MLB Player News

Gibson allowed just one hit and three walks across six scoreless innings Thursday against the Yankees. He struck out 10 batters, but didn't factor into the decision.

Gibson shut down a difficult Yankees lineup in what was easily his best outing of the season, as he didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning. His 10 strikeouts were a career high, and the 30-year-old now owns an impressive 10.0 K/9 to go with his 3.33 ERA through his first five starts. Gibson certainly deserved to win the contest after exiting with a three-run lead prior to the seventh inning, but the Twins' bullpen coughed up four runs over the final three frames of the game to help the Yankees prevail. He'll look to keep things rolling in his next start, which will come against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

Mejia was placed on the 7-day disabled list with a blister on his left middle finger, Brandon Warne of The Athletic reports.

Mejia has appeared in four games for Triple-A Rochester thus far in 2018, starting three games and logging a 6.00 ERA and 1.78 WHIP over nine innings of work. The club has yet to announce any sort of timetable for his return, and due to the unpredictable nature of blisters, the 24-year-old could be on the shelf for an extended period of time. In all likelihood, he will be able to get back on the mound by next weekend.

Gray didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's win over the Twins, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks over 4.2 innings while striking out four.

The Yankees' bats gave Gray plenty of run support, but he couldn't pitch deep enough into the game to collect his second win of the season. The right-hander threw 60 of 104 pitches for strikes, and while the outing actually lowered his ERA to 7.71, his 19:16 K:BB in 21 innings remains poor. He'll have a hard time turning things around in his next start Monday on the road against the Astros.

Hammel (0-2) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks with one strikeout over 6.2 innings in a loss Wednesday to the Brewers.

Hammel has yet to land in the win column, but he's doing his job and eating innings for this Royals pitching staff. He now has three quality starts in five outings this season and is averaging a solid 6.4 innings per start. However, Hammel's season high in strikeouts is five -- he never topped seven in 2017 -- and he has a poor offense supporting him, so there isn't much to get excited about.

Lynn (0-2) rolled his left ankle during the fourth inning of Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Yankees, ESPN reports. "I'm sure he'll get it treated. We're not anticipating him missing any time," Twins manager Paul Molitor said.

It was another rough outing for Lynn even before the injury, as he allowed six runs on seven hits -- including home runs by Didi Gregorius and Tyler Austin -- and three walks over 3.2 innings before being lifted. The right-hander now has a 7.71 ERA and 22:18 K:BB through 18.2 innings to begin his tenure with Minnesota, and assuming his ankle doesn't require him to miss any time, he'll make his next start Monday at home against the Blue Jays.

Boyd (0-2) allowed four runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts over just 3.2 innings to take the loss Wednesday against the Pirates.

Boyd finally showed weakness after opening the season with three fantastic starts. He was undone by a three-run Jose Osuna home run in the second inning, and Boyd struggled with his control all day. He threw just 12 first-pitch strikes to 21 hitters as he walked three batters and needed 94 pitches to get just 11 outs. Boyd still owns a crisp 2.74 ERA, but he has walked six batters in his past two starts, and he'll need to tighten up if he wants to keep up his hot start.

Lewicki was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday.

As expected, Lewicki was sent back to the minors after serving as the Tigers' 26th man for Wednesday's doubleheader against the Pirates. Lewicki allowed two runs on four hits and one walk across one inning of work. The 26-year-old will rejoin Toledo's starting rotation until he's once again needed at the big-league level.

Rodriguez (3-0) got the win Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out three over 6.2 innings against the Blue Jays.

The lefty has given up a home run in three of his four starts, but he was able to limit the damage to a solo shot Wednesday en route to earning his third straight quality start. Despite the three-strikeout showing, Rodriguez has still mowed down more than a batter per inning on the year with a 9.3 K/9. He'll also benefit from having a potent offense behind him, which will likely put him in a position to win his fair share of games. He's slated to take on the Royals on Monday in Part 1 of a likely two-step.

Cobb (0-3) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on 10 hits and a walk over 4.2 innings against the Rays. He did not record a strikeout.

It's been an ugly start for Cobb, and things didn't get any easier in his first start against his former club. He's now failed to make it out of the fifth inning and conceded 10 hits in all three starts, and this was the second of the three in which he didn't record a strikeout. It's tempting to blame the early-season struggles on the fact that he remained unsigned until late March and thus got a very late start to the spring, but Cobb has just looked completely overmatched in all three outings. It'll be tough to place much trust in him until he demonstrates he's begun to right the ship, which he'll aim to do Tuesday against a potent Angels lineup.

Verlander (4-0) allowed two runs on four hits while striking out nine batters across seven innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Angels.

Verlander was in cruise control for the majority of this one. He didn't allow a baserunner until the fifth inning, and he retired 20 of the first 21 batters he faced before running into some trouble with two outs in the seventh inning. The veteran right-hander allowed a solo homer to Albert Pujols before a pair of hits from Andrelton Simmons and Zack Cozart pulled the Angels within two, but he was able to gather himself and end the inning before any other damage was done. Verlander will look to stay undefeated as he carries an impressive 1.36 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 48:8 K:BB into his next start, which figures to come Tuesday against the Yankees.