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Kikuchi (4-7) picked up a loss after he pitched two innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out three batters in Sunday's 6-5 defeat to Cleveland.

Advice: Kikuchi was once again ineffective on the mound Sunday, giving up one run in the first inning before the game went into a rain delay after he allowed another run to score and loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the third. Zach Pop replaced Kikuchi on the mound following the delay, allowing two of the inherited runners to score. Kikuchi has been in quite the rut for a while now, allowing 20 earned runs over 25.1 innings in his last six outings. The rough stretch has seen his ERA balloon from 2.64 to 4.00 on the year over 83.1 innings in 16 starts. The left-hander is tentatively set to return to the mound for a tough matchup against the Yankees on Friday. Rotowire.com Sunday, 8:20 pm

Cannon (1-2) was tagged with the loss after he pitched one inning, giving up eight runs (five earned) on seven hits while striking out one batter in Sunday's 11-2 defeat to the Tigers.

Advice: Cannon ran into trouble early Sunday, surrendering five runs in the first inning while serving up two home runs. He returned to the mound for the second frame, allowing three straight singles before being pulled from the contest. Cannon's performance against Detroit was quite the 180 degree shift from his last outing Tuesday versus the Astros, when he pitched 8.2 scoreless innings. On the season, Cannon now owns a 4.59 ERA and 1.41 WHIP with 29 strikeouts over 33.1 innings in seven appearances, including six starts, with the White Sox. With Mike Clevinger (elbow) nearing a return from the 15-day injured list, it's unclear if Cannon will get another turn in the rotation. Rotowire.com Sunday, 7:07 pm

Max Scherzer threw five shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out four and walking none.

Advice: There’s not much more you could ask for from the 39-year-old in his season debut. He was incredibly economical with his 57 pitches, throwing 39 strikes. He also induced seven whiffs on 31 swings for a 23 percent whiff rate and 26 percent CSW on the day. Two things to keep an eye on are that Scherzer’s four-seam fastball velocity was 92.9 mph, which is down from last year’s 93.7 mph, and he also allowed 92 percent zone contact, so he was really only missing bats when he got chases out of the zone. Still, it’s been just one start, and it’s great to see Scherzer on the mound and looking healthy. Rotoworld Sunday, 2:55 pm

Jonathan Cannon allowed five earned runs in one-plus innings on Sunday against the Tigers. He struck out one batter and didn’t administer a walk.

Advice: Cannon got smoked just one start after his near complete game shutout against the Astros on Tuesday. There was a costly error by Paul DeJong and Jared Shuster promptly allowed a three-run homer to Riley Greene which charged two additional runs to Cannon, but he was not good when he was in there either. The Tigers were all over his sinker and sweeper as he left far too many in the heart of the zone. Cannon will have a chance to right the ship next week against the Rockies. Rotoworld Sunday, 1:42 pm

Pirates placed RHP David Bednar on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 20, with a left oblique strain.

Advice: Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday during a local radio interview that he hopes the injury is minor. The 29-year-old stopper was unavailable during Saturday’s game against the Rays due to left side tightness and is going to get some extra time off to rest and recover. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days. It’ll presumably be Aroldis Chapman handling the closing duties for Pittsburgh during his absence. Rotoworld Sunday, 9:52 am