MLB Player News

Akin tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two in Friday's 3-1 loss to the Red Sox.

Akin has covered at least two innings in each of his appearances this season, and he's only allowed runs once. The southpaw has been effective in a multi-inning role with a 1.26 ERA, 0.56 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB across 14.1 innings this season. Despite his profile as a starter coming up through the minors, he hasn't been considered for a number of openings in the Orioles' rotation yet since he's done so well as a bulk reliever.

Sands was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

Sands has served mainly as a starter in the minors, but he's allowed 10 runs in 2.2 innings over his last two outings. Despite his recent struggles, the right-hander is still considered one of Minnesota's top prospects and will be available to make his major-league debut after Bailey Ober (groin) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Josh Winder is considered a candidate to take Ober's place in the rotation, so it seems likely that Sands will pitch out of the bullpen for now.

Francis is expected to rejoin the Blue Jays on Saturday, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The 26-year-old was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, but he'll likely reclaim a spot in the major-league bullpen since Tayler Saucedo (hip) is expected to land on the injured list. Francis tossed two-thirds of a scoreless inning during his big-league debut against the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Saucedo (hip) will undergo an MRI on Saturday and is expected to require a trip to the injured list, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Saucedo exited Friday's game against the Astros with right hip discomfort and will likely miss additional time. Assuming the southpaw is placed on the injured list, Bowden Francis is expected to rejoin Toronto's bullpen after being sent down Friday.

Vest logged two scoreless innings of relief in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Dodgers. He allowed one hit and struck out four.

Vest has been a bright spot so far for the 6-13 Tigers, as the righty has a 2.08 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 10 strikeouts across 8.2 innings pitched. The 26-year-old is locked into a middle-relief role, and though he's pitched well, his fantasy value is limited at the moment because he's not in the mix for saves. That could change if anything happens to closer Gregory Soto, however.

Robles allowed a run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 3-1 win over Baltimore.

Robles was the reliever of choice to start the ninth inning with Boston up, 3-0, but he surrendered hits to the first two batters faced, including a Ryan Mountcastle home run. After getting a couple of right-handed batters out, Robles was replaced by lefty Matt Strahm to face lefty batters. After a dominant start to the season, Robles has hit a bump with four runs (one earned) allowed on five hits and two home runs over 3.1 innings.

Clase saved Friday's 9-8 win against the Athletics, allowing one hit while striking out one in the ninth inning.

Despite the clean line, the outing was far from easy for Clase as he surrendered a leadoff double to Kevan Smith and recorded the final two outs with Smith on third base. The hard-throwing 24-year-old has an uncharacteristically high 5.68 ERA through 6.1 innings this season, but a career 1.81 mark and 3.44 SIERA this season suggest better outings are ahead.

Howard allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out three over 1.2 innings in Friday's 6-3 loss to Atlanta.

Howard was expected to be the bulk-innings pitcher following opener Garrett Richards, but the right-hander ran into third-inning trouble. After fanning the side in the second on 23 pitches, Howard was the victim of a misplay by Adolis Garcia that resulted in an inside-the-park home run, and then he loaded the bases before being pulled. Howard got his pitch count up to a season-high 51, but the Rangers were hoping for more than five outs. He lines up to start or appear in the series opener in Yankee Stadium next Friday.

Warren (2-0) was credited with the win against the White Sox on Friday as a result of pitching two perfect innings during which he struck out one batter.

Scheduled starter Noah Syndergaard (illness) was scratched earlier in the day, forcing the Angels to pivot to a bullpen game. Jimmy Herget got the start and allowed one run over three innings, and Warren followed with two perfect frames. It was an excellent bounce-back performance for the right-hander after he surrendered two runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous appearance. Warren has compiled a 4.32 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 5:5 K:BB across 8.1 innings this season.

Alexander (0-3) took the loss during Friday's 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks with one strikeout in 2.1 innings.

Alexander was victimized by home runs during each of his first two innings that got Detroit into a deficit it would not recover from. After a decent debut against Boston on April 12, the 27-year-old has surrendered nine runs through seven innings across three starts. He's currently slated to pitch during next weekend's series in Houston, though Alexander probably won't stick in the rotation once Casey Mize (elbow) and Matt Manning (shoulder) return if he continues to bleed runs.