MLB Player News

Pressly (knee) threw 20 pitches against hitters and took part in fielding practice prior to Tuesday's game against the Rangers, David Barron of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros will do their due diligence Wednesday and follow up with Pressly, whose next step could be a return to game action. The right-hander is recovering from Aug. 23 surgery on his right knee.

Hendriks picked up the save against Kansas City on Tuesday, pitching a perfect ninth inning and striking out two batters.

Hendriks suffered a rare rough outing against the Royals on Monday, but he rebounded to make quick work of Kansas City on Tuesday, needing only nine pitches to retire the side in order. Hendriks induced six swinging strikes -- and hurled eight strikes altogether -- among those nine pitches, demonstrating just how dominating his repertoire can be when he is on his game. The 30-year-old has converted 23 of 29 save chances this season while posting a 1.66 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 118:21 K:BB over 81.1 innings.

Lopez (4-8) was tagged with the loss against Oakland on Tuesday, pitching six innings and allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out four.

Lopez cruised through six scoreless innings before surrendering a pair of runs in the seventh, leading to his eighth loss. Despite the disappointing outcome, the outing continued a streak of solid September starts in which Lopez has given up only four earned runs over 17.1 innings. The 26-year-old will try to get back into the win column when he heads to Minnesota on Sunday to make his next scheduled start.

Thornton allowed one run on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts across five innings during a no-decision in relief against the Orioles on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old pitched well enough to win and ate the bulk of the innings for the Blue Jays after their opener pitched one frame, but the game was tied with Thornton left. The performance helped drop his ERA below 5.00. Thornton owns a 1.23 ERA in his last three appearances (14.2 frames). Overall, he is 5-9 with a 4.93 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 138 strikeouts in 144.1 innings this season.

Covey will not make his scheduled start Wednesday against the Twins due to shoulder soreness, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Ivan Nova will throw an inning instead of his scheduled bullpen session that day, so it sounds like he may be the opener in a bullpen game. Covey is unlikely to return this season, according to Merkin.

Betances has a partial tear of his left Achilles' tendon, Mike Mazzeo of Yahoo Sports reports.

He apparently landed awkwardly on the mound in his appearance Sunday and went through testing Tuesday. Surgery is not being recommended at this time but he is going for a second opinion, so surgery is not off the table either. Regardless, it's safe to say Betances' season is over. He had only just returned from a shoulder injury that wiped out almost his whole season. He is a free agent this offseason, so this injury couldn't have come at a worse time.

McHugh was shut down Tuesday due to continued pain in his elbow, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The setback presumably means the end of McHugh's season. It was largely a disappointing one for the veteran, who lost his starting role in mid-May after a rough start to the season and battled elbow issues for most of the rest of the year, finishing with a 4.70 ERA, his highest mark since 2013.

Hand (arm) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday, Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.

Hand hasn't pitched in over a week due to a tired arm. His MRI was clean and he's been able to throw out to 100 feet, but his status remains uncertain.

Thornton will serve as the Blue Jays' bulk reliever behind opener Ryan Tepera in Tuesday's game against the Orioles, Blue Jays radio play-by-play broadcaster Ben Wagner reports.

Toronto initially listed Thornton as its scheduled starter for the series opener, but manager Charlie Montoyo ultimately chose to deviate from that plan. The change should prove more favorable for Thornton, who will presumably enter the game in the second inning and ease into the outing by facing the bottom half of the Baltimore lineup. Thornton was masterful while working behind opener Wilmer Font his last time out Sept. 11 versus Boston, striking out seven over five no-hit innings.

Thornton is listed as the Blue Jays' starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against the Orioles.

For the first time all season, Thornton worked out of the bullpen as a primary pitcher in his previous turn through the rotation. The arrangement yielded favorable results, as Thornton struck out seven over five no-hit innings to pick up a win over the Red Sox. Despite Thornton's success in the new role, manager Charlie Montoyo has apparently decided to deploy the right-hander in more traditional fashion Tuesday. While working as a starter boosts Thornton's odds of working deeper into the contest, his body of work this season (5.23 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 28 starts) hasn't been overly impressive.