MLB Player News

Carlos Carrasco gave up five runs on nine hits over four and a third innings. Carrasco took the loss for the Indians, dropping to 2-2 on the year with a 4.60 ERA. He walked two and struck out five. 

"I fell behind and fell behind," Carrasco said. "With that lineup, as soon as you have to start throwing strikes, they are going to hit you. That's what they did."

Carrasco threw 53 strikes in 91 pitches. His next start is scheduled for Friday, at home against Toronto. 

Mariners pitcher James Paxton allowed four runs, one earned, on five hits in 4 2/3 innings of work in Seattle's 8-5 loss to the Twins Saturday.

Paxton's defense betrayed him against Minnesota when he put two runners on base in the first inning before allowing a walk with the bases loaded to bring home a run. Paxton then gave up a solo home run to Eduardo Rscobar in the fourth inning.

Paxton then couldn't get out of the fifth inning, when after Trevor Plouffe reached on an error with Joe Mauer on first, Mauer scored on a Nelson Cruz single to center. Paxton gave up one more RBI single to Kurt Suzuki before getting pulled.

Paxton, now 0-2 on the year, boasts a 6.86 ERA in 19 2/3 innings this season. He will look to get back on track Thursday against the Astros.

Red Sox starting pitcher Justin Masterson gave up three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work on Saturday to take a no-decision against the Orioles.

Masterson gave up a solo homer to designated hitter Jimmy Paredes.

Masterson is scheduled to return to the mound Friday against the Yankees.

Yankees pitcher Nathan Eovaldi is hoping to continue his hot start Sunday when he takes the hill against the Mets. Manager Joe Girardi is hoping to see more of the same, including his devastating slide, reports The Journal News.

"I saw in Detroit the best slider I've seen him have. I thought it had great depth," Girardi said. "I thought he threw his curve ball well. They had a predominantly right-handed lineup, so maybe he didn't throw as many splits as in some of the other games. Probably as important as anything, I thought he pitched inside to them. You throw 95, 96 and you're able to pitch inside for strikes and a little bit off the plate, guys aren't really comfortable. That's really important."

Eovaldi is 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 17 1/3 innings pitched this season.

"I think sometimes because he's been up a few years, people forget about how young he really is," Girardi said. "He's a young starting pitcher. He's still developing. When you learn how to do some of the things he’s learning how to do, it just makes you that much more effective."

White Sox rookie pitcher Carlos Rodon may end up getting his first career start, thanks to a bench clearing brawl. 

Jeff Samardzija and Chris Sale both received five game suspensions that would require them to miss a start. That means Rodon may be called on to fill in. 

"Certainly Carlos is stretched out and does have the ability to start should he be needed," general manager Rick Hahn said, per ESPN. "At the same time we need to balance that against keeping him on the current program [a long-man relief role], as well as some of the other potential alternatives we have within the system to make a spot start should we get to that point. So it is a possibility, but not one we are ready to commit to just at this time."

Tigers starter Justin Verlander is getting closer to throwing again, as he recovers from a triceps injury that has him on the 15-day disabled list. 

Verlander will travel with the Tigers on their 10-game road trip that starts on Monday. 

“He’ll go because he may be able to throw at some point on the trip,” manager Brad Ausmus said, per the Detroit News.

Astros starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel tossed nine scoreless innings Friday against the A's. Unfortunately, he did not get the win, as Friday's game was scoreless after nine innings and wasn't decided until the 11th inning.

Keuchel allowed just two hits -- both singles in the third inning. He also walked two and struck out four.

The left-hander, who is 2-0, has now allowed zero runs in three of four starts. He has a 0.62 ERA.

Keuchel will be back on the mound Wednesday at San Diego.

White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana had a decent outing Friday against the Royals. Unfortunately, he had to settle for a no-decision, as Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy was also pretty effective.

Quintana outlasted Duffy, who allowed an unearned run in 5 1/3 innings. However, Quintana left the game in a 2-all tie, so he didn't factor into the decision, despite allowing just two runs in seven innings. He gave up seven hits and one walk, while striking out five.

The left-hander gave up an RBI single to Alcides Escobar in the third inning and an RBI single to Paulo Orlando in the fifth inning.

The game was eventually suspended after eight innings due to inclement weather with the game tied at 2. Play will resume in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon.

Quintana did manage to lower his ERA from 8.40 to 6.55. Quintana's next scheduled start is for Wednesday at Baltimore.

Rays starting pitcher Drew Smyly lasted 4 2/3 innings during his season debut Friday against the Blue Jays. Smyly began the season on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury.

The left-hander allowed two runs on four hits and no walks, while striking out five. He threw 55 of 79 pitches for strikes.

''That's baseball,'' said Smyly, who was hampered by tendinitis in spring training. ''I had a pre-determined pitch count and it stinks that it landed with one out to go in the fifth.''

Smyly got off to a great start Friday, retiring the first 10 batters he faced before Devon Travis hit a one-out home run in the fourth inning. Smyly then allowed three straight singles. The last single in the sequence produced another run. 

Smyly was then lifted in the fifth inning after retiring the first two batters.

''Extremely unfortunate that his pitch count kind of got to the difficult decision-making zone, and that's on me that we had to prioritize his health over his record at this point,'' manager Kevin Cash said. ''I apologize to him, but that's the plan we had in place and we wanted to stick to it.''

He is schedule to make his next start Wednesday at N.Y. Yankees.

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman likes to keep himself busy. 

As if rehabbing a torn ACL wasn't going to take up enough time, Stroman has decided to head back to Duke to work on finishing his degree. On May 4, he'll return to campus to rehab his knee and further his studies. 

"My parents pushed me from a very early age to make sure that it was all academics first," Stroman said, via MLB.com. "I was a kid who wasn't allowed out if I wasn't going to work, or I was the kid studying when everyone else was partying. That's something I always try to preach to everyone I'm around, even high school students now, I always try to gear them towards college."

Stroman played three seasons from 2010-2012 with the Blue Devils before entering the draft. The Blue Jays selected him with the 22nd overall pick, giving Duke its first-ever first-round pick in school history.

Stroman tore his ACL during spring training and decided to go back to Duke shortly after. He said he feels ahead of schedule in his recovery right now. 

Stroman went 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA last season.