MLB Player News

Montero (2-2) earned the win Saturday against the Rangers, allowing one run on five hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. He struck out two.

Montero turned in his longest outing of the season Saturday, but he did fan a season-low four. The right-hander has been a steady presence in Detroit's rotation so far this year, working at least five innings in five consecutive starts, but he hasn't yet reached the 90-pitch marker in any of his six appearances. Montero will take a quality 3.48 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 25:7 K:BB over 33.2 innings into his next scheduled outing in Kansas City.

Lowder (3-2) took the loss Saturday, surrendering eight runs on five hits and four walks over just 1.1 innings in a 17-7 rout at the hands of the Pirates. He struck out one.

In the shortest outing of his brief career, Lowder threw only 25 of 52 pitches for strikes and got the hook after walking three straight batters in the second inning, only to see Connor Phillips then issue free passes to the next four Pittsburgh hitters. Lowder had lasted at least five innings in each of his first six starts this season, but the disastrous outing ballooned his ERA from 3.18 to 5.09. The 24-year-old righty will try to rebound in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next week against the Cubs.

Griffin (3-1) took the loss Saturday, giving up three unearned runs on three hits and four walks over six innings as the Nationals fell 4-1 to the Brewers. He struck out three.

A Brady House error with two outs in the first inning led to a three-spot for Milwaukee, but Griffin shook it off and kept the visitors off the board until he had his third straight quality start in the books. The southpaw will take an impressive 2.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 33:14 K:BB through 39.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Miami.

Harrison (3-1) picked up the win in Saturday's 4-1 victory over the Nationals, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five.

After a rough week for the Brewers rotation that saw both Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) and Jacob Misiorowski (hamstring) leave their starts early, Harrison gave his team some much-needed length. The southpaw tossed 66 of 93 pitches for strikes en route to his second straight quality start, and he still has yet to give up more than two runs in any outing this season. Harrison will take a 2.12 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 35:9 K:BB through 29.2 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is set to come at home next weekend against the Yankees.

Cecconi (1-4) picked up the win Saturday, giving up five runs on 10 hits over 5.1 innings in a 14-6 rout of the A's. He struck out three without walking a batter.

The right-hander served up a pair of homers to Shea Langeliers to account for most of the damage against him, but Cleveland's offense dominated from the fifth inning onward to get Cecconi into the win column. Cecconi's been tagged for at least four earned runs in three straight starts and five of seven this season, saddling him with a 6.56 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 28:13 K:BB through 35.2 innings. As yet, there's been no suggestion his rotation spot is in jeopardy, but he made need to turn things around soon to avoid getting bumped. Cecconi lines up to make his next start on the road next week in Kansas City.

Early (2-2) took the loss against the Astros on Saturday, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three across four innings.

Early started out slowly by yielding one run on three baserunners in the first inning. He kept the Astros off the board over the next two frames but was tagged with four runs in the fourth, highlighted by a three-run long ball by Brice Matthews. It was the first time this season (in seven starts) that Early gave up more than three earned runs, and he now sits at a 3.79 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 31:17 K:BB across 35.2 innings. He's slated to start next week at home against the Rays.

Painter (1-3) took the loss against the Marlins on Saturday, allowing three runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out seven across five innings.

It was the third time in six starts that Painter recorded at least seven punchouts. However, the 23-year-old right-hander struggled with his command during Saturday's loss and faced bases-loaded situations in both the second and third innings. He limited the damage to three runs despite yielding 10 baserunners, but Painter was unable to avoid the loss after his Phillies teammates were limited to just one hit. He will bring a 5.28 ERA and 1.59 WHIP (across 29 innings) into his next start, which is tentatively slated for next week at home against the Athletics.

Meyer (2-0) earned the win against Philadelphia on Saturday, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out seven across seven scoreless innings.

Meyer set the tone early by striking out three of the first four batters he faced. He allowed just two baserunners and generated 15 whiffs on 83 pitches (55 strikes). It was the first quality start of the season for Meyer and first in nearly a full calendar year. Saturday's efforts improved the right-hander's season-long numbers to a 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 40:13 K:BB across 37 innings. Meyer is tentatively lined up to face the Orioles at home next week.

Nelson (1-3) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 5.2 innings in a loss to the Cubs on Saturday.

Nelson pitched quite well, and the only run he gave up came on an Ian Happ solo homer in the second inning. However, the Diamondbacks' offense was completely shut down by a pair of Chicago hurlers, resulting in Nelson being saddled with the loss. Still, this was a promising bounce-back for the right-hander after he was pummeled for 14 runs over 5.1 frames across his previous two starts. Those disastrous performances are largely responsible for his ugly overall 6.61 ERA, but Nelson will try to build off Saturday's good outing when he next takes the mound, which is projected to be in a home matchup versus the Mets.

Brown earned a save against the Diamondbacks on Saturday, striking out one batter in two perfect innings.

After Shota Imanaga gave Chicago seven scoreless frames, Brown was brought in to preserve a 2-0 lead in the eighth. The right-hander retired the side in order on 13 pitches in that frame and remained in the game for the ninth, when he again set down the side in order, this time on 11 pitches, to pick up his first save of the season. Brown was a popular pick to take over closer duties after Daniel Palencia went on the IL with a lat injury April 17, but this was his first save chance since that time. Brown has certainly displayed the stuff to be a ninth-inning option -- he has a 1.82 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB over 24.2 frames on the campaign. However, Palencia is on track to be activated in the coming days, so Saturday may end up being a rare save chance for Brown.