MLB Player News

Indians pitcher Corey Kluber tossed the ball well, but got little help in a 6-4 loss to the Tigers Friday.

Kluber recorded his first quality start since May, as he limited the Tigers to two runs in seven innings. He scattered eight hits and a walk in the outing, but the offense could not muster any support until he had already left the game. Kluber struck out six batters on 109 pitches in the loss.

Kluber is now winless in his last four starts, dropping his record to 6-5 on the season. He has a 3.30 ERA heading into his next outing, Wednesday in Arizona.  

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman has been bumped from Sunday's start.

Liam Hendriks will get a spot start Friday so that R.A. Dickey can receive some extra rest. Dickey will get the call Sunday, which will push Stroman to Monday. Stroman will have a two-start week next week, and will take on the Yankees and White Sox. 

Mariners pitching prospect Taijuan Walker had a rough start in Triple-A Thursday.

Walker went five innings, giving up six earned runs. He allowed two home runs during the outing. Walker finished with one walk and four strikeouts. He's considered a candidate to be called up when the team needs a pitcher, but has struggled with arm issues all season.

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana bounced back from a three-game losing streak Thursday, bust had to settle for a no-decision in a 4-2 loss to the Twins.

Quintana tossed seven solid innings in the game, allowing just two runs on six hits, but left the mound with the game tied. He struck out six hitters and walked one on 108 pitches in the no-decision.

Quintana lowered his ERA to 3.87, after watching it rise for four straight starts. He is just 3-7 on the season heading into his next outing, set for Tuesday in Baltimore. 

Kyle Gibson allowed just one hit in seven scoreless innings at Boston Wednesday, striking out a season-high eight. It was his third straight scoreless start and his fourth in the last five, which is reason enough to take a flier on him in Fantasy.

But maybe not to invest all your hopes and dreams in him.

It's a fine line in some leagues, I know, but all I'm trying to say is I don't entirely trust him yet. That's just my natural bias against pitch-to-contact types. Eventually, I come around, as I did with Kyle Lohse a couple years back, but I'll always prefer a bat-misser who has more say in the outcome of an at-bat.

That's the logic behind it, really. A batted ball has an infinitely higher chance of becoming a hit than a strikeout does, so more batted balls is inherently a bad thing. Of course, the quality of those batted ball makes a difference, and Gibson's sinker helps keep the quality low. Right now, he's in the same boat as Henderson Alvarez in that the good starts are too frequent to ignore but the bad starts, because of those days when the batted balls betray him, are still too threatening to dismiss.

Maybe Gibson's eight strikeouts Wednesday are a sign of things to come -- as Al Melchior recently pointed out, no pitcher has a better chase rate over the last 30 days -- but for now, I'm reserving judgment on Gibson.

Up-and-down Indians right-hander Justin Masterson was up Thursday against the visiting Angels, but came away with a no-decision.

Masterson worked out of several jams and gave up just one run in seven innings with three walks and five strikeouts. Not bad considering he gave up five runs in two innings with four walks in his last outing.

The sidearmer will start again Tuesday in a series opener against host Arizona.

The Indians game against the Angels Wednesday was postponed due to rain, meaning Justin Masterson's start will have to be pushed back. He will be moved back just one day, starting the series finale Thursday, though it is not yet known how the rest of the rotation will shape up. 

Athletics pitcher Sonny Gray shut the Rangers offense down Wednesday, in a 4-2 win.

Gray never trailed in the game, as the offense got ahead early. He ended up limiting the Rangers to two runs on six hits in seven innings of work, while striking out seven batters and walking two on 100 pitches in the win.

Gray has been one of the best pitchers in the American League this season, ranking eighth in ERA (2.91), while going 7-3 in 15 starts. He is set to make his next start Tuesday against the Mets. 

White Sox premier left-hander Chris Sale fanned four of the first five batters he faced Wednesday and pitched shutout ball into the fifth inning before losing it, then watched his bullpen nearly blow the game against San Francisco.

All was well that ended well, however, and Sale was credited with his sixth win in seven decisions.

Sale gave up three earned runs on eight hits in six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts as his ERA rose to a still-excellent 2.20. He will try for yet another victory Monday in Baltimore.

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb allowed only an unearned run to the Orioles over seven innings Wednesday, but still got tagged with his fifth loss. Cobb (2-5) struck out six, walked four and allowed four hits in his second consecutive strong outing.

Second baseman Ben Zobrist misplayed a grounder in the fifth, leading to the only run Cobb allowed. Cobb has allowed one earned run over his last 13 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 3.48. He'll face the Pirates on Monday.