MLB Player News

Puk (biceps) allowed three earned runs on four hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Las Vegas against Salt Lake on Saturday.

The left-hander gave up some hard contact to a couple of hitters with major-league experience in Luis Rengifo and Jo Adell, who tagged him for a double and a solo home run, respectively. Saturday's outing represented a test of sorts for Puk, as it came on the shortest amount of rest yet (two days) during his four-appearance rehab assignment. It remains to be seen if Puk's poor final line will play any role in the Athletics' decision on when to activate him, as he'd already put together three previous solid appearances for the Aviators.

Lakins was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.

Lakins recorded a poor 7.36 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 12:11 K:BB across 14.2 innings at the major-league level this season. He'll work on finding his game in the minors. Brandon Waddell was called up in a corresponding move.

Karinchak (2-0) pitched 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out two to earn the extra-inning win over Minnesota on Saturday.

The right-hander was called upon for the last out of the ninth inning in a tied game. Cleveland couldn't win it in the bottom of the ninth, but Karinchak stymied Minnesota in the 10th. Cesar Hernandez then launched a walkoff two-run home run to give Karinchak his second win of the season. The 25-year-old reliever has added five saves, five holds, a 0.44 ERA, 0.48 WHIP and 38:7 K:BB across 20.2 innings this season as a dominant option at the back of Cleveland's bullpen.

Scott gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits and struck out one in one inning of Saturday's 12-9 loss to Washington.

The southpaw worked the sixth inning, but he didn't find much success as Washington racked up three runs to extend its lead. Prior to Saturday, Scott had pitched 3.2 scoreless innings over his last six appearances. The 26-year-old has a solid 3.00 ERA, but his 1.61 WHIP and 22:16 K:BB remain causes of concern for his ability to continue keeping runs off the scoreboard.

Zimmermann allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts over three innings versus Washington on Saturday. He did not factor in the decision.

Zimmermann took a turn as the fifth starter and got through the order with relative ease the first time. The second turn didn't go as well for the southpaw, who allowed a grand slam to Josh Harrison in the third inning. Zimmermann has logged a 5.59 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 30:12 K:BB across 38.2 innings. He's started seven of his eight appearances, but the 26-year-old may not be a long-term solution for Baltimore's lack of starting pitching depth this season.

Duran (shoulder) returned from the injured list Saturday to make his first start of the season at Triple-A St. Paul. He gave up one run over three innings with six strikeouts and one walk.

Duran went on the injured list after suffering from trapezius tightness during spring training. Duran relies on a power sinker that has touched triple digits on the radar gun, but he likely needs to develop a third pitch to remain a starter. The top Twins pitching prospect could make his debut with Minnesota later this season.

Fleming is scheduled to work as a bulk reliever behind Michael Wacha (hamstring) in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Though the Rays will be activating one of their Opening Day rotation members in Wacha from the injured list, the right-hander apparently isn't built up to handle a traditional starting role coming off a three-week absence. As such, Fleming is expected to cover the majority of the innings Sunday in what marks his first appearance in a week. Fleming turned in his best outing of the season last weekend against the Mets, striking out five and allowing just one baserunner over five scoreless frames en route to capturing his third win of the season.

The Rays optioned Honeywell to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Honeywell was sent to the minors to make room on the 26-man active roster for Michael Wacha (hamstring), who is scheduled to return from the 10-day injured list to start Sunday's series finale versus the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay didn't use Honeywell out of the bullpen during his latest stint in the big leagues, which lasted just two games.

Taylor struck out one over a scoreless two-thirds an inning in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Phillies.

Taylor put out a Philadelphia uprising in the sixth inning, coming in for Nathan Eovaldi with one out and a man on. He got Odubel Herrera to fly out and struck out Nick Maton. He's whittled away at an ERA that sat at 9.72 on April 24. Since then, Taylor's authored 10 straight scoreless outings, during which he's allowed two hits and three walks while striking out seven over 7.1 innings. All three of his holds have been recorded during this run.

Scrubb (1-1) allowed two runs on two hits while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning to pick up the loss Saturday against Texas.

The Astros' bullpen, with several young hurlers still in transition to the majors, were tagged with losses Friday and Saturday, but their issues go back further. Scrubb was taken deep by Adolis Garcia in the seventh inning, the third home run he's allowed over his last 3.1 innings. He was followed by Enoli Paredes, who didn't field a groundball cleanly, leading to three unearned runs. Houston's bullpen has a 5.96 ERA over the last seven games, during which opponents have 22 hits and 13 walks over 22.1 innings.