MLB Player News

Taylor (elbow) started a throwing program at the Astros' spring training complex Thursday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

He has been sidelined with elbow inflammation since early June. Now that Taylor is throwing again, the Astros will likely ramp him up slowly given the nature of his injury.

Heasley (shoulder) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Saturday against the Yankees, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Heasley landed on the shelf with shoulder tendinitis July 10 and will return Saturday after spending a little more than the 15-day minimum on the IL. The right-hander threw 60 pitches across 3.1 innings during his lone minor-league rehab start, so he's likely to face some minor workload limitations in his first game back in the majors.

Holmes (5-1) earned the win over the Royals on Thursday, walking two batters and striking out one over one scoreless inning.

With neither team able to produce a run through eight innings, Holmes was brought in for the top of the ninth. He threw only eight of 18 pitches for strikes and walked two batters but was able to escape without allowing any runs. He was then credited with the victory when Aaron Judge hit a walkoff blast in the bottom of the frame. Since an uncharacteristic collapse against the Reds on July 12 during which he gave up four runs without retiring a batter, Holmes has subsequently completed five scoreless outings. If there's any concern about the All-Star closer, it's that he's walked at least one batter in six of his past seven appearances after issuing only five free passes across his first 37 outings of the season.

Munoz (1-4) took the loss against the Astros on Thursday, allowing two earned runs on one hit, a hit batsman and a wild pitch over one inning. He struck out one.

It was as messy an outing as the final line implies, and Munoz created plenty of trouble for himself while failing to maintain the 2-2 tie he'd been entrusted with. It was a rare hiccup for the flamethrowing right-hander, who'd last given up an earned run June 10, ending a streak of 17 appearances.

Gillaspie was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday.

Gillaspie was called up by Baltimore on Thursday but will return to the minors without seeing game action. Friday's starter Kyle Bradish (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Bautista picked up the save in Thursday's 3-0 victory over the Rays. He allowed zero runs on zero hits and zero walks while striking out three over 1.1 innings.

Bautista came on in the eighth inning with runners on second and third and struck out Randy Arozarena to end the frame before breezing through the ninth, earning his first save since May 12 and his third overall. The reliever hasn't allowed a run or a hit over his last eight appearances and sports a 14:1 K:BB during that stretch. Jorge Lopez is still the Orioles' closer -- unless he gets shipped out at the trade deadline -- but Bautista got the opportunity Thursday after Lopez took the loss in his last outing.

Yarbrough (0-6) took the loss Thursday, allowing one run on four hits and zero walks over six innings against the Orioles. He struck out eight.

Yarbrough set a season high with eight strikeouts and finished at least six innings while allowing one or fewer runs for the first time this season. However, the lefty didn't get any run support in a 3-0 loss. Yarbrough sports a 5.11 ERA with a 34:13 K:BB and is tentatively scheduled to pitch next Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

Barnes (shoulder) retired all three batters he faced, including two by strikeout, in the fourth inning for Double-A Portland on Thursday.

Barnes made his seventh rehab outing Thursday and is seemingly close to returning to the majors. The organization has scheduled him to throw back-to-back days so he's expected to appear Friday as well, per Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. When relievers on rehab pitch back-to-back days, that's typically the final step before their activation.

Martin was not used in a save situation Thursday, as Matt Moore closed out a 2-0 win over the Angels.

It's not clear if Martin was available, as he pitched on consecutive days leading into the game but had thrown only 18 pitches in total Tuesday and Wednesday. He has been filling in as the Rangers' closer, but the left-hander's most recent work may have played a role in not being used Thursday. Martin's given up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and two walks over 5.1 innings spanning his last four appearances.

Pressly earned a save against the Mariners on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out two batters in a scoreless inning.

Pressly allowed a two-out single before striking out Cal Raleigh to preserve the 4-2 win. He fanned multiple batters for the sixth time in his past eight contests, which is particularly notable since he accomplished that feat only twice through his first 19 outings of the campaign. Pressly hasn't allowed a run in any of his past 10 appearances, and he has yielded only one hit while posting a 19:0 K:BB and picking up two wins along with seven saves over 11 innings during that span.