MLB Player News

Javier (neck) allowed three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three across 3.1 innings in a rehab outing with Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday, MLB.com reports.

The results weren't overly impressive, but it was otherwise a successful outing for Javier, as he was slated to throw roughly 65 pitches in the outing. Assuming no news of a setback emerges, he should rejoin the Astros' rotation at some point in the upcoming week.

Bradley (pectoral) allowed one earned run across six innings while striking out eight and walking two in a rehab outing with Triple-A Durham on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Bradley made his second rehab start with Durham and ramped up to 94 total pitches. He's looked good in each outing and will be up with the Rays shortly. It's possible Bradley's next start will come with Tampa Bay, but it looks like a near certainty he'll be activated for his season debut by mid-May.

Valdez (1-1) took the loss against Seattle on Saturday, allowing five runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 5.1 innings.

Valdez had arguably his worst start of the campaign, as the five runs and nine hits he allowed were both season-worst marks while he recorded a season-low three punchouts. The right-hander also gave up his first two homers of the year, with Cal Raleigh's two-run shot in the sixth inning resulting in the hurler getting the hook. Since being activated from the injured list April 27 following a near month-long absence due to an elbow injury, Valdez has surrendered seven runs on 14 hits across 10.1 frames over two starts.

Gilbert (3-0) earned the win over Houston on Saturday, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out six batters over eight scoreless innings.

Gilbert tied a season-high mark with four walks, but that didn't hurt him since he gave up just a pair of hits (both singles). The right-hander notched his fifth straight quality start and lowered his season ERA to 1.69, fifth-lowest among qualified MLB pitchers. Gilbert also ranks fifth among qualified starters with a 0.79 WHIP while registering a 50:13 K:BB through 48 innings on the campaign.

Wacha (1-4) took the loss against Texas on Saturday, allowing seven runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 3.2 innings.

Wacha was pelted by seven singles among the nine hits he allowed, and he exited with two outs in the fourth frame after giving up a single to four of the final five batters he faced. The seven runs were a season-worst mark for the right-hander, while his three punchouts tied a season low. Wacha was doing fine with a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts this season, but that number has since ballooned to 5.50 as a result of the veteran hurler giving up 11 earned runs over 9.1 innings across his past two appearances.

Dunning allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four batters over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on Saturday.

Texas jumped out a 7-0 lead through four innings, which appeared to set Dunning up for an easy win. Meanwhile, the right-hander cruised through those four frames, facing the minimum 12 batters. However, Dunning ran into trouble in the top of the fifth, allowing four Royals to reach base in a span of five hitters, resulting in two runs and a two-out hook. That prevented Dunning from qualifying for the victory, which would have given him his first winning streak of the campaign. He still managed to lower his season ERA slightly to 4.10, but it was a disappointing outing after Dunning punched out 10 batters in a dominant win his previous time on the mound.

Detmers (3-3) took the loss against Cleveland on Saturday, allowing seven runs on five hits and four walks while striking out seven batters over 5.2 innings.

Detmers entered the sixth inning with a quality start still in sight, as he had allowed three runs to that point. However, the left-hander got himself into trouble by walking three batters in the frame, and Bo Naylor made the hurler pay with a grand slam to blow the game open. The seven runs, three homers and four free passes were all season-worst marks for Detmers, who was tagged with his third consecutive loss. The 24-year-old looked to be on his way to a breakout campaign by posting a 1.19 ERA and 30:7 K:BB over 22.2 innings across his first four starts, but he's stumbled since, allowing 16 earned runs and recording a 14:7 K:BB over 17.2 frames in his past three outings.

Lively (1-1) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out five batters over six innings.

Lively got through four scoreless frames before the Angels posted a run in the fifth, but that was all the scoring the right-hander ended up allowing. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has yielded exactly one run in each of his past three starts, and he's given up a total of five earned runs across 21.2 innings on the season for a sterling ERA of 2.08. It's a bit difficult to imagine Lively continuing this level of success given that he entered the campaign with a 5.05 ERA across 208.2 career innings as a major-leaguer, and his Statcast numbers show that despite his strong start to the season, he has given up plenty of hard contact while rarely getting batters to chase. However, it's also worth noting that his strikeout numbers have tangibly risen -- Lively had a career 6.9 K/9 prior to this season but is at a 10.0 K/9 through four starts this year.

Kirby underwent an MRI on his right knee Saturday after being removed early from his start against the Astros on Friday, but the results are still pending, MLB.com reports.

Kirby's night ended Friday after a relatively modest 88 pitches due to the lingering right knee issue, which he conceded after the game he'd been dealing with "for the last couple of weeks." The general feeling after the game was he would be able to make his next start without issue, but manager Scott Servais said Kirby was sent for an MRI "just to make sure we're treating it the right way." Servais confirmed Kirby's arm felt good and added that he still expected the talented right-hander to make his next scheduled start, which is slated for Wednesday at Target Field against the Twins.

Fedde escaped with a no-decision Saturday in a 6-5 extra-inning win over the Cardinals, giving up five runs on four hits and five walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

The right-hander blanked St. Louis for four innings despite issuing free passes in the first, second and fourth frames, but his luck ran out in the fifth. Fortunately for Fedde, the White Sox came back to tie the game up after he left the mound before winning in the 10th. Fedde threw only 48 of 91 pitches for strikes in his shortest outing of the season, and he has walked at least three batters in three of his last five starts. He'll take a 3.46 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 41:14 K:BB through 39 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Guardians.