MLB Player News

Meyer held the Blue Jays to two runs over 3.2 innings Friday, but he walked four batters in an extra-inning loss.

The former top prospect continues to struggle with his command in the majors. The tall righty was at the 75-pitch mark when he was removed from the game before the conclusion of the fourth inning, a trend that will not help his case for stealing a rotation spot from JC Ramirez or Jesse Chavez. Meyer was brought up for a spot start, and barring unforeseen circumstances, it appears that one start is all he will receive after Friday's subpar outing.

Boyd was ejected from Saturday's game in the fifth inning after throwing behind Minnesota's Miguel Sano, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Both of the benches briefly cleared Saturday following Boyd's incident with Sano, but the situation was quickly resolved. Boyd allowed two earned runs over 4.1 innings while notching three strikeouts and three walks. His truncated outing does not help a taxed Detroit bullpen that had to pitch three innings Friday after Justin Verlander was touched up for four earned runs.

Kopech, who has walked 10 batters over his first 12 innings, needs to improve his fastball command, according to White Sox minor league pitching coordinator Richard Dotson, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports. "It needs to get better," Dotson said. "It's as simple as that. He's not too far off. I think it's about how much he applies himself. There is a process to it. It just doesn't happen overnight."

Kopech showed some promise during spring training when he struck out 11 and walked two in six big league innings, but he's had command issues since the curtain raised on the regular season. He's thrown strikes on just 57.1 percent of his 231 pitches, which has resulted in him not pitching more than 4.1 innings in any of his three starts. Dotson's comments about how much Kopech "applies himself" is somewhat telling, suggesting that Kopech needs to put in more work to fix his command.

Musgrove is making a minor mechanical adjustment to his delivery aimed at taking some pressure off his right hip, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports. "I'm just trying to go for a more balanced standpoint out of the set opposed to like a pre-load on my back hip," he explained. "That back load is kind of causing my hip to take an awkward route toward the plate."

Musgrove feels his typically pinpoint command has suffered through his first three starts because he's not balanced before he begins his delivery. The right-hander, whose ERA sits at 5.87 over 15.1 innings, has allowed 20 hits, three home runs and five walks while not going deeper than 5.1 innings in any of his three starts. We'll get to see how the tweaked delivery impacts his results Sunday against the Rays.

Verlander (1-2) struck out four and gave up four runs on three hits and six walks over five innings in a 6-3 loss to the Twins on Friday.

He held Minnesota off the board for five innings before things completely unraveled in the sixth, as Verlander walked the first three batters he faced before giving up a two-run single to Robbie Grossman that chased him from the game. The 34-year-old has now given up 13 runs in his last two starts, bloating his ERA to 6.04 and his WHIP to 1.52, but his average fastball velocity remains strong at 94.4 mph and Verlander's track record suggests he'll right the ship and go on a dominant run eventually. His next start comes Thursday at home against the Mariners.

Quintana (0-4) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over six innings in Friday's 3-0 loss to Cleveland.

It was Quintana's second quality start of the season, but with Corey Kluber shutting down the White Sox bats en route to his fourth career shutout, the lefty was doomed to take another loss. His 6.17 ERA and 1.54 WHIP are well shy of what was expected of Quintana coming into the season, and his struggles can't even be chalked up to bad luck -- his .293 BABIP is actually below his career mark. He'll try to turn things around Wednesday at home against the Royals.

Kluber (2-1) scattered three hits and two walks while striking out nine in a complete-game shutout of the White Sox on Friday.

Chicago hitters were overmatched all night, as Kluber faced just two batters over the minimum and didn't allow a runner to even reach second base. After a couple of shaky outings to begin the campaign, the 31-year-old ace now appears to be back in his usual, dominant form. His next start will come Thursday at home against the Astros.

Hamels (1-0) allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three over eight innings in Friday's 6-2 win over the Royals.

Backed by a four-homer barrage, the left-hander cruised to his first win of the season, throwing 71 of 107 pitches for strikes. Hamels will look to build on this momentum in his next start Wednesday at home against the Twins.

Cobb (1-2) allowed four runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out seven across six innings to take the loss Friday against the Astros.

Although Cobb had a solid strikeout day, he allowed too many baserunners, and he was unable to hold onto the 3-1 lead he was given in the third inning, leading to his second loss of the season. He's yet to throw a quality start in any of his four outings, and he'll need to string together a couple solid starts before he can be fully trusted in fantasy lineups. He'll make his next start Wednesday against the Orioles.

Bundy (3-1) fired seven shutout innings on six hits and one walk while striking out three to earn the win Friday against the Red Sox.

Bundy was only given two runs of offensive support, but it was plenty as he scattered six singles in his outstanding performance. He's allowed one or fewer earned runs in three of his four starts and he's beginning to look like a potential breakout candidate, as he boasts a 1.37 ERA. He'll make his next start Wednesday against the Rays.