MLB Player News

The Rockies recalled Gordon from Triple-A Albuquerque ahead of his scheduled start in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader versus the Tigers at Coors Field.

Gordon is being designated as the Rockies' 27th man for the twin bill, so he's expected to be returned to Albuquerque immediately after the second game of the day. Over his six starts with Albuquerque this season, Gordon has turned in a 4.82 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB across 28 innings.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Thursday that Eflin (lat) will "more than likely" start Sunday's game against the Angels, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Hyde had already committed to Eflin returning from the 15-day injured list to make a start this weekend, and now he's revealed which day Eflin is lined up to take the ball. The veteran hurler threw only 58 pitches in his lone rehab outing, so his workload will be relatively limited against the Halos.

Double-A Portland placed Mullins on the 7-day injured list May 5 with an undisclosed injury.

Mullins earned a promotion from High-A Greenville on April 29 and made just one start for the Sea Dogs before landing on the shelf. The 24-year-old southpaw has a 1.19 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 37:7 K:BB in 22.2 innings across the two levels, although he walked four in 5.2 innings in his lone Double-A start.

Scherzer (thumb) threw a bullpen session Wednesday and then faced live hitters for 20 more pitches, Andres Soto of MLB.com reports.

The 40-year-old right-hander has been dealing with thumb issues on his throwing hand since making his season debut March 29, but after receiving multiple cortisone shots in the digit, he appears to be making progress. "Good, really good," manager John Schneider said after Scherzer's session off the game mound at Angel Stadium. "Twenty pitches after he threw in the 'pen. And then I thought standing back there, his stuff was really good... So that's a really good step in the right direction." The Blue Jays will wait and see how Scherzer bounces back before determining the next step in his rehab, but tentative plans call for him to get stretched out a little more in another session against live hitters this weekend in Seattle. The earliest Scherzer would be eligible to come off the 60-day IL is May 29, but a June return appears more likely as Toronto won't want to rush him back into the rotation.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Buehler (shoulder) remains limited to playing catch, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Buehler's goal when he went on the 15-day injured list last Friday with minor bursitis in his right shoulder was to resume throwing off a mound by the end of this week and return when first eligible May 14. Those possibilities still appear to be on the table, but he will have to be cleared for mound work soon in order to have a chance to return next week against the Tigers.

High-A Lake County placed Kennedy on its 7-day injured list Wednesday due to right knee soreness.

Kennedy, 20, has delivered a 3.38 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 19:7 K:BB across 16 innings over his four appearances (two starts) with Lake County. The young lefty is in his first season in the Cleveland organization after being acquired from Pittsburgh in December.

Lowder (forearm) will make his next rehab start Sunday for High-A Dayton, MLB.com reports.

Lowder had his first rehab outing Tuesday, when he logged three innings for the Reds' affiliate in the Arizona Complex League. He checked out okay a day later and will move on to more advanced competition.

Berrios allowed two runs on five hits and five walks while striking out nine batters over six-plus innings in a no-decision against the Angels on Wednesday.

Berrios was a bit wild with a season-high five walks (though one was intentional) and a hit batsman, yet he also racked up 18 whiffs and a season-best nine punchouts. The veteran righty began the game with five scoreless frames, but he faltered late, allowing two of the final four batters he faced to hit a solo homer. Nonetheless, this was another strong start by Berrios, who picked up his second straight quality start and fourth such outing this season. Since giving up six runs against Baltimore in his season debut March 27, Berrios has been much better, posting a 3.02 ERA and 40:19 K:BB over 41.2 frames.

Kikuchi allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out six batters over six innings in a no-decision against Toronto on Wednesday.

Kikuchi was ultra-efficient in the start, throwing 70 of 91 pitches for strikes -- a promising development given that he entered the game with a poor 4.7 BB/9. The lefty tossed five scoreless frames to begin the contest before giving up his lone run in the sixth. Kikuchi wasn't rewarded for his fine effort with a win, but he did notch his fourth quality start of the campaign and his first since April 9. The veteran hurler still doesn't have a victory this season, though his numbers have been tolerable -- he has a 3.83 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 39:20 K:BB over 42.1 frames spanning eight starts.

Dollander allowed six runs on five hits and three walks without notching any strikeouts over three-plus innings in a no-decision against Detroit on Wednesday.

Dollander yielded just one extra-base hit, but he hurt himself by issuing three free passes, as all three recipients came around to score. The right-hander actually looked good to start the game by retiring the first six batters he faced, but he yielded three runs on four hits in the third and then allowed all four of the batters he faced to reach in the fourth before getting the hook. Dollander has certainly experienced growing pains as a rookie this season -- he's allowed four or more runs in four of his six starts and has a 7.71 ERA through 28 innings. He'll look to make a more positive impact in his next start, which lines up to come against the Rangers next week.