MLB Player News
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Chris Bassitt SP | BAL
Orioles' Chris Bassitt: Struggles in debut
Bassitt (0-1) took the loss Monday against the Rangers, allowing four runs on six hits and four walks while striking out three in 4.1 innings pitched.
All of the damage done against Bassitt came in the first two innings of his Orioles tenure. He allowed one run in the first inning on a fielder's choice, but the crushing inning was the second. Three hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly contributed to the Rangers plating three runs in the frame and jumping out to a 4-0 lead that the Orioles would not be able to recover from. The 37-year-old will look to find better success in his next outing, scheduled for Sunday against the Pirates.
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Tyler Alexander RP | TEX
Rangers' Tyler Alexander: Earns second save
Alexander earned the save in Monday's 5-2 win over the Orioles, tossing a clean ninth inning while striking out two.
Alexander has converted both of the chances he's had for saves early on in the season. Normal closer Robert Garcia had pitched two days in a row entering Monday, so the 31-year-old was called upon to record the last three outs in the ninth and was razor sharp, striking out two batters in a three up, three down ninth. Alexander probably isn't putting Garcia's role in any danger yet, but it is a situation worth monitoring moving forward should he continue to pitch well.
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Luis Castillo SP | SEA
Mariners' Luis Castillo: Dominates Yankees, reaches 1500 Ks
Castillo did not factor into the decision Monday against the Yankees, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out seven over six scoreless innings.
Castillo was in complete control, holding the Yankees hitless until the fourth inning and limiting them to just two hits overall. The right-hander generated 17 whiffs and leaned heavily on his primary arsenal, throwing 87 of his 95 pitches as either a fastball or slider. Castillo had hitters fooled all night, but his final strikeout was a milestone moment, as he got Aaron Judge to swing through an inside breaking ball for his 1,500th career strikeout before exiting after the sixth inning. The 33-year-old will look to replicate Monday's success in his next scheduled start against the Angels.
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Jack Leiter P | TEX
Rangers' Jack Leiter: Shine in season debut
Leiter (1-0) earned the victory Monday against the Orioles, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings of work.
It was an impressive 2026 debut for Leiter, holding the Orioles to just two runs. The 25-year-old also fanned eight batters, a number he hit only three times all of last season. More starts like that will allow Leiter to capitalize on his big upside and build on the 2025 season that he finished 10-10 with a 3.86 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 151.2 innings pitched.
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Kazuma Okamoto 3B | TOR
Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto: Goes deep again Monday
Okamoto went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 14-5 loss to the Rockies.
That's now back-to-back games with a homer for Okamoto, who has hit safely in each of his first four appearances so far in 2026. The infielder has hit seventh in the lineup in two of his four outings, but Okamoto could work his way up the batting order more often if he continues to hit well.
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Ryan Weathers SP | NYY
Yankees' Ryan Weathers: Fans seven in Yankees debut
Weathers did not factor into the decision Monday against the Mariners, allowing one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven over 4.1 innings.
Making his Yankees debut after being traded from Miami this offseason, Weathers was sharp for much of the outing, giving up his only run in the second inning on an RBI single from Cole Young before settling in and retiring seven straight batters, including four via strikeout during a dominant stretch. Weathers ran into trouble in the fifth with back-to-back singles that effectively ended his night as he threw 77 pitches (49 strikes) in the effort, flashing strong swing-and-miss ability throughout. Coming off a 2025 season in which the southpaw logged just 38.1 innings with a 3.99 ERA, this start was an encouraging step forward for the 26-year-old.
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Taijuan Walker SP | PHI
Phillies' Taijuan Walker: Rough start to season
Walker (0-1) suffered the loss in Monday's defeat against the Nationals, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and three hits while striking out two in 4.2 innings of work.
Things went wrong almost immediately for Walker in his first start of 2026. He was tagged for four runs in the first inning, two in the second and one in the third, and the Phillies were down 7-0 before nine outs were recorded. The 33-year-old didn't allow seven runs in one start at all last season, so it certainly wasn't the debut that he was hoping for. His next shot at a rebound will likely come at altitude against the Rockies.
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Corbin Carroll LF | ARI
Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll: Powers Arizona to first victory
Carroll went 2-for-4 with a home run, a triple, a walk, two total runs and four total RBI in a 9-6 win against the Tigers on Monday.
Carroll pummeled future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, opening the scoring with an RBI triple in the first inning and tacking on a three-run homer in the second. The star outfielder was due for a breakout game after going just 2-for-11 without an extra-base hit over his first three games. Carroll put together his first career 30-30 campaign last year, and Monday's performance is the type of explosive performance that made him a consensus top-20 pick in fantasy drafts ahead of this season.
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Joey Wiemer CF | WAS
Nationals' Joey Wiemer: Ties MLB record
Wiemer went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored and tied an MLB record for most consecutive plate appearances reaching base to start a season in Monday's 13-2 win over the Phillies.
With two singles to start Monday's game, Wiemer officially matched the mark of 10 consecutive plate appearances reaching base to start a season set by Carlos Delgado in 2002. The streak stopped at 10 after he grounded out in the fifth inning. Regardless, the first three games of Wiemer's Nationals tenure couldn't have started much better as he's slashing .800/.846/1.600 with two home runs and eight RBI.
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Justin Verlander SP | DET
Tigers' Justin Verlander: Stumbles in first start
Verlander (0-1) took the loss against Arizona on Monday, tossing 3.2 innings and allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one batter.
It's a feel-good story for Verlander to be back with the team that he's built much of his Hall of Fame resume with, but the veteran hurler looked far removed from his peak years Monday. Verlander fell behind 5-0 by the end of the second inning, with much of the damage coming by way of a Corbin Carroll three-run homer. To his credit, Verlander did manage to retire six of the eight batters he faced following that long ball, but his final line wasn't pretty. Tellingly, the right-hander notched just six whiffs and one punchout while giving up three extra-base knocks. He'll try to turn things around in his next start, which is lined up for a home matchup versus St. Louis.