MLB Player News

Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi allowed just one run over 6 1/3 innings, but he left with the score tied, taking a no-decision against Toronto on Friday. 

Eovaldi pitched into the seventh inning for just the second time in 10 starts. He gave up the fewest runs in a start since July 1. 

Eovaldi hasn't lost in his last nine starts, dating back to June 16. 

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi was strong in his outing against the Mets on Friday. The young right-hander quieted a hot Mets offense, as he limited them to one run on four hits over 6 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out six on the evening.

The only run Odorizzi allowed came on a seventh-inning solo home run by Juan Uribe. 

Odorizzi did not factor in the final decision however, as the Mets won the game 4-3 in a see-saw, back-and-forth battle late in the game. Over his past four starts, Odorizzi is 1-0 with a 2.67 ERA.

Mariners left-hander James Paxton has begun throwing without a wrap on his finger. Paxton has been on the disabled list since the end of May due to a strained middle finger on his left hand.

Paxton could be headed to his first bullpen session since the injury, perhaps as early as Sunday according to the Tacoma News Tribune. There is no further timetable for his return to the rotation.

Red Sox rookie starter Eduardo Rodriguez was excellent in his outing against the Yankees on Thursday. The young hurler tossed seven innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five. He picked up the loss however, as the Red Sox fell 2-1 to the Yankees.

Rodriguez (6-4, 4.17 ERA) essentially matched CC Sabathia pitch for pitch for most of the night. But he made a costly error in the seventh inning, when he allowed a solo home run to Jacoby Ellsbury. That would prove to be the winning run, as the Red Sox were not able to rally back.

Rodriguez has been stellar over his past seven starts. In that stretch, he is 3-2 and has allowed more than three earned runs just once--a seven-run meltdown against the Angels on July 20.

For the second straight game, a Twins starter was blasted by the Blue Jays' offense. This time, it was right-hander Kyle Gibson, as he allowed eight runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings in Thursday's 9-3 loss. Gibson walked three and struck out four, needing 97 pitches to record 14 outs.

This was Gibson's shortest start since going 3 2/3 innings in his first start of the season back in early April. The eight earned runs match a career-high, which was set back in 2013.

Gibson (8-9, 3.78 ERA) gave up a single run in the first inning and then the wheels started to come off. He allowed three runs in the third, including a two-run home run by Edwin Encarnacion. The Blue Jays tacked on four more in the fifth, as they had Gibson against the ropes all night. 

Gibson has now allowed five earned runs or more in three of his past four starts. He is 0-3 with a whopping 8.51 ERA over that stretch.

Twins starting pitcher Tommy Milone, who is on the 15-day disabled list due to a mild elbow strain, began his throwing program Thursday. Assistant general manager Rob Antony said everything went well for Milone on Thursday.

The Twins are targeting an Aug. 16 return for the left-hander, who is 5-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 14 starts.

Yankees rookie starter Luis Severino was solid in his Major League debut on Wednesday night. Severino held the Red Sox to two runs (one earned) on two hits over five innings. He struck out seven and did not issue a walk, though he did have a rather high pitch count--94, with 59 strikes.

Severino was left with the loss however, as the Yankees were unable to solve Steven Wright in the 2-1 loss. Severino gave up a run in the second inning, and then allowed a solo home run to David Ortiz in the fourth.

The rookie right-hander was rated the 25th-best prospect in the game by MLB.com at the start of the season. It seems likely that Severino will get at least one more start with the Yankees before any future decisions are made.

Good wasn't good enough for Royals newcomer Johnny Cueto on Wednesday. He was outpitched by Detroit rookie Matt Boyd.

Cueto yielded two earned runs on five hits in seven innings with two walks and just two strikeouts, his lowest total in a game in which he has pitched more than six frames this season.

His evening was marred only by a run-scoring triple by Anthony Gose in the third inning and sacrifice fly by Victor Martinez in the fourth.

Cueto remains winless in two starts with Kansas City.

It would not have been hard Wednesday against Kansas City for Tigers rookie starter Matt Boyd to improve on his last outing. All he had do for that was record one out, which somehow he could not manage to do on July 2 against Boston.

But Boyd didn't merely perform better. He was excellent in taming the Royals on just one run in seven innings for his first major league victory. Boyd allowed seven hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

His lone hiccup was an RBI triple by Kendrys Morales in the fourth. He escaped jams in the fifth and sixth before retiring the last four batters he faced.

Boyd nearly sliced his ERA in half with his fine performance. It shrunk from 14.85 to 7.90.

If his outing Wednesday is any indication, perhaps Mariners starter Taijuan Walker has found the consistency he has been searching for all season.

Walker performed well again, this time in the launching pad in Colorado. He gave up three earned runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings. He walked three and fanned five in the no-decision.

He faced only two batters over the minimum in blanking the Rockies over the first five. He was touched by a three-run homer by sizzling Carlos Gonzalez in the sixth, but recovered to keep his team ahead in a game it eventually lost.

Walker has recorded three straight quality starts. He has surrendered just seven runs on 12 hits in his last 22 1/3 innings.