MLB Player News

Ashcraft didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Cubs, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out nine.

The 26-year-old right-hander was dominant once again, generating 16 swinging strikes on 77 pitches (50 total strikes), and Ashcraft left the mound in line for his second win in three starts before Dennis Santana blew the save in the ninth and sent the game to extras. The nine Ks were a new career high for Ashcraft, just one outing after he'd reset the counter to eight, and through his first 17 innings as a full-time starting pitcher he's posted a 2.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB. He'll look to keep rolling in his next start, which is set to come at home next week against the Nationals.

Greene went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Marlins.

Getting a partial breather at DH, Greene carried the Tigers' offense and supplied the biggest hit of the afternoon, a three-run blast in the third inning off Janson Junk. It was Greene's first long ball of the year, and through 15 games he sports a .228/.323/.351 slash line with four doubles, one steal, nine runs and 10 RBI.

Mize (1-1) recorded the win in Saturday's 6-1 victory over the Marlins, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over 5.2 innings. He struck out five.

The right-hander tossed 48 of 74 pitches for strikes before being lifted with two outs in the sixth inning and runners on second and third, leaving Mize just short of his second quality start of the season. He'll take a 3.94 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB through 16 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend in Boston.

Junk (0-2) took the loss Saturday, coughing up five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks over five innings as the Marlins were downed 6-1 by the Tigers. He struck out four.

A three-run homer by Riley Greene in the third inning was the big blow off Junk, who tossed 64 of 99 pitches for strikes before exiting. The 30-year-old right-hander has seen an uptick in velocity this season, but so far it hasn't translated into significantly better results. He'll take a 4.32 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB through 16.2 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the Brewers.

Alvarez went 3-for-6 with a solo home run and a double in Saturday's loss to Seattle.

Alvarez cranked a third-inning solo shot for his second homer in as many days. His three hits Saturday are a season high and give him six multi-hit performances on the campaign. Alvarez is slashing .360/.515/.800 with six homers (tied for first in MLB), 14 RBI, 12 runs and a stolen base through 15 games.

Smith went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a run scored and two RBI in a loss to the Mariners on Saturday.

Smith accounted for four of Houston's 17 knocks in the high-scoring loss. Though two of his hits were doubles, both of his RBI came on a single in the third frame. Smith has four multi-hit games so far this season and is slashing .302/.393/.547 with four doubles, three homers, eight RBI, 10 runs and three stolen bases through 15 contests.

Raleigh went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Saturday's 8-7 victory against the Astros.

Raleigh kicked off the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning and added a sacrifice fly in the fifth. The star catcher has yet to log a multi-hit game this season and is slashing a meager .145/.250/.291 with just two long balls through 15 games, so fantasy managers who roster him will certainly hope that Saturday's performance is the beginning of a turnaround. Raleigh does have 10 RBI on the campaign, so he's at least managed to knock in runs at a good clip despite his struggles getting on base.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double Saturday in an 8-7 win against the Astros.

It's been a rough start to the campaign for Rodriguez, who entered Saturday batting a measly .148 with no extra-base hits or stolen bases and just two RBI through 14 games. The star outfielder finally got things going against Houston, collecting his first two extra-base hits -- a double in the first inning and a big two-run blast in the fifth that tied the score 7-7. Fantasy managers who roster Rodriguez likely made a big investment in him, so there's understandably been some frustration about how his season has started. However, he's been a slow starter throughout his career and has still managed to go 20-20 in each of his first four MLB seasons (with two of those being 30-30 campaigns), so it probably wouldn't be wise to sell low on him.

McCullers allowed six runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 4.1 innings in a no-decision against the Mariners on Saturday.

McCullers fell behind quickly when Cal Raleigh tagged him for a two-run homer in the first inning. Houston stormed back for seven runs across the second through fourth frames, but McCullers was unable to make it out of the fifth and give himself a chance at a win. In that inning, he gave up three hits and three walks and was charged with four runs while retiring just one batter. After opening eyes with seven innings of one-run ball and tallying nine strikeouts in his season debut March 30 against the Red Sox, McCullers has yielded nine runs with a modest 8:5 K:BB across 8.1 frames over his past two starts. He next lines up for a home matchup against St. Louis.

Castillo allowed seven runs on 10 hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 3.1 innings in a no-decision against Houston on Saturday.

The Mariners gave Castillo a two-run lead in the first inning, but the veteran hurler fell behind when Taylor Trammell cleared the bases with a three-run double in the second. Castillo gave up three more runs in the third and another in the fourth before being pulled with one out in the latter frame. After tossing six scoreless innings against the Yankees in his first start of the campaign, Castillo has surrendered 11 runs (10 earned) over seven frames across his past two outings. He'll try to get back on track in his next start, which lines up to be a road outing in San Diego.