MLB Player News

Severino earned the win after allowing two runs on five hits and one walk across 7.1 innings Wednesday against the Rays. He struck out seven.

Severino was slightly overshadowed by a trio of homers from teammates Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez, but the young lefty was dominant in his second outing of the season. The 24-year-old started off slow and allowed a run in the first inning, but he quickly settled in and faced the minimum batters in five of the next six frames. He needed just 92 pitches, 63 of which went for strikes. Severino is now 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 14:4 K:BB through two starts (13 innings) this season, and he'll look to keep things rolling in what will be a two-start week (4/10 @BOS, 4/15 @DET).

Chirinos will take the mound for Thursday's "bullpen day" game against Boston, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos will only go a few innings at most, but he will be the official starter for Tampa Bay's series opener against the Red Sox. The 24-year-old recently tossed four innings of work against Boston on Sunday during one of the team's previous outings where they went without a typical starter. During that contest, he didn't allow any runs off one hit, one walk and a hit batsman while collecting three strikeouts.

Keuchel allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and four walks while striking out three over five innings to come away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Orioles.

It was a grind for Keuchel, who didn't have his best stuff and required 104 deliveries to get through his five innings. The left-hander was chasing the count all day, throwing first-pitch strikes to just 12 of 24 batters. On this team, with this offense, pitchers don't need to have their best, but the Astros' vaunted offense failed early with runners in scoring position in this one (1-for-8). Fortunately, the offense has a knack for kicking in eventually and the Astros plated runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take Keuchel off the hook for a loss. More often than not, he'll win games when giving up two or fewer runs. He's next scheduled to start Tuesday, April 10 in Minnesota.

Manager Alex Cora said Sale's next start might be pushed back to Tuesday, the first game of a series against the Yankees, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Sale, who pitched Tuesday, is on schedule to start Sunday against the Rays, but Cora said that, even though a final decision hasn't been made, it's likely that he'll be pushed back to Tuesday. Pushing him back has nothing to do with injury, and Cora insists it is not about saving him for the Yankees, but rather it's an opportunity to give him a couple of rest days. That aligns with this spring's managerial mantra of keeping guys fresh and preserving the starters' bullets for the long haul. The Red Sox could have Eduardo Rodriguez (knee) back off the disabled list to start Sunday, or turn to Brian Johnson or Hector Velazquez, both of whom will miss scheduled turns this week due to off days.

Sale allowed a single run on five hits while striking out six batters through five innings during Tuesday's 4-2 win over Miami. He didn't factor into the decision.

Despite allowing just the single run through 11 innings over his first two starts of the season, Sale is still searching for his first win. Striking out 15 batters helps, but although wins aren't always indicative of pitching well, they're still a category in the majority of settings. Sale will look continue his strong start to the campaign and pick up his first victory against the Yankees next week.

Hamels has experienced decreased velocity on his four-seam fastball, which resulted in a different approach in Tuesday's 11-strikeout, one-run outing against the Athletics, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Hamels committed to throwing more changeups and sliders Tuesday, generating 14 swing-and-misses on those offerings. "It's finally turning into something," Hamels said of the slider. "I just have to throw it. It's how I learned the changeup when I was young. You have to throw it and trust it." For the past few seasons, Hamels' repertoire has been essentially a mix of four-seamers, cutters and curveballs, but he was a different pitcher Tuesday, a marked improvement from Opening Day when his command wavered.

Hamels (1-1) struck out 11 over five innings while picking up the victory against the Athletics on Tuesday, allowing just four hits, one earned run and three walks.

The veteran southpaw looked dominant in Tuesday's outing while logging double-digit strikeouts, and he's now mowed down 18 batters through his first two starts to go along with his 3.38 ERA. He'll look to build on that in his next start, a home matchup with Toronto on Sunday.

Verlander gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits over 5.2 innings, striking out nine and walking one in Houston's 10-6 victory over Baltimore on Tuesday. He did not factor into the decision.

Verlander wasn't at his absolute sharpest on Tuesday, giving up home runs to Jonathan Schoop and Adam Jones, but he still managed to post a solid stat line in limiting to the damage to three earned runs and logging nine strikeouts. He's looked every bit like his old dominant self for the Astros since his arrival to the club last year and he's got a 2.31 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP through his first two starts of 2018.

Gonzales allowed three runs on six hits while striking out two batters through 6.1 innings to earn his first win of the season against San Francisco on Tuesday.

The lefty posted a 2.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 7.3 K/9 over 26 innings through seven starts during spring training, and he continued pitching well Tuesday. The final two runs he allowed were on an Evan Longoria home run in the seventh inning, and there's a strong case to be made that he shouldn't have taken the hill against the heart of the lineup after going six strong. Gonzales missed all of the 2016 season following Tommy John surgery, so his 2017 results should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Considering he was a highly-regarded prospect with first-round pedigree, there's upside here, and especially with Safeco Field projecting to remain a pitcher-friendly venue.

Montgomery allowed a single run on two hits and four walks while striking out four batters through five innings during Tuesday's 11-4 win over Tampa Bay. He didn't factor into the decision.

After an admirable rookie season, Montgomery was solid in his 2018 debut. In fact, considering the final score, he was a little unlucky to settle for a no-decision. The 24-year-old lefty has the potential to pitch his way into being a reliable option against most opponents, and fantasy owners shouldn't fret Tuesday's four walks. He posted a 3.0 BB/9 last year, so it probably won't be an ongoing concern. Montgomery lines up to face the Orioles on Sunday in his second start of the week.