MLB Player News

The Red Sox were hoping for the best when they gave journeyman reliever Rich Hill his first start since 2009 on Sunday against Tampa Bay.

And that's what they got.

Hill provided a shocker by pitching seven shutout innings and allowed just one hit with one walk and 10 strikeouts. The lone safety was an infield single in the third inning by J.P. Arencibia.

All Hill got for his effort was a no-decision, but he did keep his team in a game it eventually won.

White Sox usually-dominant left-hander Chris Sale continued his mysterious struggles against Minnesota on Sunday.

Sale has now allowed 27 runs in 33 innings to the Twins this season after they plated six against him Sunday in just three innings. The southpaw allowed nine hits along the way and whiffed three.

His issues were immediate. A Miguel Sano single scored one run in the first and a Torii Hunter blast added three. Sale then retired nine in a row, but four straight singles added two more runs. He did not come out for the fourth inning.

The poor performance raised his ERA to 3.55.

The strikeout pitch wasn't there for Astros starter Lance McCullers on Saturday, but he did keep his team in a game they eventually lost to the host Angels.

McCullers, who fanned 22 in 20 innings over his previous three outings, whiffed only one in five innings. But he gave up just two runs on seven hits and two walks.

An RBI single by David Freese and run-scoring groundout in the second proved to be the lone runs scored against McCullers, who has given up only eight runs over his last 25 innings pitched.

Mark down the first start for Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman in nearly a year as a success. His hot-hitting teammates made sure of it.

With plenty of run support behind him, Stroman earned the win by allowing three runs on four hits in five innings. He walked two and fanned two.

Stroman pitched hitless ball through four, but found trouble in the fifth with two singles and a three-run homer by Brett Gardner.

Twins starter Tommy Milone had a rough outing on Saturday. The left-hander got shelled for seven runs (four earned) on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings in the 8-2 loss to the White Sox. He needed 82 pitches--48 strikes--before being yanked in the fourth inning.

Milone (8-5, 3.73 ERA) cruised through the first three innings, as his mates grabbed him an early 2-0 lead. But things completely fell apart for him in the fourth inning, when Milone got battered around for all seven of his runs. 

Milone had been pitching well coming into the game. Over his previous six outings (five starts), he posted a 2.93 ERA in 30 2/3 innings.

White Sox starter Jose Quintana picked up his ninth win of the season with a quality outing against the Twins on Saturday. The left-hander threw six innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. He walked three and struck out five, en route to the 8-2 victory.

Quintana (9-10, 3.3 ERA) allowed two runs in the top of the first inning, putting his team down early. But the White Sox came storming back with a seven-run fourth inning, which was more than enough for Quintana the rest of the way.

The Indians must wait another day to make an attempt to reach .500 for the first time since they were 2-2. Their game against visiting Detroit was rained out Saturday for the second straight night.

A makeup date has yet to be determined. The teams will play a doubleheader Sunday with Indians right-hander Cody Anderson facing hot Tigers starter Justin Verlander in Game 1 and Cleveland starting Trevor Bauer against veteran Randy Wolf in the nightcap.

Astros ace Dallas Keuchel allowed no earned runs Friday against the host Angels. If he had allowed no runs at all, he'd be celebrating his 18th victory.

Instead, he gave up three unearned runs and is lamenting his seventh defeat.

Keuchel surrendered five hits, walked two and whiffed seven.

He has only himself to blame. His error on what would have been the third out in the third inning was followed by a wild pitch and two-run single. He retired the last nine batters he faced, but his offense could not bale him out.

The defeat ended a personal four-game winning streak for Keuchel, who had not lost since Aug. 7.

Yankees rookie starter Luis Severino endured the first poor outing of his young career. The young right-hander got rocked by the Blue Jays, allowing six runs on six hits in just 2 1/3 innings. The Yankees would drop the game 11-5.

Before he could even get comfortable, Severino (3-3) had already allowed five runs in the first inning, including two-run home runs to Josh Donaldson and Justin Smoak. The rough outing increased Severino's ERA from 2.04 to 3.35.

Red Sox starter Wade Miley was solid in his outing against the Rays on Friday. The southpaw allowed three runs on seven hits and no walks over seven innings. He struck out five, throwing 72 of his 109 pitches for strikes.

All of the runs Miley allowed came in the first inning, and he settled in after that, lowering his ERA a tick to 4.41. 

He left the game with a 4-3 lead. Unfortunately for him, the bullpen coughed up that lead and the Red Sox went on to lose the game 8-4.