MLB Player News

Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman tossed six shutout innings Wednesday as Baltimore handled the Rays 2-0. Gausman (3-1) struck out five, walked one and scattered five hits as his ERA plunged to 2.74.

The Rays loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but Gausman struck out Ben Zobrist and James Loney to escape unscathed. Over his last three starts covering 19 innings, Gausman has allowed 14 hits and two earned runs. 

He'll take on the White Sox next Wednesday.

Tigers pitcher Drew Smyly allowed two runs over seven innings but took the loss Wednesday against the Royals. It was the second straight hard-luck loss for Smyly, who allowed one run on six innings in his previous outing versus Minnesota.

Smyly (3-6) struck out six, walked none and allowed seven hits Wednesday, lowering his ERA to 3.48. One run scored on an infield single, but Smyly also was hurt by Omar Infante's solo homer. Smyly is scheduled to face the Rangers on Tuesday.

Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson ran his scoreless innings streak to 22 with seven scoreless frames Wednesday at Boston. However, unlike in his previous two scoreless starts, he didn't earn the win Wednesday in a no-decision, as Boston pitcher John Lackey was equally impressive with nine scoreless innings.

Gibson allowed just one hit Wednesday, and it didn't come until Daniel Nava's two-out double in the fifth inning. The right-hander didn't walk a batter and struck out a season-best eight, while lowering his ERA to 3.25.

Gibson has not allowed a run in four of his last five starts. He's expected to make his next start Tuesday against the Angels.

Rangers starter Yu Darvish struggled with his command Tuesday, in a 10-6 loss to the Athletics.

Darvish saw his four-start winning streak come to an end in the loss, as he was tagged for seven runs -- four earned -- in five innings of work. He walked a season-high five batters, while striking out eight on 99 pitches in the loss.

Darvish fell to 7-3 with the loss, while his ERA rose to 2.39, dropping him to fifth in the American League. He will look for a better outcome in his next outing, set for Tuesday against the Tigers. 

Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman stumbled for the first time as a starter Tuesday, in a 3-1 loss to the Yankees.

After opening his career with three quality starts in a row, Stroman could not make it out of the fourth inning this time around. He was chased after allowing two runs in 3 2/3 innings on 98 pitches, with four hits and three walks. He also struck out a career-low two batters in the game.

Stroman has still posted very good numbers as a starter, sporting a 2.91 ERA and 2-2 record since moving out of the bullpen. He will try to get back on track in his next outing, Sunday in Cincinnati. 

Astros starter Dallas Keuchel struggled a bit with his control Tuesday, in a 6-5 loss to the Nationals.

Keuchel walked a season-high four batters in the outing, leading to his shortest outing since his first of the season. He was charged with four runs on six hits in the game, while striking out four batters on 105 pitches.

Keuchel fell to 8-4 with the loss, while his ERA rose to 2.63. He still ranks sixth in the American League in ERA and fourth in WHIP (1.05) heading into his next outing, set for Sunday in Tampa. 

I've been as optimistic as I possibly could given his production to date, but enough is enough. After becoming just the second former Cy Young winner in baseball history to give up five earned runs or more six times in a span of seven starts, following Gaylord Perry in 1975, Justin Verlander belongs on your bench in Fantasy.

And unfortunately, that may be where he stays for a while. If you can still find someone eager to "buy low" on him after Monday's disaster against the Royals, you may still get a decent return, but most Fantasy owners, being the opportunistic weasels they are, will be looking to fleece you. And you don't want to let your disappointment in Verlander result in a fleecing.

Why not? Well, the rest of the Gaylord Perry story goes this way: After that horrible stretch in 1975, he went 12-4 with a 1.88 ERA in 17 starts. A pitcher with Cy Young potential is never a lost cause, especially when, as in Verlander's case, there hasn't been an injury to severely diminish his stuff. According to FanGraphs.com, he still has the 14th-hardest fastball among starting pitchers.

His issue is location, and as I mentioned on Tuesday's Fantasy Baseball Today, poor location is often the result of a mechanical flaw, which is always correctable. It's not always corrected because it's not always so easy to spot and fix, but if Verlander spots and fixes his, I wouldn't be surprised to see what would be the 2014 equivalent of a Gaylor Perry finish.

Although Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander lost for the fifth time in six starts Monday against the Royals, he said he's not ready to miss a turn in the rotation to work on his pitching problems.

"I'm not at that stage," Verlander said, per MLive.com. "I pitch better on five days than I do six days, and I think skipping a start would probably have the opposite effect."

Manager Brad Ausmus also didn't care for the idea of Verlander missing a start.

"I wouldn't skip a start with Justin Verlander," Ausmus said. "(Verlander) is going to be here all year. He's one of our pitchers. There's really no reason to be concerned about him. He's going to pitch every fifth day."

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander struggled once again Monday, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits and two walks in six innings while striking out two in his team's 11-8 loss to the Royals.

Verlander (6-7) has surrendered five earned runs or more in five of his last six starts, and his ERA has risen from 2.67 to 4.98 as a result. The Royals were able to push four runs across in the fifth inning before knocking a three-run home run in the sixth. Verlander has posted a pedestrian 69:41 K:BB ratio in 97 2/3 innings. His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Indians.

Rays pitcher Jake Odorizzi wasn't a factor in Monday's decision, giving up two earned runs on three hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings while striking out five in his team's 5-4 win over the Orioles.

Odorizzi kept the Orioles off the board until the sixth inning, when he surrendered a two-run home run to Adam Jones. It was his second straight quality start after struggling in his previous two outings. Odorizzi owns a 4.73 ERA and 81:28 K:BB ratio in 70 1/3 innings. He's slated to take on the Astros Saturday.