MLB Player News

Verlander (4-3) struggled in a no-decision against the Astros on Thursday. He went 5.2 innings and gave up six runs on nine hits and three walks. He struck out four.

Walks and home runs plagued Verlander, as he allowed three of each to a strong Houston lineup. The veteran is not matching last season's stats so far, as he has a 4.87 ERA and 1.41 WHIP though his first 10 starts (3.04 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 2016). He'll look to turn it around Tuesday against Kansas City, which projects as a much easier matchup.

Giolito (2-5) did not allow a hit and walked three in seven innings Thursday for Triple-A Charlotte.

This outing relieves a bit of pressure from Giolito who's made just two quality starts out of nine this season. The 6-foot-6 right-hander, who is the team's fourth-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, had been knocked around this season, having entered Thursday with a 6.41 ERA through eight starts. With some cracks beginning to show in the parent club's rotation, Giolito would be considered as a fill-in starter if he were performing better.

Keuchel (neck) is not yet listed as the probable starter for Saturday's game against Baltimore, according to MLB.com. As of early Thursday evening, Houston's expected starter is listed as To Be Announced.

All signs the last two days suggested Keuchel would be activated to pitch Saturday, but the Astros are leaving some wiggle room. We'll likely get confirmation of Saturday's probable starter Friday.

Clevinger will now start Friday's game against the Royals after his scheduled start for Thursday was postponed.

The Indians have just decided to shift their rotation back a day to accommodate Thursday's rainout. The 26-year-old, who owns a 1.56 ERA and 19 strikeouts through 17.1 innings (four appearances, three starts) this season, will now face off against Ian Kennedy and the Royals.

Paxton (forearm) is scheduled to throw 60-to-65 pitches in his rehab start with Double-A Arkansas on Friday, Bob Dutton of the Tacona News Tribune reports.

If it goes well, it'll be the final step in Paxton's quest to rejoin the Mariners, and he'd return May 31 at home against the Rockies. Even in the tough matchup, fantasy owners will gladly welcome back his 1.43 ERA, 10.8 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9. We'll provide an update on that outing and his next step when the team releases information.

Hamels (oblique) said he would play catch for another week before ramping up his throwing program, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Hamels has experienced no renewed soreness with his strained right oblique after throwing on consecutive days, but the Rangers will still have him take it easy for the next few days before having him test things out on a mound. There's been no change in the eight-week recovery timetable the Rangers initially outlined for Hamels back on May 3, so it's not expected that he'll rejoin the rotation until shortly before the All-Star break.

Severino (3-2) blanked the Royals over eight innings in Wednesday's 3-0 win, scattering four hits and a walk while striking out seven.

Kansas City only managed to get one runner into scoring position all game against the 23-year-old, on a two-out double by Brandon Moss in the fifth inning. Severino continues to blossom into a staff ace for the Yankees, but will face a tough test in his next start Monday on the road against the Orioles.

Hammel (1-6) gave up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings in Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Yankees.

Facing the Bronx Bombers for the second straight outing, the veteran right-hander put together a much better effort but got out-dueled by Luis Severino. The seven strikeouts were a season high for Hammel and the quality start was his third of 2017, giving him a flicker of momentum heading into Monday's home start against the Tigers.

Morton allowed two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out six over seven innings in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Tigers.

Morton's had a recurring problem this season when reaching the fifth and sixth, but there wasn't an issue in this one. He even made it through the seventh unscathed -- just the second time in 10 starts he's pitched that deep. Prior to Wednesday, opponents had posted a 1.143 OPS against Morton the third time through the order. Unfortunately, the Astros' bats couldn't take advantage of Morton's effectiveness, going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The right-hander, who lowered his ERA to 4.06, makes his next start Monday on the road against the Twins.

Nolasco (2-4) gave up five runs on seven hits -- including three homers -- and two walks while striking out six over six innings in Wednesday's loss to Tampa Bay.

An enduring question: How does Nolasco still have a job in the major leagues after so many years of pitching so badly? He's finished with an ERA worse than the league average in each of the past three seasons and nine of 11 campaigns in his career, and yet Nolasco continues sticking around the league like a bad habit. His ERA this year is only 4.37, but there's a lot of luck baked into that, as Nolasco has been serving up homers like it's going out of style -- a whopping 16 in just 57.2 innings.