MLB Player News

Gray (elbow) threw 35 pitches Friday in a bullpen session at Fenway Park, all fastballs, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

The right-hander has been sidelined since April 4 due to a flexor strain in his elbow. Gray is slowly building up in bullpen sessions, and the Nationals haven't indicated yet when he might begin a rehab assignment, but he'll need to start ramping things up quickly if he's going to return to the big-league rotation before the end of May.

Houck (3-4) took the loss Friday as the Red Sox fell 5-1 to the Nationals, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander pitched well and gave Boston another quality start, Houck's fifth straight and seventh in eight outings this season, but his offense let him down. Houck will carry a 2.24 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 50:8 K:BB through 52.1 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Rays.

Corbin (1-3) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk over five innings in a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox. He struck out four.

The veteran southpaw tossed 54 of 86 pitches before exiting with a 3-1 lead, and the Washington bullpen was able to shut down Boston the rest of the way. Corbin has begun to show faint signs of turning things around, and over his last four starts he has posted a 3.54 ERA while serving up only one homer in 20.1 innings. His 14:8 K:BB and 1.57 WHIP over that stretch aren't particularly encouraging, however. He'll try to build on this performance in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next week against the White Sox.

Kikuchi (2-3) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays were downed 3-2 by the Twins, giving up two runs on four hits over eight innings. He struck out three without walking a batter.

The left-hander pounded the strike zone, firing 68 of 97 pitches for strikes in his fifth quality start of the year, and he generated plenty of weak contact -- even Carlos Santana's solo homer in the fifth inning had a sub-100 mph exit velocity and barely made it over the fence down the right-field line. It was the longest outing of Kikuchi's Toronto tenure, and his longest MLB start since he gave the Mariners a shutout win in August 2019, which coincidentally was against the Jays. Kikuchi will take a 2.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 46:9 K:BB through 47.2 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Baltimore.

Vasquez is slated to start Monday's game against the Rockies at Petco Park.

Yu Darvish returned from the 15-day injured list and rejoined the Padres' rotation earlier this week, but San Diego will still have an opening for Vasquez as its fifth starter after Joe Musgrove (elbow) hit the shelf May 5. Though Vasquez has been largely unimpressive over his seven starts between the big club and Triple-A El Paso this season, he was solid his last time out Tuesday on the road against the Cubs, striking out six while allowing one run over 4.1 innings in a no-decision.

Ryan (2-2) picked up the win Friday, allowing one run on six hits over seven innings in a 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out seven without walking a batter.

A solo shot by Isiah Kiner-Falefa accounted for the only blemish on Ryan's line. The right-hander fired 75 of 104 pitches for strikes in his longest outing of the season, as he produced his fourth straight quality start and sixth of the year. Ryan will take a 3.21 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 53:6 K:BB through 47.2 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Yankees.

Irvin (4-1) picked up the win Friday, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk over 5.2 innings in a 4-2 victory over the Diamondbacks. He struck out six.

The southpaw was sharp and had given up only a solo shot to Ketel Marte heading into the sixth inning, but Irvin got the hook after 95 pitches (62 strikes) with runners on first and second and two outs. Albert Suarez then promptly gave up a single to let one of the inherited runners score, but the O's bullpen took care of business the rest of the way. Irvin generated 30 called or swinging strikes as he won his fourth straight start, and after a bumpy beginning to the season he's posted a 1.19 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 21:3 K:BB in 30.1 innings over his last five outings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Blue Jays.

Peralta was reinstated from his five-game suspension and will start Saturday's game against the Cardinals in Milwaukee.

Peralta was handed the five-game ban for throwing at the Rays' Jose Siri in an April 30 game, but he initially appealed the suspension and made his next turn through the rotation this past Sunday against the Cubs. He dropped his appeal a day later and began serving the ban, which concluded Friday. Peralta was presumably able to stay on his usual between-starts throwing regimen while he was suspended, so he shouldn't face any restrictions with his pitch count as he returns to the rubber Saturday.

Pfaadt (1-3) took the loss Friday as the Diamondbacks fell 4-2 to the Orioles, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks over six innings. He failed to strike out a batter.

The 25-year-old right-hander produced his third straight quality start and fourth of the season on 88 pitches (56 strikes), but Pfaadt generated only six swinging strikes as he came up empty in the strikeout department for the first time in 26 big-league starts. In fact, he'd never fanned fewer than three batters in an outing before Friday. Pfaadt will take a 4.60 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 42:8 K:BB through 47 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Reds.

Rodriguez (shoulder) began a throwing program out to 45 feet Friday, the Associated Press reports.

A recent MRI on the shoulder showed positive results, and Rodriguez resumed throwing again. The left-hander was on a throwing program in early April but had it paused when he felt discomfort during a bullpen session April 9. Shortly thereafter he was moved to the 60-day injured list.