MLB Player News

Rodriguez (knee) was fitted for a new knee brace, which he tested out in a bullpen session Friday and during a pitching-fielding practice workout Saturday, the Boston Globe reports.

Boston manager John Farrell said Rodriguez fared well in both sessions and that the brace gave the young left-hander some confidence. He'll next throw a bullpen session Monday, and the club hopes to have him make a rehab start Tuesday.

Gausman allowed just one run with six strikeouts and one walk across 6.2 innings Saturday at the Angels.

Although the O's ultimately won the game, 3-1, they waited until the ninth inning to score, eliminating Gausman's chances of securing his first win of the season. Despite his 0-1 record, he has pitched extremely well since joining the rotation, as his 2.70 ERA will reflect, and will look to earn that elusive first victory Friday at Cleveland.

Smyly (2-5) allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over 6.1 innings to take the loss Saturday at the Tigers.

Smyly gave up a pair of homers to account for the three runs he allowed in the Rays' loss. He's now thrown seven quality starts over his last eight outings, and he boasts a 3.54 ERA to go along with a 1.04 WHIP. He'll make his next start Thursday against the Marlins.

Smyly has been working on his mechanics since his last start, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The report comes via Rays manager Kevin Cash, who added that he expects the extra work his southpaw has been putting in to be reflected in the quality of Saturday's performance against the Tigers. The 26-year-old was touched for 10 hits and six earned runs over five frames in his last start versus the Mariners. He also gave up another two homers in that outing, bringing his season total to seven in 49.2 innings.

McCullers (0-1) struck out seven and surrendered five hits, two earned runs and three walks over six innings in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers.

The young right-hander paid dearly for his only mistake of the night, as the two-run double he gave up to Prince Fielder ended up being the difference in the game. Still, the effort was a marked improvement over McCullers' first start of the season, when he was blasted for five earned runs over 4.2 innings against the Red Sox. The 22-year-old was still shaky with his control -- as evidenced by him giving up a trio of walks for the second time in two starts -- but he was also able to induce 14 swinging strikes. He'll try his luck again at home next Thursday versus a dangerous Orioles lineup.

Quintana (5-3) struck out five and surrendered eight hits and four earned runs over 6.1 innings in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Royals.

The talented southpaw ran into some difficulties as the game went on and received precious little run support from his offense. Quintana wasn't bad overall -- throwing 63 of 91 pitches for strikes and securing first-pitch strikes on 18 of 26 hitters -- but the sixth inning was his undoing, as he surrendered RBI doubles to Paulo Orlando and Lorenzo Cain, along with a run-scoring single to Kendrys Morales during the frame. The 27-year-old has seen his ERA rise after his last two starts, during which he's surrendered 13 hits and six earned runs over 13.1 innings. However, Quintana has also notably received only two total runs of support during that span. He'll face off with Corey Kluber and the Indians in his next start Wednesday.

Kluber (3-5) struck out six and surrendered five hits, two earned runs and two walks in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Red Sox.

The 30-year-old's rollercoaster season was on an upswing again Friday, as he extracted a measure of revenge against the club that touched him up for nine hits and four earned runs in his first start of the season. Kluber was able to largely neutralize one of the most dangerous offenses in baseball by throwing 66 of 105 pitches for strikes, and inducing 12 swinging strikes in the process. The former Cy Young winner has sandwiched a complete-game shutout of the Tigers and Friday's quality start around a pair of outings against the Astros and Twins in which he gave up a combined 12 hits, nine earned runs and six walks over 9.1 innings. He'll try to put a second consecutive productive effort together when he faces the White Sox in Chicago next Wednesday.

Gray (3-5) allowed five runs, four of which were earned, on six hits and four walks while striking out three over 3.1 innings to take the loss Friday against the Yankees.

Gray was effective for three innings before allowing five runs while only registering a single out in the fourth innings. He's been in an absolute tailspin, as he's now allowed 29 runs in his last 21.2 innings covering five starts to raise his ERA to 6.19. He'll make his next start Wednesday in Seattle.

Rodriguez (knee) threw a bullpen session Friday and will go through pitcher-fielding practice Saturday, the Boston Globe reports.

If all goes well Saturday, manager John Farrell said Rodriguez will make his next start for Triple-A Pawtucket. The left-hander had his rehab clock halted with 11 days remaining, and because he was not inactive for seven days, the Red Sox can't re-start the clock back to 30 days. That means the lefty is in line to return to Boston sometime around the end of May.

Carrasco (hamstring) threw 38 pitches in a simulated game Thursday and is on track to throw a three-inning simulated game Monday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

The talented righty resumed baseball activities last week by throwing a bullpen session, and he continued to ramp up his activity Thursday by pitching in a sim game. According to Bastian, Carrasco got through Thursday's session without any issues, so a rehab assignment could be on the horizon if he's able to get through Monday's sim game without incident.