MLB Player News

Velasquez allowed four earned runs on three hits and two walks while striking out four across three innings Sunday against the Marlins. He did not factor into the decision.

Velasquez cruised through the first inning, striking out the final two batters he faced. However, he ran into trouble quickly in the second frame, during which he allowed two home runs that accounted for all of his earned runs. Velasquez claimed the fifth spot in the rotation with a strong summer camp, but his role could be in jeopardy with Spencer Howard nearing a callup to the big-league club.

Corbin allowed one earned run on two hits and no walks while striking out eight across 6.1 innings Sunday against the Yankees. He did not factor into the decision.

Corbin retired the first 11 batters he faced -- five via strikeout -- before allowing an infield hit. The only damage against him came in the seventh inning, when Gleyber Torres took him yard. Corbin worked very efficiently, requiring only 75 pitches to retire 19 batters. He'll look to carry this performance into his next start, currently projected for Friday at Miami.

Smyly will start Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

He threw one inning out of the bullpen in Thursday's game, which essentially was his side session ahead of this start. Smyly will likely have to be pretty efficient with his pitches to log five innings in his first start of the season, which seems unlikely given the lineup he will have to face.

Marquez will start Wednesday's game in Oakland on normal rest, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The Rockies will skip the fifth spot in the rotation to allow Marquez to pitch on normal rest. The key takeaway is that fantasy managers can deploy Marquez next week without fear of him pitching at Coors Field.

Lauer (COVID-19) was activated from the injured list and is available out of the bullpen Sunday against the Cubs, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Getting the coronavirus cost Lauer a shot at opening the year in the rotation. The team's fifth stater, Freddy Peralta, is starting Sunday, so it would be logical for Lauer to follow him out of the bullpen if the situation calls for a left-handed pitcher who can log multiple innings.

Urena, who was scratched from his scheduled start Sunday, tested positive for COVID-19, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Heyman reports that Urena feels fine, so it will just be a matter of him testing negative in two consecutive tests before he rejoins the Marlins. Robert Dugger will start in his place Sunday.

Urena was a late scratch from Sunday's scheduled start against the Phillies, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

There is no reason being given for why Urena was scratched and no roster moves, so he is presumably day-to-day. Robert Dugger will get the start instead. Manager Don Mattingly is not doing a pre-game interview, so we may have to wait until after Sunday's game to learn the reason for Urena's absence.

Strasburg admitted Saturday that he's been pitching through numbness in his hand for weeks, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports.

While that sounds worrying, the issue didn't prevent him from looking fairly dominant over five innings in his lone exhibition appearance against the Orioles before the season began. Strasburg received a cortisone injection Friday to help alleviate the problem and said feeling was already beginning to return to his thumb and fingers, but as yet the team has no official timetable for his return to the mound. "I've got to think big picture here," Strasburg said. "It's my career, and I know that in the long run, it's important to try to make as many starts as you can. By putting yourself in a compromising position now, I don't really know if it's necessarily the best way moving forward." The Nats have a history of being very cautious with the right-hander's health, but this latest injury doesn't seem to be one that will keep him on the shelf for too long.

Ray (0-1) allowed three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out seven over 3.2 innings in a loss to the Padres on Saturday.

There was some buzz surrounding Ray given his slimmed-down physique and revamped delivery. Unfortunately, the new delivery and shorter arm action that he showcased in summer camp did not lead to good results in his regular-season debut. In fact, it was more of what we've come to expect from Ray: walks and inefficiency. He needed 97 pitches to record 11 outs. The lefty lines up to face the Dodgers at home next week.

Gray allowed one run on three hits and three walks while fanning three across 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Rangers on Saturday.

Gray didn't impress in his season debut and couldn't even complete five innings, as he departed the contest shortly after allowing a run on an RBI single from Shin-Soo Choo. Gray's next start is scheduled for Friday at home against the Padres.