MLB Player News

Brieske (2-6) pitched 6.1 scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday against the White Sox. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out four.

Chicago trotted out the red-hot Dylan Cease, but Brieske was up for the duel. This was the third time this season the rookie has allowed zero runs in a start, with the other two coming in consecutive outings June 11 and June 16. The two hits were also the fewest he's allowed in a game. Brieske only has 50 strikeouts across 75.2 innings, so he's not overpowering hitters, but he's been reasonably effective with a 4.16 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He'll carry some positive momentum into his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Royals.

Lawrence worked as the primary pitcher Thursday against Seattle, allowing five runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings. He did not factor in the decision.

Anthony Banda opened the game for Toronto and was charged with two runs while notching just one out. That got him tagged with the loss and allowed Lawrence to escape with a no-decision despite his own ugly performance. Lawrence gave up a run in the second and four in the third before departing having tossed 52 pitches. The right-hander was again strung by the long ball -- he yielded two Thursday and has now served up five homers over his past 12.1 frames. Lawrence has bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the majors this season, and he could be headed back down following Thursday's poor outing.

Winckowski (3-3) allowed six earned runs on six hits and five walks while striking out two across five innings to take the loss Thursday against the Yankees.

Winckowski gave up five runs in the third inning, surrendering a grand slam to Josh Donaldson and a solo homer to Aaron Hicks. He pitched effectively for the most part otherwise and still managed to work at least five innings for his fifth consecutive start. Prior to Thursday's outing, Winckowski had allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his five appearances. Overall, he has a 4.35 ERA and a 21:12 K:BB across 31 innings.

Holmes did not allow a baserunner and struck out one across a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Red Sox.

Holmes had little trouble protecting a one-run lead to record his 16th save of the season. Despite the return of Aroldis Chapman, Holmes has remained the preferred option as the Yankees' closer. That status is well deserved, as Holmes has maintained a tremendous 0.47 ERA and 39:5 K:BB across 38 innings on the campaign.

Lopez allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Angels.

Lopez had little trouble holding a three-run lead to record his 15th save of the season. After stumbling through a three-appearance stretch early in July -- he allowed five earned runs across 1.1 innings -- Lopez has now turned in consecutive clean appearances to get back on track. He has been excellent for the majority of the campaign, maintaining a 1.79 ERA and 45:14 K:BB across 40.1 innings.

Soto allowed a run on two hits but managed to secure the save in Thursday's 2-1 win over the White Sox. He walked one and struck out one.

Soto was fortunate that he was staked to a two-run lead to begin the ninth inning, because the lefty struggled and allowed his first run to score in his last six appearances. He still managed his 17th save of the season in 19 chances, retiring sluggers Jose Abreu and Eloy Jimenez with two runners in scoring position to end the game. Despite the shaky outing, Soto still has a solid 2.70 ERA this year, and he should have solid job security in the closer role moving forward.

Silseth (1-3) allowed four earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two across four innings to take the loss Thursday against the Orioles.

Silseth was hit hard, as the Orioles managed two doubles and a home run against him in the short outing. However, he was also let down by the bullpen, who allowed two inherited runners to score. Despite some bad luck, Silseth has failed to work more than 4.1 innings in each of his last five starts, which has resulted in a 7.72 ERA across 18.2 frames in that stretch.

Garcia (back) is with Toronto for its weekend series at Seattle but has not yet been activated from the injured list, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports.

Garcia has been sidelined since June 21 with a back strain and threw one inning in a rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo on Monday. He could immediately return to a high-leverage role once reinstated, as he recorded 12 holds in 28 appearances prior to being sidelined.

Castillo was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.

Castillo has made four appearances out of the bullpen with the Blue Jays this season and has maintained a strong 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 10:2 K:BB across 8.1 innings. He's served as a starter at times with Buffalo this year, throwing as many as seven innings in an outing. That could make him a candidate to take over the rotation spot of Yusei Kikuchi (neck), who was placed on the injured list in the corresponding move.

Lawrence is expected to serve as Toronto's primary pitcher behind opener Anthony Banda against Seattle on Thursday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Kevin Gausman (ankle) is unable to start Thursday, so the Blue Jays will instead turn to Banda and Lawrence to cover the early innings in the series opener versus the Mariners. Lawrence surrendered six runs over 5.2 innings during his previous appearance for Toronto on July 2, when he served as long relief in a doubleheader.