MLB Player News

Ward (elbow) made his most recent rehab appearance Saturday for High-A Greenville, covering four innings and striking out three while allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and one walk.

Ward has spent the entire 2022 campaign on Double-A Portland's 60-day injured list while he's been rehabbing from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last June, but the 25-year-old right-hander looks like he could soon be ready to rejoin the Red Sox's Eastern League affiliate. Saturday's outing with Greenville marked the sixth start of his rehab assignment, and his longest one to date.

Winckowski (4-5) yielded two runs on seven hits and a walk over five frames Sunday, striking out one batter and earning a win over Milwaukee.

The only damage against Winckowski came via Hunter Renfroe's two-run blast in the second inning. The right-handed rookie had been tagged with 14 runs in as many innings over his previous three starts but he lowered his season ERA from 5.18 to 5.00 during his fourth career win. Winckowski is lined up to start in Kansas City next week.

Canterino (elbow) has struck out four while allowing one run on three hits and one walk in 2.2 innings between two appearances since beginning a rehab assignment Monday with the Twins' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.

Canterino has been shut down at Double-A Wichita since early June with a right elbow strain, but he should be ready to rejoin the affiliate within the next couple of weeks. Prior to being deactivated, the 24-year-old turned in a 1.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 50:22 K:BB over 34.1 innings for Wichita.

Hernandez saved Sunday's 5-2 win against the Angels, striking out one in a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Manager Chris Woodward turned to Hernandez for his fifth appearance of the campaign after Texas took the lead in the top of the ninth, and the 26-year-old delivered an easy frame. Texas has featured a revolving door at closer of late and Hernandez may be the new favorite, as he's permitted four baserunners with four strikeouts across five scoreless innings this season.

Clarke (2-1) allowed a hit and a walk with one strikeout in two scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday over the Yankees.

Clarke entered the game with the Royals down by two, but a solo home run from Hunter Dozier and a three-run blast form Salvador Perez turned the game around. Rather than bring in struggling closer Scott Barlow, manager Mike Matheny stuck with Clarke for a second frame, and the right-hander rewarded that decision by navigating a two-on, one-out situation in the ninth. July did a lot to boost Clarke's stock in the Kansas City bullpen -- he allowed just one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out 10 over 12 innings in 11 appearances. He now has a 3.65 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 39:7 K:BB across 44.1 innings this season, and he's added two saves, 10 holds and four blown saves. Clarke is likely to share setup duties with Josh Staumont going forward.

Holmes (5-2) picked up the loss after blowing a save in an 8-6 defeat Sunday against Kansas City. He allowed three runs on a hit, a walk and a hit batsman in two-thirds of an inning.

Holmes entered the game in the ninth with the Yankees leading 6-5 and retired the first batter he faced. After walking Whit Merrifield and beaning Bobby Witt, Holmes gave up a three-run homer to Salvador Perez. It was the first time all season a batter hit one out of the park against Holmes. The 29-year-old has now blown two of his last three save chances and walked eight batters in his last 7.2 innings.

Clase struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Rays.

Clase finishes July having allowed only one run, which came in a non-save situation, in 10 innings. He converted five saves for the month and now has 23 in 25 tries this season. The hard-throwing closer trimmed his ERA to 1.25 and WHIP to 0.69 with his eighth consecutive scoreless frame, and he's added a 45:6 K:BB in 43.1 innings overall.

Shaw allowed two runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout in two innings against the Rays on Sunday. He did not factor into the decision.

Shaw has made his last two appearances as an opener ahead of Kirk McCarty, to mixed results. Shaw's given up a pair of runs in each of his last three outings and continues to struggle through the middle part of the season. The right-hander owns a 5.63 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 31:20 K:BB through 38.1 innings in 41 appearances. If he continues to function as an opener going forward, the role will reduce his chances of picking up wins and holds.

Thielbar (hamstring) struck out a batter over a perfect inning of relief in his rehab appearance Sunday for Triple-A St. Paul.

Thielbar needed just seven pitches to retire the side in his first appearance since landing on the injured list July 23 with a left hamstring strain. He'll could make one more appearance in the minors but should be ready to return from the IL when first eligible Thursday.

Brieske (forearm) began a rehab assignment Sunday for Triple-A Toledo and struck out two while allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks over three innings.

Brieske was making his first appearance at any level since July 12 after the Tigers moved him to the 15-day injured list coming out of the All-Star break due to right forearm soreness. The Tigers were looking to manage the rookie's workload anyway, so the injury doesn't seem to be a major concern. He tossed 45 pitches Sunday and will likely need to get ramped up with at least one more outing at Triple-A before slotting back into the big-league rotation.