MLB Player News

Houser piled up five strikeouts on the night while issuing a pair of free passes. All of the damage done against him came on one mighty swing by Salvador Perez in the opening inning. Aside from that, Houser was terrific. He got six swings and misses on 78 pitches on the evening, registering a middling CSW of 24 percent. It looks like he’ll open the season secure in the Giants’ rotation, though it’s a stretch to think that he’s going to suddenly return to being a viable mixed league fantasy option.

Nola had been lined up to start on Sunday, but they’ll go with Jesus Luzardo there on regular rest. Mattingly wanted to break up the lefties in his rotation, giving a day in-between Luzardo and Cristopher Sanchez. That means Nola will now be scheduled to make two starts next week, though he misses a prime matchup against the Marlins in Miami.

It could just be due to the fact that the Braves are facing a left-hander in Jose Quintana, but he’s not exactly the type of feared southpaw that you sit your strong left-handed hitters against. It’s encouraging that he hasn’t been placed on the injured list yet, but it sounds like it could be a while before he’s able to return to his post in center field and will be limited to designated hitter duties until then.

The 36-year-old hurler re-signed with the Orioles on a minor league deal on Wednesday after he had briefly explored the free agent market. He has done a nice job so far this season for the O’s, posting a 3.46 ERA over 13 innings in his five appearances. With Ryan Helsley (elbow) heading to the injured list and roles shifting around, Suárez should have an opportunity to stick around this time.

The closer madness continues. Helsley had been one of the top performers in the league at the position, posting a 2.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 15/7 K/BB ratio over his first 10 2/3 innings while converting each of his first seven save chances. No word yet on the severity of the injury or on how long the Orioles expect their closer to be shelved for. Albert Suarez was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move on Friday.

Norby has been struggling at the plate lately, so giving him a night off to clear his head isn’t the worst idea. It’s also beneficial that he won’t have to face Zack Wheeler. Christopher Morel will start in his place at first base and will bat eighth for the Marlins on Friday evening.

Astros’ manager Joe Espada spoke to the 27-year-old hurler on Thursday and noted that he felt good coming out of his last rehab starts despite the poor results on the field. It sounds like we’re still probably at least a week away from Imai potentially rejoining the Astros’ rotation.

Not exactly a banner start for Gallen, though it’s his first real blowup since April. Perhaps the shoulder contusion he suffered in his last appearance was bothering him. He managed just five whiffs on 42 swings and gave up eight hard-hit balls. His defense didn’t help him as Ildemaro Vargas let a Carson Kelly pop up drop in the first that led to a third run. Jorge Barrosa allowed an Alex Bregman liner to skip past him to score a few more in the fourth inning. It’s hard to feel confident about starting Gallen in fantasy leagues right now between the lack of strikeouts and the defense behind him. He’ll take on the Pirates next week.

Back on form after a rough outing against the Dodgers, Rea effectively dazzled the Diamondbacks, missing a quality start only because of an elevated pitch count. Rea managed a sizzling 16 whiffs on 54 swings, but the Diamondbacks did get 12 hard-hit balls against him. The Cubs bullpen immediately put Rea’s win in jeopardy by allowing a three-run homer to Geraldo Perdomo, but hung on. Rea’s in line to start again against the Reds in Wrigley next week and should be a viable-if-unexciting streamer for that one.

He also walked in his final at-bat, and somehow managed only one RBI and zero runs scored despite reaching base every single at-bat. Vargas is hitting .404 with a 1.131 OPS, as everyone suspected would happen before the season. Fantasy managers are advised to keep riding the hot streak and understand that this is likely just a prolonged heater, not a new norm, for Vargas. It’s still a lot of fun.

Busch opened scoring with a two-run single with the bases loaded to make it 2-0, then added a hard-hit double later on. Busch has been struggling this year, so this game at least gets him over the Mendoza line at .203/.301/.297. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues should stick with him for now, but his expected batting average of .204 is rough — he’s simply not barreling the ball enough yet.