MLB Player News

Sale (9-0) kept his record pristine by posting his second consecutive complete game Thursday, holding the Astros to four hits and one run (a solo homer) while striking out nine.

Sale, Jake Arrieta and Clayton Kershaw are in the midst of an incredible duel for honors as the best pitcher in baseball this year, and this game provides another strong argument in favor of the South Siders' lefty ace. No other pitcher in baseball has tossed three complete games, and only Kershaw has narrowly bettered Sale's 68.1 innings pitched and 0.72 WHIP (70 and 0.70, respectively). His nine wins in nine starts give him a two-victory lead over the second-place tie between Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg, and it's well worth noting that the 25-16 White Sox have only been a .500 team when Sale's not on the mound.

Meyer (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Friday, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Friday marks Meyer's first bullpen session since experiencing some shoulder fatigue earlier in May. The Twins have yet to announce how many bullpen sessions Meyer will need before returning to action, but provided that he can get through Friday's session without a hitch, he could be close to getting back into the rotation at Triple-A.

Gibson (shoulder) will begin his rehab assignment Sunday at High-A Fort Myers, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Gibson was able to get through 45 pitches during his simulated game Thursday, which was the final step in his rehab before returning to game action. He'll take the ball Sunday at High-A Fort Myers on Sunday, but he'll need a few starts in order to stretch out his pitch count. With that in mind, Gibson should be on pace to for a return to the Twins' rotation in early-to-mid-June.

Gibson (shoulder) threw a 45-pitch side session Thursday and could begin a rehab assignment over the weekend, Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press reports.

Thursday's 45-pitch session was another checkpoint in Gibson's recovery and he appears to be in line to set out on a rehab assignment in the near future. According to Berardino, Gibson will need a minimum of 2-to-3 starts on his rehab stint to build up his pitch count to where he can rejoin the Twins' rotation.

Eovaldi (4-2) turned in a great performance in Wednesday's win against the Diamondbacks. He pitched six innings, allowing just one run, one hit and no walks while striking out five.

Eovaldi had his good stuff working as he was in command of the Arizona lineup. After giving up a freakishly-weird leadoff double, Eovaldi retired the next 18 straight before yielding to the bullpen in the seventh after throwing 85 pitches. It was a little strange that manager Joe Giradi didn't let the right-hander go back out there for the seventh, and Eovaldi admitted he was disappointed with that decision. Not to take anything away from the starter, but the Yankees have a deadly combination of relievers for the seventh, eighth and ninth, and the decision to remove Eovaldi was nothing personal.

Walker (2-3) dropped his third consecutive decision, allowing four runs (three earned), five hits and two walks while striking out three in Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Since beginning the season with four straight quality starts, Walker hasn't thrown six innings in any of his last four outings. Walker's night was done on Wednesday after a rough fifth inning in which he was lucky to escape without allowing more than one run. The right-hander still holds a 2.95 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, and Walker is off to a much better start than last year. He'll toe the rubber next at home against the A's on Monday.

Hill (6-3) tossed six innings of three-hit baseball. He allowed one run and a walk while striking out six en route to an 8-1 victory on Wednesday against the Rangers.

Hill set the tone early, needing only 12 pitches to get through a clean first inning. The lefty put two on base in the second, but worked through the jam, elevating his impressive strand rate to 77.8 percent. He then went on to retire nine consecutive batters. It's important to note that Hill was able to avoid falling behind early in this one. Entering the game, 13 of his 16 runs allowed had scored in the first three frames. He'll make his next start on the road against the Mariners on Monday.

Perez (1-4) pitched seven innings, allowing four runs, eight hits and two walks while striking out three in Wednesday's loss to the A's.

Wednesday's seven innings was his longest outing of the season. Perez gave up three runs in the first inning, allowing three singles and two walks. Perez was strong after the first inning, but the damage was already done. The left-hander has struggled to garner any run support this season, making it difficult to capitalize on a career-best 3.48 ERA.

Clevinger was charged with four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings against the Reds in his MLB debut Wednesday. He struck out five and walked one.

Five innings in, Clevinger was looking sharp, having allowed just one run, but a couple soft singles and then a two-run double by Joey Votto in the sixth chased him. With good size, mid-90s heat and strong 2015 results in Double-A, the 25-year-old Clevinger offers some upside, but he's struggled with walks in Triple-A this season -- not for the first time in his career -- and will likely take some time to adjust to the majors even if he can hold onto a rotation spot for a while. That said, Clevinger's combo of missing bats and avoiding homers makes him an intriguing longer-term fantasy asset.

Odorizzi (1-2) notched his first win of the year Wednesday against Toronto, though he only lasted five innings, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks while striking out just two.

The win against a tough offense is nice, but both hits Odorizzi allowed were homers -- he's now given up five long balls in his last nine innings. Meanwhile, his strikeout rate has stalled out badly since his 10-whiff season debut against these same Blue Jays. He's struck out four or fewer hitters in five of his eight starts and has just eight strikeouts in total over his last three outings. Odorizzi's track record of high strikeout totals will get him plenty of leash from his fantasy owners, but he's certainly a long way from the breakout we hoped was imminent this year.