MLB Player News

The Astros optioned Scrubb to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Scrubb will cede his spot on the active roster and in the Houston bullpen to Blake Taylor (ankle), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. After Scrubb posted a 1.90 ERA that was backed by shaky peripherals in 2020, regression has come hard for him thus far in 2021. Over his 13 innings out of the Houston bullpen, Scrubb has tagged for 11 earned runs on 14 hits and 10 walks.

Kittredge secured his third hold in a win over the Phillies on Sunday, allowing two hits and recording a strikeout over 1.1 scoreless innings.

The efficient 18-pitch outing extended what's been an extensive stretch of strong pitching for Kittredge, who's now working on a seven-appearance scoreless streak spanning a total of 9.2 innings. The right-hander has demonstrated stellar control during that span, posting an 11:1 K:BB while also picking up two wins, a save and two holds.

The Astros are activating Taylor (ankle) from the injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Red Sox , Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Taylor was placed on the injured list in mid-April with a severely sprained ankle. The southpaw has been rehabbing at Triple-A Sugar Land during the past week and will now rejoin the Astros' bullpen Monday against Boston.

Lambert has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte and will start Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader against Cleveland, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

It was announced Sunday that Lambert would take the ball in one of Monday's two games. He'll make his first major-league start in Game 2, with Carlos Rodon taking the ball in Game 1. Manager Tony La Russa said Lambert is stretched out to be able to throw between 65 and 70 pitches, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Patino will continue to work as a starter at Triple-A Durham, according to manager Kevin Cash, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Patino will continue to stay stretched out in Durham, indicating that he could be next in line for a major-league start should the Rays come across an issue in their rotation. Patino posted a 3.60 ERA with 19 strikeouts across 15 major-league innings before suffering a finger injury May 19 and eventually being sent down May 30.

Crochet pitched a perfect eighth inning to pick up the hold in Sunday's 3-1 win over Baltimore.

Crochet shut down the Orioles after the White Sox took the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was his ninth consecutive appearance (8.1 innings) without allowing a run, although he's walked seven during that stretch. The left-hander's walked nine over 13.2 innings this season, which is alarming, but Crochet has made good situational pitches to avoid damage.

Stephan struck out two in a perfect inning in a 6-5 win over Toronto in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader.

Stephan worked the sixth inning, and he kept the deficit at 4-0. Cleveland rallied to tie in the bottom half of the inning before walking it off in the seventh. Through 7.1 innings in May, Stephan has allowed only two runs. The right-hander has a 4.50 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and 22:12 K:BB across 18 innings overall, so he should be expected to remain in a low-leverage role.

Wittgren pitched a perfect inning and struck out one in a 6-5 win over Toronto in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader.

Wittgren allowed two runs in an inning in his last appearance, but he's kept runs off the board in eight of his 10 outings in May. The right-hander has a 4.96 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 18:4 K:BB across 16.1 innings this year. He's posted a save, four holds and a 2-1 record, and his recent success could lead to more work in close games.

Iglesias allowed a hit and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings Sunday to earn a save over the Athletics.

Iglesias came in with a runner on second and two outs in the eighth but finished off the game with relative ease. He's now converted seven straight save opportunities and has nine saves on the year. The 31-year-old owns a 4.29 ERA and a 30:3 K:BB this season.

Yang (0-3) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk over three innings Sunday, striking out two and taking the loss against Seattle.

Yang gave up an RBI double to Ty France in the first inning and then a two-run single to France in the third. The 33-year-old southpaw saw his ERA rise to 5.53 as he took his third straight loss. He's pitched fewer than five innings in six of his seven outings this season and he's still searching for his first career win. Yang is lined up to face the Rays at home next weekend.