MLB Player News

Junis gave up one run on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against the Rockies on Thursday.

Junis' slider was working well in this one and that allowed him to maximize his 79 pitches. The 24-year-old gave up four runs in a relief appearance last week, but he's now allowed four runs total in his last three starts spanning 19.1 innings, with an impressive 16:1 K:BB over that span. He's looking like a worthwhile addition for pitching-needy teams, especially with a home matchup against the Rays lined up for next week.

Colome allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning against the Blue Jays on Thursday en route to his 38th save of the season. He struck out two.

He worked around a leadoff single to add to his major-league-leading saves total. While Colome only threw 16 pitches, he has now pitched four of the last five days and it's uncertain if he will be available for Friday's series opener.

Paredes was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

A roster spot was needed for Thursday's starter, Troy Scribner, and Paredes was the corresponding roster casualty. This comes a day after Paredes earned the loss after allowing three runs to the Rangers in the tenth inning. He'll continue to serve as organizational pitching depth back at Salt Lake, where he owns a 2.45 ERA in 33 innings this season.

Junis, whose last outing was skipped, will toe the rubber Thursday afternoon in the series finale against Colorado, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander got bypassed last weekend because Kansas City has no need for a sixth starter with a five-game week on tap. Junis did appear in a long-relief role Friday, but that wasn't pretty (four runs over 2.1 innings). He's done better, however, in a starting role (4.79 ERA in eight games) than as a reliever (6.75 ERA in four games) this season.

Rodriguez worked around a two-out walk to turn in a scoreless inning in Wednesday's 7-5 win over the Angels in 10 innings.

Rodriguez was only making his fourth appearance with the Rangers since his Aug. 8 promotion, but the fact that manager Jeff Banister was willing to use him in the seventh inning of a tie ball game illustrates how much traction the young right-hander is already gaining in key spots. In fairness, the Rangers don't have many appealing alternatives in the setup ranks with Keone Kela (shoulder) and Matt Bush (knee, concussion) on the disabled list and a couple other relievers (Jose Leclerc and Jason Grilli) showing limited reliability of late, but Rodriguez certainly has the skills to hold down a vital bullpen role for the long term. Rodriguez, who sports a mid-90s fastball as part of a three-pitch mix, has yielded one run over his four innings with the Rangers after submitting a 1.20 ERA and posting a 17:1 K:BB with Double-A Frisco prior to his callup.

Diaz struck out three batters in 1.1 perfect innings to pick up his 29th save of the season in Wednesday's 9-6 win over the Braves.

The volatile closer appears to be back in top form again after staggering to a 12.46 ERA and 3:6 K:BB in his previous five appearances. The Mariners are only a game out of the second wild-card spot in the AL, so if Diaz runs into another rough patch down the stretch, the team may be forced to choose between developing its young fireballer and finding a more stable option to handle ninth-inning duty for their playoff push.

Pruitt struck out two and surrendered five runs on seven hits -- including four home runs -- over 3.2 innings Wednesday in a no-decision against the Blue Jays.

It was the 27-year-old's shortest outing since moving into the rotation at the end of July, and Pruitt now has a 5.29 ERA and 2.1 HR/9 in 34 innings over six starts in the second half. The Rays remain only four games back of the Twins for the second wild-card spot in the AL, but with five other teams between them and a playoff berth, the front office may elect to keep rolling with Pruitt rather than replace him with top prospect Brent Honeywell and try to make a late surge in the standings. Pruitt will next take the mound Monday in Kansas City.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Giles was unavailable Wednesday because he woke up with a stiff neck, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Apparently Giles slept on his neck wrong, causing the discomfort that led to his unavailability. He didn't seem too worried about the issue, and he said he expects to pitch in Thursday's series finale if the opportunity arises. The 26-year-old has been stellar as the Astros' closer this season, converting 24 saves and compiling a 2.70 ERA and 60:16 K:BB in 46.2 innings.

Rowley was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Rowley will head back to the minors to clear room on the roster for Thursday's starter, Tom Koehler. Whether Rowley will rejoin the big-league rotation at some later point in the season remains unknown. In three starts for the Blue Jays this season, he's compiled an unimpressive 4.61 ERA and 7:9 K:BB.

Hu was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Tigers needed 5.1 innings from their bullpen Wednesday, so Hu will provide a fresh relief arm ahead of Thursday's series finale. He's struck out nine and allowed just one earned run over eight major-league innings this season.