MLB Player News

Bello (4-1) picked up the win Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over five innings against the Nationals. He struck out one.

Bello picked up right where he left off before going on the IL with a lat injury, tallying a third straight win and yielding fewer than three earned runs for a fourth consecutive outing. The two runs charged against Bello came in the fourth when Eddie Rosario swatted a two-run home run. Despite the long ball, Bello was extremely efficient, getting through five innings on 68 pitches. Bello's restrictions should lighten throughout his next few starts, beginning with a road bout with the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Flaherty (0-3) was tagged with a loss Sunday after he pitched 6.2 innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits while striking out seven batters in a 9-3 defeat to Houston.

Flaherty opened Sunday's contest by firing five scoreless innings before Kyle Tucker launched a two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning. The Astros scratched across another run on him in the seventh frame before the right-hander's day came to an end with two outs in the inning. The performance marked his third straight quality start and sixth of the season over eight outings. Flaherty now owns a 3.88 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with 63 strikeouts over 48.2 innings in eight starts in 2024 and will look to earn his first win of the year in his next projected start Saturday on the road in Arizona.

Verlander (2-1) earned the win after he pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks while striking out eight batters in Sunday's 9-3 victory over the Tigers.

Verlander was back to being sharp Sunday, limiting Detroit to just four baserunners while recording a season-high eight punchouts. The 41-year-old was coming off of allowing seven runs over five innings against the Yankees on Tuesday, but he rebounded with his third quality start over five outings in 2024. Verlander now owns a 3.38 ERA with 23 strikeouts over 29.1 innings this season, and his next projected start is set to come Friday at home versus the Brewers.

Rodriguez (shoulder) tossed a 30-pitch bullpen session Sunday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Rodriguez said that he felt good following the workout, but he acknowledged that he didn't know whether he would be cleared to face hitters the next time he throws, or if he would continue the ramp-up process with another bullpen session. After being placed on the 15-day injured list May 1 with shoulder inflammation, Rodriguez is eligible for activation Wednesday, but he looks like he'll need at least a little time beyond that before he's ready to rejoin the Baltimore rotation.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday that Maeda (illness) will require a rehab assignment prior to returning from the 15-day injured list, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Maeda was placed on the IL on Saturday with a viral illness, and Hinch noted that the right-hander's ailment was significant enough to keep him from playing catch over the last few days since he made his last start Tuesday in Cleveland. Though the 36-year-old is eligible to come off the IL as soon as May 23, the fact that the Tigers are already planning on Maeda needing a rehab assignment suggests that it's not a lock that he'll be ready to go when his 15 days are up. Maeda had gotten off to a rough start to the season prior to landing on the IL, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 30.2 innings through seven starts.

Ober (4-1) earned the win after he pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out 10 batters in Sunday's 5-1 victory over Toronto.

Ober was nearly perfect Sunday, allowing just a single to Vladimir Guerrero in the bottom of the fourth inning, while his 10 punchouts were a season high. The right-hander has now recorded four quality starts over eight outings this season. Since allowing eight runs against the Royals in his season debut, Ober has produced a 2.16 ERA with 44 strikeouts over 41.2 innings in his last seven starts. He'll look to keep it going when he returns to the mound for his next projected start Saturday in Cleveland.

Manoah (0-1) was tagged with a loss after he pitched seven innings, allowing three unearned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six in Sunday's 5-1 defeat to Minnesota.

The 26-year-old right-hander was in full command Sunday, tossing six scoreless frames to open his outing against the Twins. With one out in the top of the seventh inning, Max Kepler reached on a fielding error by Toronto third baseman Ernie Clement and three runs -- all of which were unearned -- came around to score on a Carlos Santana homer. Manoah struggled in his 2024 debut against the Nationals on May 5, giving up seven runs (six earned) over four innings, so Sunday's performance was a positive sign. Manoah will look to make it back-to-back strong outings when he returns to the mound for his next projected start Saturday versus the Rays.

Brubaker (elbow) threw live batting practice against DJ LeMahieu (foot) on Saturday at the Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa, MLB.com reports.

After he had been limited to throwing bullpen sessions over the past couple of months, Brubaker has now moved on to the next phase in his rehab from his April 12, 2023 Tommy John surgery: facing hitters. He'll likely throw multiple live BPs before embarking on an extended minor-league rehab assignment in the coming weeks. Brubaker is targeting a return from the 60-day injured list around the All-Star break and could be an option for the big-league rotation if the Yankees have an opening.

Pepiot (leg) threw a 15-pitch bullpen session Sunday, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.

Pepiot landed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday after sustaining a lower left leg contusion when he was hit by a line drive in his start against the Mets last Sunday. He noted that he felt good after the throwing session Sunday, and he could return from the IL when first eligible May 21. The right-hander confirmed after the bullpen session that he doesn't expect to need a rehab start in the minors prior to being activated.

Brown covered five innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers, giving up one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out seven.

Though he worked in relief after starting in each of his previous seven appearances, Brown delivered arguably his best outing of the campaign, with the seven punchouts matching a season high. Despite Brown's strong showing, the fact that he was bypassed for a start and entered the game in the bottom of the third inning with the Astros trailing 7-0 speaks to the lack of trust he had from the coaching staff heading into Saturday. According to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, the Astros won't have Brown rejoin the rotation for any of their first three games of the four-game series with Oakland to open the upcoming week. Cristian Javier was lit up for seven earned runs while recording just four outs before exiting Saturday's contest, and the Astros aren't yet committing to Javier taking the hill for Thursday's series finale versus the Athletics. If the Astros want to give Javier at least one more day off to regroup from his rough outing versus the Tigers, Brown could re-enter the rotation Thursday.