MLB Player News

Houck is listed as the Red Sox's starting pitcher for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

On Saturday, manager Alex Cora confirmed that Houck would remain in the bullpen for the foreseeable future with Garrett Whitlock having earned a spot in the rotation, but the team will be forced to adjust its plans just one day later after Sunday's scheduled starter, Michael Wacha, was scratched due to side soreness. An MRI on Wacha's side returned clean, and while the Red Sox are optimistic he won't require a trip to the injured list, Houck will be summoned from the bullpen to make a spot start in his stead. Don't expect Houck to work deep into Sunday's outing, as he'll be pitching on only two days' rest after he piggybacked Rich Hill in Thursday's loss to the Angels and gave up seven runs across 2.1 innings (56 pitches) in that long-relief appearance.

Wacha was scratched from his scheduled start Sunday against the White Sox due to side soreness, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Per Smith, Wacha underwent an MRI on his side that revealed nothing overly concerning, but because the right-hander has a history of oblique injuries, the Red Sox decided to err on the side of caution and pull him from his scheduled turn through the rotation. Tanner Houck will get the starting nod in the series finale against the White Sox, but Wacha could be ready to go by the time his next turn comes up next weekend in Texas.

Rasmussen (3-1) allowed one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings to earn the win Saturday against the Mariners.

Rasmussen primarily relied on groundballs to keep the Mariners' offense in check. His lone blemish came in the fifth frame when he allowed a leadoff triple to Julio Rodriguez, who came around to score on a subsequent single. Rasmussen has suppressed runs effectively for most of the season, but he's importantly worked at least five innings in each of his last three starts and earned a win on each occasion. He's maintained an impressive 2.89 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with a 26:7 K:BB on the campaign.

Freeland allowed five hits and two walks while striking out five across six innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks. He did not factor into the decision.

Freeland was engaged in an improbable pitchers' duel with Zach Davies, and he limited the Diamondbacks to five singles. He primarily kept the ball on the ground to avoid any damage and also generated 12 swinging strikes on 89 pitches. Freeland has delivered a 1.57 ERA with a 19:5 K:BB across his last four starts spanning 23 frames.

The Phillies recalled Sanchez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated him as the 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader with the Mets. He's scheduled to start Game 2 of the twin bill.

The 25-year-old will be picking up his second big-league start and first of 2022 after the Phillies moved Zach Eflin -- who was initially scheduled to take the hill for the second game of the twin bill -- to the COVID-19-related injured list. While it's possible that Eflin will miss more than one turn through the rotation due to MLB's COVID-19-related protocols, Sanchez may be headed back to Lehigh Valley following the doubleheader regardless of how he performs. Before he was optioned to the minors May 1, Sanchez made four appearances out of the big-league bullpen and gave up six earned runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out 10 over 10 innings. He maxed out at 3.1 innings and 65 pitches across those four appearances, so he likely can't be counted on to work deep into his start Sunday.

McKenzie (2-2) picked up the win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out six.

The right-hander helped ensure the Guardians would come away with a split after dropping the matinee, firing 68 of 102 pitches for strikes as he delivered his second straight quality start. McKenzie is benefitting from 2022's less lively ball -- after serving up 21 homers in 120 innings last season, he's been tagged for only one long ball in 29.1 innings to begin this year, leading to a 2.76 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

The Phillies placed Eflin on the COVID-19-related injured list Sunday.

Eflin had been in line to start the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Mets, but his move to the COVID-19-related IL will force the Phillies to adjust their pitching plans. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Eflin was reportedly fully vaccinated when he landed on the COVID-19 IL last season, which means his placement on the list was the result of a positive. In a related transaction, the Phillies called up Cristopher Sanchez from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to serve as the 27th man for the twin bill, and he's now in line to start the second game Sunday with Eflin having been deactivated. Eflin's return date from the IL is up in the air and will be contingent on how soon he's deemed asymptomatic of the virus.

Bieber (1-2) took the loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, coughing up seven runs on eight hits and three walks over 3.1 innings without striking out a batter.

It was the first time in 86 career big-league starts Bieber failed to fan at least one batter. The right-hander tossed only 38 of 71 pitches for strikes before getting the hook, and his velocity issues continued -- he failed to reach 91 mph with any of his four-seamers, sitting in the 88-90 mph range, a worrying sign for a pitcher who averaged 94.2 mph as recently as 2020. Bieber will take a well-below-expectations 4.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB through 32.2 innings into his next start.

Stripling (0-1) took the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Guardians, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out three.

Three of the five hits off Stripling went for extra bases, including a third-inning solo shot by Franmil Reyes. The right-hander has lasted five innings only once in five starts since moving into the rotation, posting a 4.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 18:2 K:BB through 21 frames over that stretch. The results haven't been terrible, but with Hyun Jin Ryu (forearm) tossing four innings for Triple-A Buffalo to begin his rehab assignment Saturday, Stripling could be headed back to the bullpen in the near future.

Springs is slated to start or work behind an opener as a primary pitcher in Monday's game in Seattle, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He'll be moving into the rotation as a replacement for Josh Fleming, who was demoted to Triple-A Durham on Saturday. Springs has gotten off to a hot start out of the Tampa Bay bullpen this season, turning in a 0.69 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB across 13 innings. In his most recent relief appearance Tuesday against the Athletics, Springs built up to 31 pitches over 3.1 scoreless innings. Expect him to be capped around 50 pitches in Monday's appearance, and it could take him an additional two or three outings after that to get stretched out enough to handle a traditional starter's workload.