MLB Player News

Coleman (3-0) was the winning pitcher in Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, tossing a clean inning of relief with a strikeout.

Coleman has been with the Tigers for less than a month, but he has already scooped up an impressive three victories out of the bullpen. Notable on Saturday was the fact that the team turned to the 32-year-old in the eighth inning of a tied game, suggesting he has earned some degree of trust. However, regular closer Shane Greene was also unavailable in this one, so bullpen roles had to adjust accordingly. Nonetheless, Coleman, who now has a 1.38 ERA and 0.69 WHIP in 13 innings of work, seems to have secured himself a spot in Detroit's bullpen.

Diekman (1-0) was credited with the win after he allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning Saturday against the Angels.

Jose Leclerc and Diekman threw blanks over the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, giving the Rangers' quiet bats an opportunity to scratch out two late runs and send the game into extra innings. They plated another run in the 10th to turn what was nearly a loss into a win. Diekman has a 2.08 ERA with 16 strikeouts over his last 13 innings.

Diaz threw a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout against the Rays on Saturday en route to his 20th save of the season.

Diaz retired the side on 11 pitches, bouncing back from a couple poor performances in his last two outings, including a blown save Friday. With the year he's having (2.93 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 51:12 K:BB), Diaz can be forgiven for the occasional hiccup.

Littell is expected to start one of the Twins' doubleheader games against the White Sox on Tuesday, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Littell, a 22-year-old who was acquired from the Yankees last season in the deal that sent Jaime Garcia to New York, will be summoned from the minors to make a spot start for the big club next week. He owns a solid 2.57 ERA and 30:10 K:BB across 28 innings (four starts, one relief appearance) with Triple-A Rochester since earning a promotion at the start of May. There's a good chance Littell will head back to the minors after Tuesday's spot start, but a strong showing could earn him another opportunity with the big club sooner than later.

Hendriks (groin/hip) allowed a hit -- a solo home run -- over one inning in Triple-A Nashville's loss to Round Rock on Saturday.

Hendriks gave up a homer to the first batter he faced, Tommy Joseph. However, he then settled down to retire the next three hitters, hitting 94-95 mph on multiple occasions during his 13 pitches, Sounds play-by-play announcer Jeff Hem reports. Hendriks has thrown 23 pitches overall across his pair of rehab appearances, and it remains to be seen if he'll now be deemed ready for a big-league return after being sidelined since April 14.

Kimbrel struck out two over a scoreless inning to pick up a save in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Astros.

Kimbrel was lucky enough to face the bottom third of the Astros' order and blew away Max Stassi, Tony Kemp and J.D. Davis to notch his 19th save of the season, tying him with Seattle's Edwin Diaz for the MLB lead in saves. He's converted 10 straight save opportunities.

Jimenez pitched a clean ninth inning Saturday against the Blue Jays, picking up his first save of the season.

Jimenez was called upon to close things out with Shane Greene unavailable after working three straight days, and the right-hander needed just 13 pitches -- eight of which went for strikes -- to end things and secure the win for the Tigers. He doesn't figure to see more than the occasional save chance with Greene performing well in the closer's role ahead of him, but Jimenez now owns a solid 2.54 ERA and 28:7 K:BB across 28.1 innings this season.

Graterol was placed on the minor-league disabled list Saturday with a right wrist injury, Brandon Warne of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

Specifics regarding the injury remain unclear, but it will force Graterol to miss at least one start. The move is retroactive to May 30, so he'll be eligible to return June 6 should he prove ready. He compiled a 1.78 ERA and 12.9 K/9 with Low-A Cedar Rapids prior to landing on the shelf.

Pruitt, who recorded three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on seven hits over five innings in an extra-innings loss to the Mariners on Friday, has now pitched at least five innings in three consecutive relief appearances.

Included in that sample is an extremely rare five-inning-plus save May 27 against the Orioles. Three straight long-relief outings of five innings or more qualify as highly unusual as well, but given how creative manager Kevin Cash has been with the use of his pitching staff this season, it's a slightly more plausible scenario in Tampa than it would be virtually anywhere else. Pruitt's ability to essentially work a starter's workload -- irrespective of the order in which he enters the game -- figures to continue affording him plenty of opportunities while he remains at the big-league level.

Barria was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake following Friday's win over the Rangers.

Barria tossed six scoreless innings to earn the win Friday but will once again head back to the Bees. The 21-year-old has pitched quite well for the Angels this season, posting a 2.48 ERA and 1.05 WHIP across 36.1 innings. Barria should see more opportunities in the majors if he sustains his current level of play, though he will likely continue to bounce back and forth to Salt Lake, regardless.