MLB Player News

Rangers starter Yu Darvish is expected to be fine for his start Friday in Seattle, reports MLB.com. Darvish was removed from Sunday's outing after five innings with a blister on his pitching hand. 

Rangers manager Ron Washington said the injury didn't affect him early in Sunday's game and shouldn't be an issue long term. 

"We'll take care of it," Washington said before Monday night's series opener with Tampa Bay. "It came apart in the fifth. "He always wants to continue, but he doesn't have anything to prove to us, so we shut him down. He could have taken the ball and gone out there and probably got through the [sixth] inning, but maybe there would have been more damage."

Darvish is undefeated in April during his career. He's gone 6-0 with a 2.12 ERA. He's 2-0 this season with a 1.98 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. 

Carlos Carrasco may not have been the Indians' first choice to be their fifth starter, but he will get his chance in the rotation nonetheless. Having served a five-game suspension, Carrasco is scheduled to start against the Yankees on Tuesday.

Maybe Carrasco will eventually get supplanted by Scott Kazmir (abdomen) once he comes off the 15-day disabled list, but then again, he could pitch well enough to stick in the rotation, regardless of Kazmir's status. Carrasco missed the 2012 season, as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, but in 2011, he got ground balls (51 percent) and swings-and-misses (9.1 percent) at good rates over 21 starts.

Carrasco doesn't bring the buzz or the upside of just-demoted Trevor Bauer, and ultimately, Bauer is the pitcher I'd rather own in Fantasy, but Carrasco could be a useful arm in AL-only formats and possibly even deeper mixed leagues. Particularly for your AL-only rosters, now is the time to claim Carrasco, and not after his season debut. Carrasco could fare well enough against the Yankees to start a wave of deep-league pickups.

Mariners pitcher Taijuan Walker, who was named the fifth-best prospect by MLB.com this offseason, endured a rocky start to his season at Double-A Jackson.

Walker had a hard time keeping the ball in the park as he allowed two home runs in his minor-league season debut Thursday. The right-hander was charged with four runs on five hits in five innings of work. He also struck out eight and walked four in 91 pitches, 55 strikes.

Indians starting pitcher Justin Masterson turned in a dominant outing as he picked up another win during Sunday's series finale against the Rays.

Masterson (2-0), who entered the game 1-7 with a 7.74 ERA in his previous 13 games against Tampa Bay, bounced back with seven scoreless innings and permitted two hits in a 13-0 victory. He also struck out eight and issued three walks in 97 pitches, 61 strikes.

The right-hander, who has a 0.69 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP through two starts, is slated to make his home debut Friday against the White Sox. He went 1-1 with a 4.18 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in five starts last season against the White Sox last season.

Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish said after Sunday's win against the Angels that he expects to make make his next start.

The right-hander was forced from Sunday's outing after a blister issue crept up on him again. Darvish, who dealt with a similar issue in his season debut, left after five innings of work and picked up his second win in the 7-3 victory.

“As far as how it developed, I don’t really want to talk about it,” Darvish said, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But we won the game, so it went well.”

Manager Ron Washington agreed that Darvish should be ready to pitch again Friday against the Astros.

“The skin came off so we just backed off him right there," Washington said. "All I can say is I think he’ll be fine for his next start.”

Rangers starter Yu Darvish left his outing against the Angels on Sunday night after five innings due to the same blister problem he endured in his season debut.

The right-hander allowed three runs on six hits with four walks before the early exit. He was tagged with a two-spot in the first before giving up an RBI double to Mark Trumbo in the fifth for his final damage.

Darvish, who lost a perfect game bid with two outs in the ninth inning against the Astros on Tuesday, also struck out six while throwing 85 pitches, 50 for strikes.

He is expected to make his next start Friday against the Mariners. 

White Sox starter Chris Sale threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings in his season debut but was not as sharp on Sunday against the Mariners. He allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings of work. The left-hander also struck out seven and walked two.

Sale surrendered a two-run homer to Michael Morse in the first before getting victimized for another long ball again in the sixth, this time by Kendrys Morales.

Sale, who threw 99 pitches, left with the game tied at 3-3 and did not factor in the decision.

His next start is scheduled for Saturday against the Indians. The 24-year-old went 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against Cleveland last season.

White Sox manager Robin Ventura announced Sunday that he's flipping Dylan Axelrod and Jose Quintana in the rotation.

Axelrod will start Thursday's series finale against the Nationals with Quintana going Friday against the Indians.

“We started looking at the rest of the month and we just liked that a little bit better than them being the other way,” Ventura told ESPN.com.

Orioles starter Jason Hammel suffered two hiccups Sunday afternoon at home against the Twins. Both led to a loss. 

Hammel threw five scoreless innings but lost his command in the third and seventh and each time the Twins were able to score twice. 

The third inning, especially, was frustrating for Hammel as he walked two, hit a batter and then got Justin Morneau to fly out to center field. Unfortunately, Adam Jones and Nolan Reimold appeared to have trouble with the sun and the ball fell between them for a two-run double. 

Hammel (1-1) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out three and his ERA is 4.97. He's given up seven runs over 12 2/3 innings in two starts with five Ks. 

Hammel is scheduled to start Saturday in New York against the Yankees. 

Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel, who was recently called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, made his season debut Saturday night against the A's.

Keuchel entered the game in the seventh inning and gave up a home run to Seth Smith in the eighth inning. He was charged with one run on three hits in three innings of work in his debut.