MLB Player News

Akin (0-8) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three in five innings to take the loss against Atlanta on Friday.

Although Akin tossed 3.1 scoreless innings across his first two relief appearances in August, he's struggled in three starts since he rejoined the rotation. The southpaw has given up at least three runs in each of those starts, and he's been charged with losses in each. Since the All-Star break, Akin has posted an 8.84 ERA and 2.13 WHIP in 18.1 innings across six appearances (four starts). He tentatively lines up to make his next start at home against the Angels on Thursday.

Soto (5-3) issued two walks and struck out one in two scoreless innings to earn the win over Toronto on Friday.

Soto kept the game tied at 1-1 in the ninth inning and silenced Toronto in the 10th to collect the win after Detroit pulled ahead. The southpaw needed a strong bounce-back outing after yielding six runs (five earned) in two-thirds of an inning against the Angels on Tuesday. Soto has seen a significant share of the closing duties in Detroit -- he has 15 saves and seven holds while posting a 3.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 64:32 K:BB through 51 innings this year.

Alexander allowed one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in seven innings during a no-decision versus Toronto on Friday.

The only run on Alexander's line came via a solo home run by Vladimir Guerrero in the fourth inning. Other than that, the southpaw was excellent in his longest outing of the season and first quality start. The strong showing dropped his ERA to 4.25 with a 1.26 WHIP and 59:16 K:BB across 72 innings. The 27-year-old lines up for a rematch at home versus Toronto next weekend, potentially on longer rest since Detroit has two off days next week.

Lowther (shoulder) will make a rehab start at High-A Aberdeen on Saturday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Lowther made his first rehab appearance in the Florida Complex League and allowed a hit and no walks while striking out three in 2.1 innings. The southpaw is slated to make only one rehab start at High-A Aberdeen before he progresses to Double-A Bowie next week. If he feels good following each appearance, the 25-year-old is expected to return to Triple-A Norfolk afterward.

Pearson (groin) is slated to make his third rehab outing with Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Pearson tossed a perfect inning in both of his first two games with Buffalo, and he's set to make at least one more appearance before potentially joining the Blue Jays' bullpen. If Sunday does indeed mark Pearson's final rehab outing, he could join Toronto at some point during an upcoming four-game series against the White Sox that begins Monday.

Ramirez was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

Ramirez has spent a lot of time on Interstate 5 lately, as he was called up Aug. 12, optioned four days later and has now been called up again four days after that. He's thrown a total of 12.1 innings at the major-league level this season, struggling to a 5.11 ERA despite a 0.89 WHIP. He'll take the bullpen spot that had belonged to Casey Sadler, who was placed on the paternity list.

Merryweather (oblique) suffered a setback following his rehab outing with Low-A Dunedin on Wednesday, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca, the club is labeling the setback as "general soreness," though the extent of the issue remains unclear. Merryweather's next rehab outing was previously scheduled for Saturday, but now the club is unsure when he'll next take the mound. Unless the right-hander is able to progress well enough to make an appearance in the next couple days, it seems likely that his eventual activation from the 10-day injured list will be pushed back to early September at best.

King (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Friday.

King has been out since early July with shoulder inflammation but was trending toward a return before suffering a setback in a rehab outing last week. Previous reports indicated he still had a chance to return before the end of August, but he's now ineligible to do so prior to Sept. 5.

Chafin recorded his 18th hold in a win over the White Sox on Thursday, firing a perfect eighth inning during which he issued a walk and recorded a strikeout.

The veteran southpaw has been quite the trade-deadline find for the Athletics, as he's now recorded scoreless efforts in each of his first 10 appearances with Oakland. Chafin has an impressive 10:2 K:BB during that span as well while already picking up a win, a save and a hold. The impressive stretch has whittled down Chafin's career-best ERA and WHIP to 1.63 and 0.83, respectively.

Fairbanks (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Fairbanks apparently felt good after he faced hitters in Port Charlotte on Thursday, as he'll now return to game action with the minor-league club. Since the right-hander has spent time building up through bullpen sessions and live batting practice, he's unlikely to require many rehab appearances before he rejoins the Rays.