MLB Player News

McClanahan (5-0) earned the win Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over five innings in a 14-5 win over the White Sox. He struck out five.

McClanahan is now tied with Gerrit Cole and Joe Ryan for most wins in the league following Wednesday's victory. The southpaw also ranks seventh with 42 strikeouts. The Rays' ace has firmly established himself as an elite option in fantasy ahead of his next tentative start against the Pirates in a few days.

Sears (0-2) took the loss against the Angels on Thursday, allowing six runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 4.1 innings.

Sears made it through two scoreless innings before Los Angeles hung a five-spot on him in the third frame. The big blow was a three-run home run off the bat of Brandon Drury, which was the seventh homer Sears has given up across five starts this season. The southpaw turned some heads with 11 punchouts over six innings against Texas his previous time out, but he fell back to earth with just four strikeouts Thursday. Sears has mostly failed to impress as a full-time starter this season, posting a 6.23 ERA and 1.23 WHIP through 26 frames.

Webb dropped to 1-5 with a loss against St. Louis on Thursday. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven batters.

Webb was brilliant through six frames, keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard and retiring 10 straight batters. He finally wilted in the seventh, allowing a solo homer and three singles to fall behind 2-0. San Francisco never managed to push across a run, causing Webb to take his fifth defeat of the campaign. That's the most losses of any hurler in the majors this season, but Webb hasn't been terrible -- he's recorded a 4.10 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and an outstanding 43:5 K:BB across 37.1 frames.

Mikolas (1-1) earned the win over San Francisco on Thursday, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six batters over 6.1 scoreless innings.

Mikolas began Thursday with an ugly 7.46 season ERA, but he lowered that considerably with a sterling outing against the Giants. The right-hander tossed a campaign-high 6.1 frames and didn't allow any runs while matching a season-best mark with six punchouts. Mikolas will look to build upon this performance moving forward, with his next start tentatively lined up to come at home against the Angels.

Williams did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing four runs on nine hits and two walks over five innings against the Mets. He struck out four.

Wiliams' four earned runs and nine hits allowed both set season worsts, as the 31-year-old was knocked around by the Mets. Three of the four runs came in the fourth frame, where Brett Baty took Williams yard for a solo home run and a Francisco Lindor double plated Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Alvarez. Through five starts, Williams owns a 1-1 record and a 4.10 ERA. He will likely continue to struggle to maintain fantasy value as the fourth option on one of MLB's worst rosters.

Lucchesi did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over 5.1 innings against the Nationals. He struck out three.

Lucchesi turned in a middling performance Thursday after pitching seven scoreless innings against the Giants and striking out nine in his first appearance since June of 2021 last week. Though he only gave up one run directly via a solo homer by Alex Call, Lucchesi left two runners on base when he was yanked in the sixth, both of which ended up scoring. Considering the 30-year-old is coming off of Tommy John surgery and owns a career ERA of 4.17, fantasy managers should expect more outings like Thursday's rather than his previous showing in 2023.

Lugo (2-2) took the loss against the Cubs on Thursday, allowing four runs on seven hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out two.

Lugo couldn't overcome a poor second inning during which he served up two homers and allowed three total runs. The right-hander otherwise pitched fairly well, though he gave up three singles and a run in the fifth frame. After winning his first two starts of the campaign, Lugo has now lost consecutive outings, surrendering six runs across 11 frames during that span. Thursday was his first appearance of the campaign with fewer than five strikeouts.

Urena was released by the Rockies on Thursday, per the MLB transaction log.

Urena was designated for assignment Tuesday and unsurprisingly went unclaimed on waivers. He has posted a 9.82 ERA and 2.24 WHIP across 18.1 innings this season.

Wesneski (2-1) allowed one run on four hits across five innings to earn the win Thursday against the Padres. He walked one and struck out three.

Outside of a Manny Machado solo home run in the second inning, Wesneski was in cruise control for his second win of the season. He hasn't fully been able to carry over his success from spring training, as he's still sitting at a 5.24 ERA and has pitched five or more innings only twice in five starts. However, Wesneski has looked pretty sharp in two of his last three outings, and the Cubs figure to have some patience with the promising 25-year-old.

Wentz did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk over 5.2 innings against the Orioles. He struck out six.

Wentz was excellent Thursday, retiring 13 of the first 14 batters before Joey Ortiz tagged him for a single that drove in Jorge Mateo and Adam Frazier in the fifth. The 25-year-old has been incredibly inconsistent this season, allowing five runs in two of his five starts but stifling the Giants on April 14, striking out seven and allowing just one run. Thursday's contest also marked Wentz's second outing allowing no home runs. Considering Wentz owns an 0-3 record, he may be pushed out of the starting rotation once Matt Manning (foot) comes back, but considering Manning has just started throwing, Wentz should be expected to make at least one more start.