MLB Player News

Kluber tossed four innings, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out four Padres on Sunday.

After a clunker in his Cactus League debut, Kluber appeared in midseason form Sunday as he faced just one batter over the minimum through four frames. The Indians' ace came out for the fifth but was removed after giving up two singles and an RBI double. Kluber will continue fine-tuning his mechanics as he gears up to make his third straight Opening Day start for the Tribe.

Rodriguez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out three over four innings in Sunday's game against the Phillies, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Rodriguez got touched for a home run in the third but once again looked like a pitcher who will be part of Boston's rotation to start the season. His fate is somewhat tied to David Price's rehab from an elbow injury, but if Rodriguez pitches well, the Red Sox can use that as an excuse to take it slow with Price's return. In three spring starts, the 23-year-old Rodriguez has allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven. "I feel normal with everything," he said. "Now I'm just concentrating on my mechanics and my consistency with my pitches."

Keuchel allowed one hit and struck out one over three scoreless innings Sunday against Washington, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. This was his first game action since last August, when he was shut down due to an inflamed left shoulder.

Houston manager A.J. Hinch said Keuchel's command wasn't as good as it could have been, but the left-hander was efficient against a Nationals lineup that looked much like the one they'll use during the regular season. Keuchel retired the first six batters before Stephen Drew's dribbler beat an infield shift to lead off the third. If Hinch wants Keuchel to pitch Opening Day, the bearded 29-year-old will get three more spring training starts to build up innings.

Cobb (1-1) surrendered two earned runs on four hits and two walks over 3.1 innings in Saturday's 2-1 Grapefruit League loss to the Red Sox.

Cobb pitched scoreless ball through the first two innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the third. He fired 63 pitches overall, 40 of which found the strike zone. The outing brought Cobb's spring ERA to 3.24 over 8.1 innings and was another encouraging step for the right-hander as he continues to build up his stamina. "I'm on the right path," Cobb said. "Real excited to get on the mound again. Get a bullpen. Just play catch. And take away a lot of stuff that I learned about myself today."

Stroman twirled 4.2 scoreless innings, scattering three hits while issuing no walks and striking out four against the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday night.

Employing a lively mix consisting mostly of fastballs, sliders and changeups, Stroman did what he does best to keep the powerful Dominican bats at bay: keep the ball on the ground. The righty led MLB starters in 2016 with a 60 percent ground-ball rate while forcing 49 percent of opposing hitters to "top" batted balls, according to Statcast, the second-best rate in baseball last year. Simply put, Stroman is as good as any pitcher in the world at getting hitters to pound pitches into the dirt, and he showed it Saturday by collecting seven groundouts without allowing a single flyball in fair territory. Stroman threw 64 pitches, one below the first-round maximum and (by tournament rules) will not be eligible to pitch for four days. If Team USA reaches the second round at San Diego's Petco Park, the young gun will be available to start again.

Kopech will toe the rubber for the White Sox in Sunday's spring training game against the Rangers, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Kopech was taken off schedule so pitching coach Don Cooper and bullpen coach Curt Hasler could give the electric right-hander some personal tutelage in the more controlled environments of simulated games and live batting practice. The plan is to introduce something other than the 100 mph fastball that's made a legend of Kopech. Specifically, Cooper wants him to throw more changeups, work on commanding the heater and establish a plan of attack.

Sale allowed one hit and one walk while striking out five in four scoreless innings Saturday against Tampa Bay, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Sale dominated the Rays, striking out the side in the first inning and throwing strikes on 42 of his 56 offerings. When he didn't strike out hitters, his other seven outs came via the groundball -- a sign that he was keeping his fastball down or had some late action.

Stroman is starting Saturday's WBC game against the Dominican Republic.

He will face a loaded Dominican lineup that has nine legitimate MLB hitters, so this will be quite the test for Stroman. The plan is for Stroman to log four innings and for Tanner Roark to come in and also log four innings before handing it over to either Andrew Miller or David Robertson.

Rodon threw a 48-pitch live batting practice session Saturday and says he felt great.

Rodon continues to build up his strength in a long-term effort to preserve his arm late into the season. He will throw another bullpen session Tuesday and, depending on how he feels, will be set for his spring debut in the proceeding days.

Musgrove allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four in three scoreless innings Friday against the Mets, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Musgrove said he was hesitant to really let loose with his slider during his first two spring outings, but was able to pitch at game speed Friday as if it were the regular season. He commanded both his fastball and slider, throwing strikes on 28 of his 42 pitches. The 24-year-old right-hander has allowed just one run over eight spring innings. With the news that Mike Fiers suffered a right hamstring injury that will prevent him from making his scheduled appearance Saturday, it appears Musgrove merely needs to remain healthy in order to win the final spot in Houston's rotation.