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Matthew Boyd SP | CHC
Tigers' Matt Boyd: Gets knocked around in loss to Rangers
Boyd (2-4) allowed four runs on 12 hits with no walks across 5.1 innings in Sunday's loss to the Rangers. He struck out three.
Boyd had no trouble finding the strike zone, posting his first outing without issuing a walk this season. Unfortuately, he gave up a procession of base hits and was removed shortly after surrendering a solo home run to Pete Kozma with one out in the sixth inning. Boyd fired the third of a trio of quality starts earlier this month, but he has since allowed 11 runs in his last 7.2 innings to grow his ERA to 5.36. His poor 33:21 K:BB has made it difficult for him to string successful outings together, and he will look to improve on this figure Friday against the White Sox.
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Yu Darvish SP | SD
Rangers' Yu Darvish: Struggles with command in win over Tigers
Darvish (5-2) allowed two runs on five hits and four walks across five innings during Sunday's win over the Tigers. He struck out seven.
Darvish's final line was acceptable, but it could have been much worse, as he narrowly escaped a jam with the bases loaded in the first inning and consistently put men on thereafter. He seemed to struggle with his efficiency at times as he worked at a slow pace, resulting in his removal after 105 pitches through five innings of work. Despite shaky moments in this one, Darvish has been excellent over his last six starts, posting a 2.53 ERA, a 10.4 K/9 and a 4-0 record in that span. His next outing will come Saturday against the Blue Jays.
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Joe Musgrove SP | SD
Astros' Joe Musgrove: Done after three-plus innings
Musgrove (3-4) allowed seven runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out four over three-plus innings in Sunday's 8-6 loss to the Indians.
This was the shortest of Musgrove's 19 career major-league starts. The 24-year-old failed to reach six innings for the sixth time in nine starts and has a rotation-worst 5.63 ERA in 2017. ERAs will get that high when a pitcher gives up hits in bunches like Musgrove, who ranks 85th among qualified starters with 10.41 H/9. He told Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle that he was just a two-pitch pitcher Sunday, lacking a feel for his slider and changeup. He's next scheduled to start Friday at home against Baltimore.
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Adalberto Mejia SP | MIN
Twins' Adalberto Mejia: Beats Royals for first win of season
Mejia (1-1) earned his first win of the season Sunday against the Royals, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks across seven innings. He struck out three.
Mejia was sharp in his first big league outing in a month, throwing 67 percent of his pitches for strikes en route to his first quality start of the season. He did well to scatter baserunners as he went deep into the game, with his only real mistakes coming on a pair of home runs from Salvador Perez, which accounted for all of the runs on his ledger. Mejia was sent to Triple-A Rochester after the outing, but since he was called up as the 26th man during a doubleheader, he could be called back before 10 days. As a result, he's likely to be recalled and start next weekend against Tampa Bay.
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James Paxton SP | BOS
Mariners' James Paxton: Eyeing May 31 return
Paxton (forearm) tossed a successful 37-pitch bullpen session Sunday and will make a rehab start with Double-A Arkansas on Friday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. He'll likely rejoin the Mariners' rotation on May 31.
Paxton has had no issues as he progresses through his rehab program over the past couple of weeks. If all goes according to plan, the hard-throwing lefty is on track to make his return against the Rockies on May 31.
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Corey Kluber SP | BOS
Indians' Corey Kluber: Nearing rehab appearance
Kluber (back) tossed a three-inning simulated game Saturday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Monday, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports. Barring any setbacks, he will partake in a rehab game Thursday.
Kluber has been on the shelf since May 3, but it sounds as if everything goes according to plan during his upcoming bullpen session and minor-league rehab appearance then Kluber could be ready to return to the Indians' rotation by the end of May. An update on his condition should become available following his upcoming activities.
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Kyle Gibson SP | BAL
Twins' Kyle Gibson: Expected to be called up Monday
The Twins are expected to recall Gibson from Triple-A Rochester to start Monday's game against the Orioles, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Gibson was banished to the minors a little over two weeks ago upon turning in an 8.20 ERA and 1.97 WHIP over his first six starts of the season. He's been able to right the ship to some degree at Rochester with a 2.92 ERA and 18:5 K:BB over 12.1 innings, so the Twins seem inclined to give the 29-year-old another chance to solidify himself as the No. 5 starter. With Adalberto Mejia receiving a call-up to start the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Royals, it appears he and Gibson will be in a competition for the final spot in the Twins' rotation.
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Frankie Montas RP | NYM
Athletics' Frankie Montas: Racks up whiffs in multi-inning outing
Montas compiled five strikeouts over three scoreless innings in Saturday's 8-3 win over the Red Sox and gave up just two hits.
The promising 24-year-old may finally be starting to find a measure of consistency, as his current five-appearance scoreless streak represents a season best. The three-inning stint was Montas' longest of the campaign and his strikeouts were also a season high. The hard-throwing right-hander has whittled his ERA down from 6.89 to 4.70 since May 4 and boasts an 11:2 K:BB over the 6.1 innings spanning his last four outings.
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Kevin Gausman SP | CHC
Orioles' Kevin Gausman: Limits Jays to two runs
Gausman allowed two runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out five batters over six innings during Saturday's win over Toronto. He didn't factor into the decision.
This was an encouraging start from the 26-year-old righty, but stringing together solid outings has been a challenge for Gausman this season. It's probably best to remain patient: Gausman has a lot of work ahead if he's going to turn his 6.65 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and 6.8 K/9 into serviceable fantasy numbers. It also isn't out of the question to be selective with his opponents going forward. His upcoming road date against the league-best Astros likely qualifies as a matchup to avoid.
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Alex Meyer SP | LAA
Angels' Alex Meyer: Seven punchouts save poor outing
Meyer (2-2) allowed four runs -- three earned -- on three hits and four walks while striking out seven batters over just four innings during Saturday's loss to the Mets.
Meyer has now struck out 21 batters through 15.2 innings over his past three starts, as the 6-foot-9 righty has shown the mound presence and pitch arsenal to pile up punchouts. However, he also walks too many batters (6.9 K/9) and currently sports a 5.79 ERA and 1.63 WHIP for the year. While the strikeout potential is enticing, taking a wait-and-see approach with Meyer is advised.