MLB Player News

White Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale was locked in a pitcher's duel with Royals starter James Shields Monday. Unfortunately, despite a strong outing, Sale was on the hook for the loss until Chicago rallied to tie the game 1-1 in the ninth inning.

Sale allowed one run on six hits and no walks in 7 1/3 innings, while striking out five. He threw 80 of 119 pitches for strikes. Sale lowered his ERA from 3.83 to 3.42.

Sale, who hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in four straight starts, is expected to be back on the hill Sunday against the Angels. Sale is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA in three appearances (one start) against Los Angeles.

Mariners starting pitcher prospect James Paxton improved to 2-2 for Triple-A Tacoma in his last start Friday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk in five innings. He managed a season-high nine strikeouts.

Paxton has a 5.19 ERA and .275 opponents' batting average through six starts. He's been much better lately, however, posting a 2.81 ERA in his last two starts. He also has 14 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings in that span. Paxton has struck out 31 batters and issued 13 walks in 26 innings. Paxton is considered the Mariners' fifth-best prospect by MLB.com.

Rays starting pitcher prospect Jake Odorizzi combined with three other pitchers to throw a no-hitter for Triple-A Durham Sunday. Odorizzi did most of the work, tossing seven shutout innings.

He walked four batters and struck out three, while winning a third straight start.

"The approach was the same as every game," Odorizzi said, per MLB.com. "I was just throwing the fastball and mixing in my other stuff, trying to keep guys off-balanced. That's basically what we did today. I left some stuff up today, and the one or two times they hit balls decent, they were right at guys. It was one of those days when everything was going right."

Odorizzi is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA and .178 opponents' batting average in six starts. He hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts (12 innings). Odorizzi has 39 strikeouts in 34 innings.

Rays pitcher Alex Cobb was tagged with a few long balls in his outing against the Rockies but received enough backing to come away with the win. He allowed three runs on eight hits over 6 2/3 innings in the 8-3 victory.

Cobb surrendered a solo homer to Michael Cuddyer in the second before Troy Tulowitzki launched a solo bomb off the right-hander in the fourth. Nolan Arenado added a third solo home run off him in the seventh and he was done after throwing 107 pitches, 71 for strikes.

The 25-year-old also struck out six and walked one while earning his fourth win.

Cobb is scheduled to pitch next on Friday against the Padres.

Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel received enough run support to come away with his fifth win in Sunday's series finale against the Angels. He allowed four runs on nine hits over six innings of work in the 8-4 victory.

The right-hander was tagged with a three-spot in the first and surrendered a solo home run to Mike Trout in the fourth for his final damage. He was done after throwing 107 pitches, 68 for strikes.

Hammel (5-1) also struck out five and walked three.

His next start is scheduled for Friday against the Twins. When Hammel faced Minnesota on April 7, he allowed four runs over 6 2/3 innings in a loss.

Tigers starter Justin Verlander flirted with the third no-hitter of his career in Sunday's series finale against the Astros. The right-hander did not allow a hit over his first six innings of work and retired the leadoff batter in the seventh. He then surrendered a single to Carlos Pena, however, and Carlos Corporan followed with a base hit.

The 30-year-old ended up pitching seven scoreless innings, giving up just the two hits while striking out nine. He also walked two in the 9-0 win.

Verlander (4-2) lowered his ERA to 1.55 on the outing and has 50 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings pitched.

His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Indians. In three starts against Cleveland last season, Verlander went 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA.

Rangers starter Yu Darvish continued to rack up the strikeouts in his outing against the Red Sox on Sunday. He allowed three runs on four hits over seven innings of work while striking out 14.

The right-hander surrendered a two-run homer to David Ortiz in the first before David Ross launched a solo shot off him the following frame. He would cruise after that and was done after throwing 127 pitches, 78 for strikes.

Darvish, who walked two, left with the game tied at 3-3 and did not factor into the decision. He has 72 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings pitched on the year.

His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Astros. When Darvish faced Houston on April 2, he took a perfect game into the ninth inning and struck out 14 in the win.

White Sox pitcher Jose Quintana took a no-decision in Sunday's game against Kansas City, as he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks over five innings.

Quintana struck out three. Although he pitched into the sixth, he was lifted after allowing the first two runners of the inning to reach base. His ERA is up to 3.86.

Indians starter Corey Kluber was saddled with the loss Sunday against Minnesota as he allowed three runs on five hits and four walks over 5 2/3 innings.

Kluber struck out five but the free passes and a two-run home run to Trevor Plouffe marred his day. Kluber's ERA rose to 3.06 as a result.

White Sox starter Chris Sale has been moved up to Monday in order to take the ailing Jake Peavy's start Monday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Sale will be pitching on his normal rest thanks to a rainout Friday. He has a 3.83 ERA in 40 innings over his six starts.