MLB Player News

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).

Bielak (1-2) took the loss Wednesday, allowing four runs on five hits and one walk over 6.2 innings during a 4-0 loss to the Brewers. He struck out three.

Three of Bielak's five hits allowed were home runs, including a two-run shot by Willy Adames in the first inning. Despite the fact that he surrendered a season-high four runs, Wednesday's performance was actually the longest of the year for Bielak, who's drawn five consecutive starts since being recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land at the beginning of May. The right-hander holds a 3.55 ERA across 25.1 innings and figures to remain in the rotation until Jose Urquidy (shoulder), Luis Garcia (elbow) or Lance McCullers (forearm) is activated off the injured list.

Quantrill (2-3) took the loss Wednesday, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks over four innings against the White Sox. He struck out two.

Quantrill was solid through his first three innings, holding Chicago to just one run on one hit. However, he unraveled in the fourth, allowing the first three baserunners to reach, eventually surrendering five more runs. The six earned runs was a season high. Quantrill's ERA is up to 4.75 with a 1.35 WHIP and 31:18 K:BB. He's a risky fantasy option heading into his next start, tentatively lined up for next week in Baltimore.

Kopech (3-4) earned the win Wednesday, allowing two hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings against the Guardians. He struck out nine.

Kopech has now thrown 15 scoreless innings over his last two starts, allowing just three hits while striking out 19 in that span. It's been quite a turnaround for the 27-year-old right-hander, who posted a 5.97 ERA in his first three starts. Kopech lowered his ERA to 4.24 with a 1.22 WHIP and 60:29 K:BB across 10 starts (57.1 innings) this season. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, currently lined up for next week at home against the Angels.

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.

Perez (6-1) earned the win Wednesday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over seven innings against the Pirates. He struck out three.

Perez has now logged seven innings in consecutive starts, allowing two runs in each outing. The veteran left-hander lowered his ERA to 3.83 with a 1.47 WHIP and 41:16. While Perez isn't expected to post large strikeout totals, it's somewhat concerning that his ground-ball rate is down to 37.4 percent after he posted a 51.4 percent mark last season. He took a step in the right direction Wednesday, coaxing 12 groundouts and just one flyout.

Manager Alex Cora confirmed Wednesday in a radio interview with "Gresh and Fauria" on WEEI 93.7 that Houck will remain in the starting rotation, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Houck pitched well in his start against the Angels on Monday with six innings of one-run baseball and eight strikeouts in a no-decision. The right-hander will remain a starting option for Boston in the place of Corey Kluber, with Kluber being moved to the bullpen for the foreseeable future. Houck has had his own struggles in 2023 -- the strong outing against Los Angeles lowered his ERA to 4.99 over 48.2 innings -- and while he has shown the ability to miss bats, his struggles against lineups the second and third time through an order make him a risky fantasy option when he's on the mound.

Kluber has been moved to the bullpen, Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed Wednesday in a radio interview with "Gresh and Fauria" on WEEI 93.7, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Cora had said earlier this week that Kluber would make his next start, but the skipper has apparently changed his mind. Kluber has been dreadful after inking a one-year, $10 million contract over the offseason, putting up a 6.26 ERA and 34:18 K:BB across 41.2 innings covering nine starts. That, combined with Tanner Houck's strong showing his last time out, is the impetus behind Kluber's demotion. The 37-year-old wouldn't seem to be a great fit for relief and figures to be relegated to a mop-up role.