MLB Player News

Suarez did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk over five innings against the Diamondbacks. He struck out five.

Suarez did retire the final seven batters faced, providing some positive momentum heading into his next outing. Still, it's been a rough start to the year for the 27-year-old lefty, as he's pitched to a 9.82 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB through his first three games (11 innings) and is still looking for his first win of the season. Suarez will look to get on track in his next outing, currently lined for next week on the road against the Mets.

Gallen did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Phillies. He struck out three.

Gallen held the Phillies off the board for five innings before running into trouble in the sixth, allowing a pair of singles before he was relieved by Kevin Ginkel, who allowed both runners to score. While it wasn't a return to his early-season form, Wednesday's outing was certainly a step forward after Gallen allowed eight runs over 3.2 innings in his last start against Pittsburgh. The 27-year-old righty is 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 75:14 K:BB through 11 starts (66.2 innings) this season.

DeSclafani (3-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing seven runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings during a 7-1 loss to the Twins. He struck out six.

DeSclafani surrendered a leadoff homer to Edouard Julien in the bottom of the first, and things didn't get much better for the right-hander as the game progressed. He allowed at least one run in each of the first four innings but was charged with only four earned runs thanks to a trio of errors in the third. Despite allowing a season-high seven runs, DeSclafani was able to finish at least five innings and record six-plus strikeouts for a second consecutive game and the fourth time this season. He'll look to get back on track next time out, which is tentatively scheduled for the opener of a three-game set versus Pittsburgh.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Liberatore will start one of the team's three games this weekend in Cleveland, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

There was talk of Liberatore being used out of the bullpen Tuesday night against the Reds, but that wasn't required as St. Louis rolled to an 8-5 victory. The 23-year-old left-hander tallied six strikeouts over five scoreless innings in his first major-league start of the season last Wednesday against the Brewers before struggling in a relief appearance Sunday versus the Dodgers. He should be an attractive fantasy option as he returns to the Cardinals' rotation against a light-hitting Guardians team.

Houser (1-0) earned the win Wednesday, allowing two hits and one walk across 5.1 scoreless innings during a 4-0 win over the Astros. He struck out three.

Houser allowed back-to-back hitters to reach with two outs in the first, but he ended the inning by retiring Jose Abreu. Including Abreu, the right-hander retired 14 straight batters before Mauricio Dubon reached on an error in the sixth. Alex Bregman followed that up with a double, but Joel Payamps was able to keep Houser's ledger clean by getting back-to-back outs to end the threat. When Houser's inducing grounders like he was Wednesday, he's tough to crack, and after struggling in his first two starts of the season, he's tossed 11.1 scoreless innings over his last two outings. Houser holds a modest 14:4 K:BB across four appearances (20 innings).

Pirates manager Derek Shelton confirmed Wednesday that Velasquez (elbow) will return to the rotation this weekend in Seattle, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

The safest bet is that Velasquez will slide into Luis Ortiz's spot Sunday, as Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras are secure in their roles and currently line up to handle the first two games of the three-game series versus the Mariners. Out since May 5 due to right elbow inflammation, Velasquez tallied four strikeouts over 4.2 scoreless innings in his lone rehab start this past Saturday at Triple-A Indianapolis. He threw 63 pitches in that outing and should be able to handle 80-plus pitches in his return start with Pittsburgh.

Oviedo (3-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing three runs on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings against the Rangers. He struck out five.

Three of Oviedo's five strikeouts came in an immaculate fourth inning. However, it wasn't enough to recover from a three-run opening frame as the Pirates fell 3-2. Oviedo had been solid in his previous two outings, allowing just two runs over 11 innings. His ERA now sits at 4.70 with a 1.53 WHIP and 48:25 K:BB through 10 starts (53.2 innings) this season.

Teheran is expected to start for the Brewers on Thursday versus the Giants, barring any issues with his physical Wednesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Teheran has agreed to terms on a major-league deal with the Brew Crew, but the contract won't be official until he goes through a medical review. Assuming no red flags arise, he'll make his Brewers debut Thursday as a rotation fill-in while the club battles multiple injuries. Teheran last pitched in the majors in 2021 and held a 5.62 ERA and 45:16 K:BB over 40 innings at the Triple-A level this season.

Soroka had his best start this season Tuesday for Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing one run over six innings while striking out eight, and he could join the Atlanta rotation next week, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The team's current plans call for Dylan Dodd to get called up for Thursday's start while Jared Shuster gets another turn Friday. If Soroka stays on a five-day schedule he would be in line to make his next start Sunday, but he could instead join the big-league roster in Oakland to take the hill Monday or Tuesday. The 25-year-old right-hander last pitched in the majors in August 2020, missing most of the last two seasons while recovering from multiple Achilles tears and other related injuries stemming from his lower-body issues. Through eight starts at Triple-A this year, Soroka has a 4.33 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB in 35.1 innings.

Priester has a 1.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 24 innings over four May starts for Triple-A Indianapolis.

His 7.1 K/9 over that stretch leaves a lot to be desired, but Priester has averaged six innings per start this month, which in itself is an impressive feat for a 22-year-old pitcher at Triple-A. Priester had a 7.78 ERA and 1.68 WHIP in 19.2 innings across five April starts. He could get a look in the majors sometime this summer if he remains healthy, and the strength of his game will be generating weak contact (56.2 percent groundball rate).