MLB Player News

McHugh fired three perfect innings during which he recorded three strikeouts in a loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday.

McHugh got his nine outs on an efficient 37 pitches, notching an impressive eight swinging strikes along the way. The veteran right-hander now owns a seven-appearance scoreless streak, a stretch during which he's posted an elite 21:2 K:BB across 14.2 innings.

Kay is scheduled to start Thursday's game against the Orioles, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

He'll be making a spot start in place of Steven Matz (illness), who remains on the COVID-19 injured list. While in quarantine, Matz has reportedly been able to stay conditioned by participating in extended throwing sessions, so he should be ready to rejoin the rotation once he's eligible to be reinstated in the coming days. With that in mind, Kay could be optioned to Triple-A Buffalo immediately after Thursday's start, regardless of how he performs.

The Royals optioned Kowar to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

The writing was on the wall for Kowar's demotion after the Royals shifted him to the bullpen after a disastrous first two starts following his June 7 promotion from Triple-A Omaha. After giving up eight earned runs while recording only six outs between the two starts, Kowar fared only marginally better in long relief Saturday against the Red Sox, surrendering two runs on three hits over two innings. He'll slot back into the rotation at Omaha and will look to recapture some success before the Royals entertain the idea of calling him up again.

Loaisiga (7-3) took the loss and was tagged with a blown save in Tuesday's loss to Kansas City. He allowed four runs on five hits while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.

Loaisiga has been mostly outstanding out of the bullpen for the Yankees this season -- he entered Tuesday's contest with a 1.63 ERA and 0.96 WHIP through 30 appearances and was working on a streak of 11 outings without allowing a run. He clearly didn't have his best stuff Tuesday, however, as he couldn't protect a one-run New York lead. The right-hander surrendered four singles and a double as the Royals pushed four runs across the plate. Loaisiga's ERA jumped up to 2.52 as a result, but he should continue to be used in high-leverage situations despite the disappointing appearance.

Yarbrough covered two innings as a primary pitcher and didn't factor into the decision Tuesday in the Rays' 9-5 loss to the Red Sox in 11 innings. He gave up five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two.

Yarbrough looked in line to take his first loss since April 30 after exiting with a 5-2 lead, but the Rays offense rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fifth before Boston broke the tie in extras. The southpaw has now been blitzed for 10 runs between his last two outings, raising his season ERA from 3.88 to 4.59. Yarbrough isn't in danger of losing his spot in the rotation, but the Rays could continue to deploy him behind an opener when his next turn comes up in an attempt to coax better results out of the 29-year-old.

Colome gave up three runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Reds to raise his ERA to 5.40.

Colome began the season as Minnesota's closer, but he was moved to low-leverage roles after he struggled with a 8.31 ERA and three blown saves in April. He has improved since with a 4.00 ERA and 8.0 K/9 since May 1, but walks remain an issue as he has a 4.0 BB/9 over that span. He'll likely remain in middle relief and lower-leverage roles unless he improves significantly for a long stretch. Since he's on a one-year deal, it's also likely he's traded or released at some point in the next month or so with the Twins far out of playoff contention.

Zerpa was promoted to Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday. He allowed four runs on six hits and struck out nine over 4.2 innings in a loss to Arkansas.

The 21-year-old southpaw was dominant at High-A Quad Cities this year with a 2.59 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 53:8 K:BB across 41.2 innings. Zerpa will now work at the Double-A level. He was protected from the Rule 5 draft when his contracted was selected in November. While it's unlikely Zerpa ascends to the majors this year, a strong showing in Double-A could put him on track to make the big leagues sometime next year.

Mayza (2-1) picked up the win in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Marlins, striking out two batters in a perfect eighth inning.

The southpaw entered with the score tied 1-1 and needed only eight pitches (seven strikes) to breeze through Miami's 8-9-1 hitters. Mayza then got rewarded when Toronto pushed across a run in the ninth. The 29-year-old has been the Jays' top lefty in the bullpen while Ryan Borucki (forearm) has been on the shelf, and Mayza's responded to that high-leverage usage with a 1.17 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 7:1 K:BB through 7.2 innings in June.

Romano gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his fourth save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Marlins.

It was the right-hander's first save in June, but that's through no fault of Romano's. He's reeled off 12 straight appearances without an earned run, and sports a 1.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 33:13 K:BB through 25.1 innings on the season.

Pressly allowed a hit and struck out two over a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the win over Baltimore on Tuesday.

Pressly locked down his 11th save in 12 opportunities to make a winner of Zack Greinke. Since his blown save May 29, when Pressly allowed three runs to the Padres, he has not allowed an earned run while striking out 11 and walking one over seven innings.