MLB Player News

Bello (shoulder) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out five over four innings for Triple-A Worcester on Friday.

There were several positives to Bello's third rehab start, including 45 strikes among his 64 pitches. The right-hander reached 97.8 mph on his sinker (95.8 mph average), induced 12 swinging strikes and retired the final eight batters faced. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said prior to the outing that he'd like to see Bello get up to five innings before he's activated, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Friday's results along with the manager's comments suggest at least one more rehab start for Bello.

Sears (1-2) took the loss Friday, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over four-plus innings as the A's fell 7-6 to the Mets. He struck out seven.

The southpaw needed 101 pitches (64 strikes) to record 12 outs, and Sears ran out of steam in the fifth inning, serving up leadoff hits to Juan Soto and Pete Alonso before getting the hook. it was the first time in three outings that Sears failed to deliver a quality start, and he'll take a 4.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 16:3 K:BB through 17 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next week against the White Sox.

McCullers (forearm) will make his third rehab start with Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, MLB.com reports.

McCullers wasn't sharp in his second outing with Double-A Corpus Christi on April 5, though he did build up to 50 pitches. The Astros are shorthanded in their rotation in the absence of Spencer Arrighetti (thumb), so McCullers could be back in the big-league rotation soon with a couple of strong rehab outings.

Miller didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Rangers after allowing one run on two hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out five.

Miller arguably pitched well enough to deserve a win Friday, giving up just a lone run, but the Mariners lost the lead in the sixth inning and didn't regain it until the eighth. While the right-hander holds a rocky 4.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB over 16 frames, he's lasted at least five innings in each of his three starts. Miller will encounter a tough setup in his next scheduled start, which is slated for the middle of next week at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park against the Reds.

DeGrom didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Mariners, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks in four innings. He struck out four.

The star right-hander wasn't at his best Friday, giving up two solo home runs and failing to throw a clean inning. Through three starts (14.2 innings), deGrom has a 4.30 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB. The Rangers are being cautious with the oft-injured deGrom's workload to begin the season, and he'll be looking to reach the 90-pitch threshold for the first time this year in a home matchup against the Angels in the middle of next week.

Bubic (2-1) took the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five batters in six innings Friday against the Guardians.

The 27-year-old cruised through the first three innings with relatively little trouble, but he finally conceded his first earned runs of the season on a three-run homer from Gabriel Arias in the fourth. Bubic was able to get through the sixth inning without allowing any more runs, giving him his third quality start in as many appearances. However, a poor showing from the Royals' offense resulted in the left-hander taking his first loss of the year. He'll hope for a bit more run support in his next start when he takes on the Yankees in the Bronx.

Bibee didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 7-0 win over Kansas City, allowing three hits and four walks while striking out four batters over 4.2 shutout innings.

Bibee needed to retire just one more batter to qualify for his second win of the season, but after walking Bobby Witt in the fifth inning, the right-hander's pitch count had already climbed to 96. The Guardians decided to pull him early for Tim Herrin, who collected the final out of the frame and went on to take home the win. Bibee now sits on a 4.40 ERA and 1.40 WHIP entering his next start -- tentatively scheduled to come in Baltimore next week -- though all of the damage was done in one particularly poor outing against the Angels.

Festa allowed an unearned run on three hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Tigers on Friday.

Festa threw 41 of 64 pitches for strikes in his first major-league outing of the season. He came up short of having a chance at the win, though the Twins' bullpen blew the lead in the sixth inning anyway. The 25-year-old right-hander pitched to a 4.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 77:23 K:BB over 64.1 innings in 2024, starting in 13 of his 14 appearances last year. Festa has a chance to stick in the rotation while Pablo Lopez (hamstring) is out and would line up for a tough home matchup versus the Mets next week -- that is, unless the Twins add Zebby Matthews and move to a six-man rotation, in which case Festa would face Atlanta on the road.

Olson allowed four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three over 4.1 innings, taking a no-decision Friday versus the Twins.

Olson was doing fine initially, but the Twins put together a three-run tally in the fifth inning that chased him from the game. The right-hander finished with 90 pitches (48 strikes), and he's failed to complete five innings twice in three starts so far. He's pitched to a 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 13:8 K:BB over 15 innings. Getting the walk rate down closer to his career-average mark coming into the season (2.8 BB/9) will go a long way to getting the rest of his numbers in line. Olson's next start is projected to be at Milwaukee next week.

Kochanowicz (1-1) allowed six runs on six hits and three walks while striking out one over 4.2 innings to take the loss Friday versus the Astros.

Kochanowicz entered the fifth inning with the Angels up 2-1. He quickly ran into trouble and couldn't complete the frame, instead leaving the bases loaded for reliever Garrett McDaniels, who allowed a grand slam to Yainer Diaz. This was the worst of Kochanowicz's three starts so far, inflating his ERA to 5.74 to go along with a 1.28 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB over 15.2 innings. He struck out just 25 batters over 65.1 innings across 11 starts in 2024, and all that contact makes him a volatile option. Kochanowicz's next start is projected to be on the road versus the Rangers.