MLB Player News

Twins starter Kyle Gibson has been scratched from his Wednesday start against visiting Cleveland due to back stiffness. Anthony Swarzak is set to move from the bullpen to replace him.

Swarzak has been a bit of a disappointment this season with a 4.34 ERA in 30 appearances. He posted a 2.91 ERA a year ago while working a major league-high 96 innings. The right-hander has been particularly poor against the Indians, who have battered him for five runs on nine hits in 1 2/3 innings in 2014.

Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi earned a win Tuesday, giving up two earned runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings and striking out eight in his team's 7-2 victory over the Cardinals.

Odorizzi (6-8) surrendered a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning, but he was able to regroup and hold the opposition scoreless until the Cardinals slugged another solo home run in the sixth inning. He hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any of his last eight innings.

Odorizzi owns a 3.97 ERA and 124:42 K:BB ratio in 106 2/3 innings. He's scheduled to square off with the Brewers Monday.

Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson has been scratched from Wednesday's scheduled start due to lower back stiffness, FOXSportsNorth.com reports.

Gibson surrendered six runs in 6 1/3 innings during his first post-break start Friday. He owns a 4.19 ERA and 54:30 K:BB ratio in 107 1/3 innings.

Mariners pitcher James Paxton gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and one walk in three innings and struck out our in his first rehab start with Triple-A Tacoma Tuesday.

Paxton threw 60 pitches in his rehab debut and overcame a rough first inning, in which he gave up two home runs and all three runs, to toss scoreless frames in the second and third. He has been out since April 8 while recovering from a lat injury.

The Mariners will recall Triple-A pitcher Taijuan Walker before Wednesday's game to start Wednesday against the Mets, the team announced Tuesday.

Walker gave up four earned runs in 10 innings over two starts in late June and early July while striking out nine and walking seven, but he was sent back to Tacoma. In two starts after being optioned, the rookie gave up three earned runs in 10 innings but only struck out two while walking four. The highly-regarded prospect has the chance to remain in the rotation for the rest of the season if he can hold his own.

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander picked up a win Monday after giving up three earned runs on six hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings and striking out five in his team's 4-3 victory over the Diamondbacks.

Verlander (9-8) gave up a pair of runs in the fourth inning and then served up a solo home run in the sixth, but he was able to hang on for his first quality start in his last three games. He owns a 4.84 ERA and 101:49 K:BB ratio in 135 2/3 innings. Verlander is scheduled to take on the Angels Saturday.

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale kept rolling Monday, giving up just one earned run on seven hits and one walk in seven innings while striking out eight in his team's 3-1 victory over the Royals.

Sale (9-1) has rattled off seven straight quality starts, giving up just one earned run in each of his three July starts while striking out 26 batters and walking just one. He owns a 2.03 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 110:17 K:BB ratio in 102 innings. Sale will look to keep cruising Saturday against the Twins.

Indians pitcher Justin Masterson will continue his rehab assignment and make another rehab start Friday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Masterson tossed five innings in his rehab debut with Triple-A Columbus Sunday, and it appears he'll need at least one more rehab outing before rejoining the major-league rotation. He has been sidelined since July 7 with a knee injury.

Rays starter Jake Odorizzi is 3-2 with a 2.28 ERA over his last seven starts, with opponents batting .204 against him, notes MLB.com. His turnaround began with a June 10 game against the Cardinals in which he allowed one run and three hits over 7 1/3 innings.

"I realized some things I hadn't seen before when I went out there," Odorizzi told the website. "Now I notice it every game, and it's translatable at the end of each game, and I can tweak it."

Odorizzi declined to elaborate on his adjustment. "Just, I did something different than what I normally do," he said. "And now that I'm doing it, it's like, 'Why didn't I do this from the get-go?'"

A Highland, Ill., native, Odorizzi will start Tuesday in St. Louis against the team he grew up rooting for.

Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman had one of his worst starts of the season Sunday at Oakland, allowing five runs on nine hits and two walks in four innings.

"I think they were just really aggressive, and I think you get confidence as a hitter when you get a couple hits in a game, and I think everybody had a hit off me today," Gausman said, per The Baltimore Sun. "That’s tough for when our guys come in. I really didn’t establish the fastball in as much as I did the first time I faced them, so it kind of takes away that outer half."

Gausman had entered play Sunday with a 4-1 record and 2.36 ERA in his previous six starts. It seems manager Buck Showalter isn't putting too much stock into one bad outing, especially since it was Gausman's first one after the All-Star break.

"I thought stuffwise he was OK," Showalter said of Gausman's performance Sunday. "You’ve got starters with six, seven days in between. You’ve got relief pitchers with seven, eight, nine, 10 days [in between]. It’s tough to get back in. Can you imagine hitters going seven to 10 days without getting any at bats? … You kind of give them a little pass knowing that it’s going to get better moving forward."