NEW YORK — The Miami Marlins defeated Pablo López in salary arbitration and the Milwaukee Brewers defeated Adrian Houser in a pair of cases involving right-handed pitchers, giving teams a 5-2 lead over players in decisions with 11 cases remaining.
López will receive $2.45 million rather than the $3 million he requested, according to the decision by Allen Ponak, Scott Buchheit and Brian Keller, who heard the case Friday.
Houser will get $2.425 million instead of the $3 million he asked for. Howard Edelman, Mark Burstein and Robert Herzog heard the case on May 4.
The decisions had been withheld pending the case of injured Baltimore pitcher John Means, who avoided arbitration when he agreed last weekend to a two-year contract worth $5.925 million.
López, 26, was 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts last season, striking out 115 and walking 26 in 102 2/3 innings. He is 4-2 with a 2.04 ERA in nine starts this year with 56 strikeouts and 11 walks in 53 innings.
López was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $595,000 last year.
Houser, 29, was 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 26 starts and two relief appearances for the Brewers last season, when he earned $584,100.
Houser was eligible for arbitration for the first time and is 3-4 with a 2.98 ERA in eight starts this season, striking out 35 and walking 19 in 42 1/3 innings.
No statistics or evidence from after March 1 are admissible other than contract and salary comparisons, timing set when Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed to the deal that ended the lockout.
In previous decisions, Seattle second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier ($8 million) and Kansas City outfielder Andrew Benintendi ($8.5 million) won and Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley ($3.95 million), injured Atlanta reliever Luke Jackson ($3.6 million) and St. Louis outfielder Tyler O’Neill ($3.4 million) also lost.
Arbitration hearings usually are held during the first three weeks of February but were delayed by the lockout.
Hearings are scheduled through June 24. Players still scheduled for hearings include Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall, pitcher Max Fried and shortstop Dansby Swanson, along with New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Chicago Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras, Minnesota catcher Gary Sánchez, Miami catcher Jacob Stallings, Detroit right-hander Spencer Turnbull, Seattle outfielder Jesse Winker and Kansas City second baseman Nicky Lopez.