Tomoyuki

Sugano

Sugano wasn’t great, but didn’t have to be with Colorado providing a touchdown worth of offense behind him. The 36-year-old held the Chicago offense to just one run over five innings, but a pair of runs charged to him without recording an out turned an excellent outing into a mediocre one. One that comes with his sixth win of the season, however. Sugano could be a deadline target for a team looking for innings at the bottom of their rotation, but for now, he’s scheduled to face the Athletics on Sunday.

Sugano was sharp early on, scattering three hits and a walk over four scoreless innings. The Angels would finally bring two runs in to score in the fifth on a walk and two doubles. Sugano’s day would be done after five at 96 pitches. He struck out five. The 36-year-old right-hander has been relatively solid for the Rockies, posting a 3.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 36/18 K/BB ratio across 63 1/3 innings. He’ll take on the Cubs in Colorado next Tuesday.

Sugano gave up two runs in the first, both on solo homers by Shohei Ohtani by Freddie Freeman. From that point on he was solid, but the damage was done with Ohtani throwing six no-hit innings and allowing just a run. Sugano doesn’t miss enough bats to truly trust as a fantasy streamer, but the results — especially considering who he’s pitching for — have been better than expected. He’ll try and keep the ball in the park against the Angels next week.

Sugano left down 2-1 before the Rockies came back to win the game 3-2. He has a 3.86 ERA after 10 starts, which could give him a little trade value in spite of his paltry 13 percent strikeout rate. He’s due to make his next start at home Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

It looks like the Rockies want their starters to have an extra day off this week. Zach Agnos will start against the D-backs in a bullpen game on Thursday.

Sugano stranded a runner in the first inning, then gave up a run on two hits in the second. He stranded three runners over the next two frames, then gave up one more run on a pair of doubles in the fifth. Sugano’s day would be done after five innings at 88 pitches. He struck out just one. The 36-year-old right-hander will take a 4.02 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 25/14 K/BB ratio across 47 innings into a start against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Thursday.

He struck out two and allowed three homers, including back-to-back blasts by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the first inning. It was the third time in eight starts he’s allowed four or more runs, but he’s given up two or fewer in all the rest. The right-hander isn’t a recommended streaming option in his next appearance, currently scheduled to be at home against the Diamondbacks.

All of the runs came in the fifth, which opened with a homer and two doubles from the bottom of the Mets lineup. Sugano then walked Juan Soto and retired Bo Bichette before leaving with two on and one out. Jaden Hill replaced him and allowed both runners to score on a Mark Vientos single. This drops Sugano to 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA. He’ll likely face the Phillies on Sunday.

Sugano continues to look like a viable streaming option in deeper mixed leagues, scattering four hits and three walks while working into the sixth inning for the fourth time in six starts in his Rockies debut. The 36-year-old righty was able to cruise to a relatively easy win in this one after Colorado’s offense raced out to an early lead and supplied nearly two touchdowns worth runs of support. He’ll carry a stellar 2.84 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 21/9 K/BB ratio across 31 2/3 innings into a home outing against the Mets on Monday.

Sugano has been a real bright spot for the Rockies to begin 2025, even after he struggled while allowing five runs in his previous start against the Dodgers. This is now four-of-five outings that he’s allowed no more than two runs, and he’s forged a respectable 19/6 K/BB over his 26 1/3 innings in his first year with the Rockies. Sugano isn’t ever going to be an elite bat-misser, but he limits the hard contact enough to be a viable streamer against weaker lineups. He’ll have to pitch in the less-than-friendly confines of Cincinnati on Tuesday, however, against the Reds.