MLB Player News

Soto (1-0) earned the win Tuesday against the Twins by allowing one hit with two strikeouts and zero walks over two scoreless innings.

The 26-year-old kept Minnesota off the board during the ninth and 10th innings amid a 3-3 tie, and he earned the victory when Detroit walked it off in the bottom of the 10th. Soto surrendered two runs while recording a save Opening Day, but he's provided three scoreless frames over his past two appearances.

King was optioned to the Yankees' alternate training site Tuesday.

This move clears a spot for Rougned Odor on the active roster. King logged six scoreless innings in long relief Sunday against the Blue Jays, so he'll be back in the majors sooner than later to offer length out of the bullpen or perhaps to make a spot start.

Weems was recalled from Oakland's alternate training site Tuesday.

Burch Smith (groin) and Reymin Guduan (thumb) landed on the injured list, so Weems will provide some much-needed bullpen depth in the short term. Weems will likely be up and down between the majors and the minors for most of the season.

Puk, recalled from the team's alternate training sit earlier Monday, fired 3.1 scoreless innings during which he allowed a hit and three walks as well as throwing a wild pitch while recording four strikeouts in a loss to the Dodgers.

Starter Frankie Montas was chased after 2.2 innings, leaving manager Bob Melvin in a potential hole after Athletics relievers had already worked 16.2 frames through the first four games. Enter Puk, whose stretched-out arm came in extremely handy, as he notched nine outs on 65 pitches. While the left-hander wasn't anywhere near his sharpest, his ability to handle multiple innings enabled him to serve as a bridge to the seventh in another blowout defeat for Oakland.

Junis will start Wednesday's game against Cleveland, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Previous reports indicated that Junis would begin the season in the bullpen, which would make some sense with the Royals having three off days in the first nine days of April. He's apparently set to start after all, though he may not go deep in Wednesday's contest, as he threw an inning of relief on both Saturday and Sunday. Carlos Hernandez would make for a logical piggyback option if the Royals decide to go that route.

Mayers recorded the save Monday against the Astros after allowing one run on one hit in the ninth inning.

Mayers entered the game holding a two-run lead and gave up a solo shot to Kyle Tucker, but he closed the door effectively despite not striking anyone out. This was Mayers' first save of the season, and while he might see further opportunities here and there, he's not expected to replace Raisel Iglesias as the Angels' full-time closer anytime soon.

Barlow logged two perfect innings to earn a hold in Monday's 3-0 win over Cleveland.

Barlow has yet to receive a save opportunity in 2021, but he's logged 3.2 scoreless innings across two outings, both holds. He's picked up four strikeouts as well. The 28-year-old right-hander appears set to see plenty of work in close games, but so far he's been limited to setup duty.

Armstrong allowed two runs on a hit and a walk and struck out one in one-third of an inning in Monday's 7-0 loss to the Yankees.

Armstrong was called on to finish the fifth inning, but he ended up giving up a grand slam to Giancarlo Stanton before striking out Gleyber Torres. The 30-year-old Armstrong was away from the Orioles at the start of the season to attend the birth of his child. The right-hander is expected to join Cesar Valdez and Tanner Scott in a closer committee to begin 2021, but Armstrong will need to show better than he did Monday to be trusted with a late-inning role.

Pivetta (1-0) picked up the win in Monday's 11-2 rout of the Rays, allowing two hits and four walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander threw only 52 of 92 pitches for strikes, but Pivetta was able to avoid any damage despite his control issues and got more than enough support from Boston's bats. He'll look to build on a successful Red Sox debut in his next scheduled start Sunday in Baltimore.

Farmer allowed three runs on a hit and three walks across 1.2 innings in Monday's 15-6 loss to the Twins. He struck out one.

No Detroit pitcher had much luck in the blowout loss, and Farmer served up a solo home run to Nelson Cruz as part of his rough outing. Through two appearances this season, the righty has allowed five earned runs in just 2.2 innings of work. Farmer should ultimately settle in as one of the Tigers' more reliable relief options, but he's unlikely to have a ton of fantasy appeal in his role.