/9). He's still less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery and continues to be managed somewhat carefully. As a result, Heaney may not provide much in the way of length. The six innings matched a season high and he was lifted after 86 pitches -- tied for his second-highest total this season.

Stroman (0-5) allowed five earned runs on nine hits while walking two and striking out two across five innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Mariners.

Stroman continued his season-long struggles, allowing the Blue Jays to string together several hits at a time to do the majority of their damage. However, he also allowed a home run for his fourth consecutive start. His 7.71 ERA and 1.71 WHIP illustrate just how bad he has been through seven starts this season, though with the reintroduction of his cutter, fantasy owners can at least dream on better days ahead.

Odorizzi (3-2) struck out three and allowed one earned run on two hits and two walks across five innings to earn the win against the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Odorizzi's only blemish on the afternoon was a first-inning home run given up to Jose Martinez. The 28-year-old now has a 3.83 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 38 stikeouts and 20 walks over 42.1 innings this season, and is next slated to start Monday against the Mariners.

Paxton (2-1) walked three and struck out seven while holding the Blue Jays hitless in 5-0 complete-game shutout win Tuesday.

Paxton was both dominant and efficient while throwing the second complete game no-hitter of the season. He needed only 99 pitches -- generating 15 swinging strikes in the process -- to complete the effort, and was also helped by several key defensive plays from the likes of Dee Gordon, Ben Gamel and Kyle Seager. He has now thrown 16 shutout innings across his last two starts and is second in the American League with 67 strikeouts on the season.

Civale was placed on the disabled list with Double-A Akron due to right shoulder soreness.

Few details are known about the severity of the injury, so it's unclear how long he'll be out. Prior to hurting his shoulder, Civale produced a 2.51 ERA and 32:4 K:BB in 32.1 innings pitched for the RubberDucks.

Keuchel (2-5) lasted eight strong innings and allowed just one run on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts to pick up the win Monday against Oakland.

Keuchel was finally rewarded for a quality start with a win, but he is still just 2-3 in his five quality starts this season. Regardless, Keuchel was at his most efficient Monday night, as he used 12 groundballs to help stretch his 101 pitches through eight frames. He has now lasted eight innings twice and at least seven innings in four of his eight starts. The Astros' lineup is strong, as they proved with 16 runs Monday night, so if Keuchel can keep going deep in games, expect him to start racking up the wins. He'll go for No. 3 Sunday against Texas.

Sale had a season-high 23 swings-and-misses on all his pitches Sunday, including 12 on his slider, Christoper Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Sale, who combined for 23 swings-and-misses on the slider over his first seven games, said he viewed a lot of video to get the slider back to where he wanted. "It's been probably the main concern," Sale said about his slider. "Early on, it wasn't where we wanted it to be." The left-hander allowed one run while striking out 12 over seven innings Sunday.

Kopech allowed two runs on one hit and four walks while striking out three for Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

This was Kopech's shortest outing of the season and a reminder he still has work to do before a promotion to the majors is warranted. Just 34 of his 66 pitches were in the zone, and he hit two batters. Command has been a recurring theme for Kopech throughout his career, but he's managed to keep his walks and HBP down this season until Sunday.

Blackburn (forearm) threw off a mound for the first time in his rehab Sunday, Michael Wagaman of MLB.com reports.

Blackburn had worked up to throwing from 90 feet earlier in the week. The 24-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since late in spring training, but recent developments have manager Bob Melvin encouraged. "He is on the mound so there's a natural progression that we go through to get them ready to go pitch rehab games," Melvin said. "It's still a little bit of a progression but the fact that he's throwing off the mound is very encouraging."

Gibson allowed three earned runs on four hits while walking two and striking out eight across 6.2 innings Sunday against the White Sox. He did not factor in the decision.

Gibson took advantage of one of the weaker lineups in the league Sunday, putting together his third consecutive strong outing. In that span, he has allowed four earned runs over 17.2 innings and struck out 24 batters. He's been a polarizing pitcher over the past few seasons, never living up to his potential, but he has undeniably put together a strong start to the season that is largely backed up by his peripheral stats.