MLB Player News

The Royals recalled Speier from Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.

Speier will be joining the Royals' 26-man active roster as a replacement for starting pitcher Brady Singer (personal), who was one of 10 Royals placed on the restricted list Thursday ahead of the team's four-game series in Toronto due to his vaccination status. Because Singer started Wednesday's contest, the Royals weren't able to immediately replace him on the roster until three days later. Speier will give the Royals a fresh left-handed arm out of the bullpen Sunday in the team's final game before the All-Star break.

Hernandez allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning in Saturday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to Seattle.

Hernandez was activated off the 60-day injured list and put to work immediately in an important spot with the Rangers trailing by one in the seventh inning. This was the first time he's thrown in a regular-season game since 2020, a year in which he had a 2.90 ERA and was an anchor at the back end of the bullpen. He was slated for a similar role prior to undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in April of 2021 and could resume his role as a key component late in games in 2022.

Romano (3-2) gave up two runs -- one of them earned -- while striking out one over an inning of work in a 6-5 extra-inning victory against the Royals on Saturday. Romano was assigned the win.

Romano was called in to a tie game in the 10th inning and got two outs before giving up a two-run home run off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino. Only one of the runs scored was earned due to the automatic runner on second base. Romano got out of the inning and tallied his third win of the season thanks to a Blue Jays offensive barrage that plated three runs in the bottom half. Romano should continue to see high-leverage usage, leading to the occasional win in addition to frequent save chances as the team's closer.

Castillo gave up three earned runs on five hits and no walks while striking out one over three innings in a 6-5 extra-inning win over the Royals on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.

Castillo made the second major-league start of his career for the depleted Blue Jays rotation. He lasted three innings on 53 pitches before the Blue Jays turned to six relievers to get them through the rest of the game. Castillo has been thrust into a rotation spot due to injuries to Hyun Jin Ryu (Tommy John surgery) and Yusei Kikuchi (neck strain), and his future role with the club is uncertain going into the All-Star break. After firing manager Charlie Montoyo earlier this week, the Blue Jays have made it clear that they are in win-now mode and could look to acquire a starting pitcher before the trade deadline.

Weber earned the save over the Red Sox on Saturday, pitching three scoreless innings during which he allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one batter.

Weber made his first big-league appearance since July 2 -- and just his third in the majors this season -- and ended up closing out the game after Jameson Taillon covered the first six innings. Weber came in with the Yankees holding a nine-run lead, so he was credited with his first career big-league save despite facing very little stress. He's allowed only one earned run over 7.2 innings for New York this season.

Pivetta (8-7) took the loss against the Yankees on Saturday, allowing seven runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out four over 4.1 innings.

Pivetta gave up four runs in a brutal first inning before keeping New York off the scoreboard in the following three frames. The Yankees got to him again in the fifth, however, and the right-hander was ultimately charged with seven total runs. After compiling a respectable 3.23 ERA through his first 16 starts, Pivetta has given up 20 earned runs over 13.1 frames across his past three outings, pushing his season ERA up to 4.50. He'll look for a much-needed reset over the All-Star break.

Yarbrough completed 5.1 innings against Baltimore on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and no walks while striking out four. He did not factor in the decision.

Yarbrough was called up to prior to Saturday's start after spending most of June and the first half of July in the minors. The left-hander looked good against the Orioles, throwing 43 of 65 pitches for strikes and departing in the sixth inning in line for the victory. Though Tampa Bay's bullpen couldn't hold the lead, it was nonetheless a promising start for Yarbrough after he surrendered 10 runs over seven innings across two big-league appearances in June. Yarbrough could hold onto a rotation spot with Shane Baz (elbow) out until at least September, though Jeffrey Springs' (leg) imminent return could also push Yarbrough back to the minors or into the bullpen.

Krehbiel earned a save against the Rays on Saturday, retiring the only batter he faced in the 11th inning.

Regular closer Jorge Lopez covered the ninth and 10th innings, so the Orioles had to turn elsewhere after they took a two-run lead in the top of the 11th. Cionel Perez opened the frame and worked two outs around a walk, and Krehbiel was then brought in to face Luke Raley. The reliever retired Raley on five pitches to secure the first save of his big-league career. Krehbiel isn't likely to earn many more save chances given Lopez's effectiveness this season, but the former has been an important part of Baltimore's bullpen with a 2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 27:10 K:BB over 32 innings. He has seven holds and four wins to go along with the one save.

Duran picked up the save Saturday against the White Sox. He allowed three hits and zero walks while striking out three over two scoreless innings.

His pitch count ticked up to 40 by the end -- a season high -- but Duran was able to get Tim Anderson to ground out to shut the door in the ninth. Duran now has six saves this season to go along with a dominant 51:8 K:BB over 42 innings, and with Emilio Pagan out of the closer role for Minnesota, Duran should have plenty of chances to add to his saves total in the second half.

Bautista was unavailable for Saturday's game against Tampa Bay due to upper-body soreness, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Bautista was conspicuous by his absence in Saturday's extra-innings win. Manager Brandon Hyde did not go into much detail afterward, but he admitted Bautista was down due to injury. Bautista has solidified his standing as one of the team's top bullpen arms with a 1.72 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 44:14 K:BB in 36.2 innings so far this season.