MLB Player News

Chirinos allowed four hits and one walk across 5.1 scoreless innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the White Sox. He struck out five.

Chirinos was sharp once again as he headlined the Rays' "bullpen game." The 24-year-old has now thrown 14.1 scoreless innings to start the season, striking out 12 while keeping a tidy 0.70 WHIP over that stretch. His third consecutive strong showing could prompt the Rays to reward him with a permanent spot in their rotation.

Heaney (elbow) is scheduled to start Friday against the Royals, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

As expected, Heaney will make his 2018 major-league debut after getting through a bullpen sessions with no issues earlier in the week. The 26-year-old will have a favorable matchup against the Royals in his first start of the season.

Gibson allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks through 4.1 innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the Astros. He struck out four.

Gibson struggled early and often Wednesday, allowing multiple baserunners to reach in every inning he appeared in but one. The real damage against Gibson came in the fifth inning, as the right-hander allowed four of the first five batters he faced to reach base before being yanked. All four baserunners would score, with two coming in after he handed the ball to Trevor Hildenberger. Gibson has now failed to make it out of the fifth inning in consecutive starts after tossing six scoreless innings in his 2018 debut. He'll look to get back on track in his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday against the Indians.

Dunning allowed two hits and struck out eight over 6.1 innings for High-A Winston-Salem on Wednesday.

Dunning has come out strong for the Dash, having allowed one run while striking out 16 over 11.1 innings in two starts. The White Sox have several elite prospects, so guys like Dunning get lost in the mix. He pitched well at this level in 2017, and it shouldn't be too long before he's promoted to Double-A Birmingham.

McCullers allowed a career-high eight runs on seven hits and six walks while striking out six over 3.2 innings in Wednesday's 9-8 loss to the Twins.

McCullers dug a big hole for the Astros, who fell behind 8-1, when the fourth inning went sideways on the right-hander -- he walked the first two batters of the inning. Each runner came around to score and more followed. There's been a trend of opposing batters figuring out McCullers the third time through the lineup and that played out again Wednesday. Five of the six batters he faced a third time reached base safely, including Max Kepler who walked and had a two-run home run that chased McCullers. He was able to avoid picking up the loss thanks to Houston's resilient lineup, who tied the game late before the Twins won it walkoff fashion. The Astros will be happy to leave the cold of Minnesota after losing two of three to the Twins while walking 14 in the two losses. McCullers, whose ERA rose to 7.71, will try to regroup in time next Tuesday's start against the Mariners in Seattle.

Chirinos is slated to draw the start in Wednesday's "bullpen day" game against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos has thrown the equivalent of a complete-game shutout over his first two appearances, blanking the Red Sox in both outings over four- and five-inning stints. Topkin reports that the right-hander could parlay a third consecutive strong appearance into a No. 4 starter role.

Severino (2-1) allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out six batters through five innings during Tuesday's 14-1 loss to the Red Sox.

This was a tape-measuring matchup among division rivals, and Boston made a statement. Severino shined through his first two starts of the season, and even with this disappointing outing, the 24-year-old righty sports a respectable 3.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 10.0 K/9. Tuesday's poor showing is probably best viewed as a blip on the radar, as Severino's body of work dating back to last season positions him among the top starting pitchers in the league. He projects to face the Tigers on the road next.

Sale (1-0) allowed a single run on eight hits while striking out eight batters through six innings to collect his first win of the season during Tuesday's 14-1 victory over the Yankees.

This was the lefty's third consecutive gem to start the campaign, and he's been a little unlucky to have recorded just the single win. He's only allowed two runs through 17 innings while piling up an impressive 23 strikeouts. Sale will have the odd rough outing over the course of the year, but barring injury, he projects to remain an elite hurler in all settings. He lines up to face Baltimore at home next.

Odorizzi (1-0) allowed one earned run on five hits while walking five and striking out four across six innings to earn the win Tuesday against the Astros.

Odorizzi allowed 10 baserunners but managed to dance out of danger and surrender only one earned run. After allowing two extra-base hits over 4.1 innings in his last start against the Pirates, he managed to keep the Astros from recording any Tuesday. While his season-opening start remains his most impressive, allowing only one earned run to the dangerous Astros lineup has to be considered encouraging.

Keuchel (0-2) took the loss Tuesday after allowing three earned runs on five hits while walking four and striking out six across four innings against the Twins.

For the second straight start Keuchel walked four batters, a mark he only hit once in his 23 regular-season starts in 2017. Notably, his swinging-strike rate has remained consistent, but he has gotten only 11 and 15 called strikes over his past two starts. His start Tuesday came in Minnesota -- where the weather remains cold -- so it's possible he wasn't able to place his pitches well due to lack of grip or feeling in his pitches. However, if he continues to miss his target, he'll have to come in the zone more, and he's proven hittable in the past when he's living too much in the strike zone.