MLB Player News

Duffey (1-2) tossed seven scoreless innings Sunday, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out six, as the Twins downed the Indians, 5-1.

The 25-year-old lowered his ERA to a sparkling 1.85 after four starts, and Duffey's 23:5 K:BB in 24.1 innings indicates his success may not be a fluke. He'll go for his third straight quality start Friday at home against the Jays.

McHugh's next start has been moved up to Thursday against the White Sox, the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros planned to temporarily use a six-man rotation, but Mike Fiers ended up throwing 60 pitches in a relief appearance Sunday. He'll now switch spots with McHugh, who was previously scheduled to face the Rangers on Saturday.

Chapman worked a scoreless ninth inning Sunday in a 7-5 win over the White Sox to pick up his third save of the season.

For the first time in four appearances as a Yankee, Chapman didn't strike anyone out, but expect outings like this to be the exception and not the norm for the flame-throwing Cuban. With their trio of dominant late-inning relievers now together and the offense showing signs of life, Chapman should be handed plenty of leads to protect going forward.

Betances gave up a run on three hits in the seventh inning Sunday, striking out two, but got credit for his first win of the season when the Yankees rallied for a 7-5 win over the White Sox.

He's been a little more hittable this year than in the past, but Betances' 34:3 K:BB in 17.1 innings is still among the best in baseball. Aroldis Chapman's return puts him further down in the pecking order for saves, but Betances should be able to add substantially to his eight holds on the season as part of the Yankees' dominant late-inning crew.

Santiago was excellent during Sunday's win over Seattle, tossing eight scoreless innings with five strikeouts compared to just one walk.

The left-hander had gone three outings without tossing a quality start, so Sunday's performance was a positive sign and lowered his ERA back down to 3.42. He'll be leaned upon for the rest of the season to perform like a front-end pitcher for a poor rotation that's already lacking Garrett Richards (elbow), and outings like Sunday's will need to come more frequently. Santiago will next take the mound Friday versus Baltimore.

Chavez was ejected from Sunday's game after plunking Prince Fielder in the bottom of the eighth inning, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports.

Chavez's actions came after a benches-clearing brawl in the top of the eighth inning that resulted in three other ejections. It's quite possible a minor suspension is on the horizon, but any supplemental discipline should be announced in the coming days.

Boxberger threw a scoreless inning for High-A Charlotte in his first official rehab appearance Sunday, Josh Vitale of Suncoast Sports reports.

The Rays closer actually opened the game for the Stone Crabs, and worked around a leadoff double and two-out walk to finish the frame. Boxberger threw 14 of his 24 pitches for strikes, and induced a swinging strike three on a 92 mph fastball as well. "It was good to get through this one leaving those guys out there," Boxberger said. "It's kind of like spring training for me, because I didn't really have one this year. It's about getting my pitch count up, being able to get my arm in shape, and just repeating my delivery and getting a feel for it again." He's expected to make another appearance for Charlotte later in the coming week, and then is expected to head to Triple-A Durham as the next step toward his return to the big league club.

Boxberger threw a scoreless inning for High-A Charlotte in his first official rehab appearance Sunday, Josh Vitale of Suncoast Sports reports.

The Rays' closer actually opened the game for the Stone Crabs, and worked around a leadoff double and two-out walk to finish the frame. Boxberger threw 14 of his 24 pitches for strikes, and induced a swinging strike three on a 92 mph fastball as well. "It was good to get through this one leaving those guys out there," Boxberger said. "It's kind of like spring training for me, because I didn't really have one this year. It's about getting my pitch count up, being able to get my arm in shape, and just repeating my delivery and getting a feel for it again." He's expected to make another appearance for Charlotte later in the coming week, before heading to Triple-A Durham as the next step toward his return to the big league club.

Graveman surrendered six hits, four earned runs, and three walks in Saturday's 6-0 loss to the Rays.

The 25-year-old continued his season-long struggles, as he's now surrendered 14 earned runs over the last 14.2 innings on the mound. He's also given up eight homers over the last four starts, which have pushed his figures to an unsightly 5.84 ERA and 1.49 WHIP to date in 2016. While he does have a pair of early April quality starts on his ledger, those are looking more and more like a distant memory with each of his successive turns in the rotation.

Andriese (2-0) fired a shutout against the A's on Saturday, allowing only two hits. He struck out five.

The 26-year-old came up with a gem in his second major league start of 2016, consistently neutralizing the A's lineup all afternoon. He fired 78 of his 106 pitches for strikes, and recorded first-pitch strikes on 21 of the 29 batters he faced. He also induced 11 swinging strikes, and after two starts, appears thoroughly capable of thriving at the big league level. He's surrendered only one earned run over 16 innings, leading to minuscule and matching 0.56 ERA and WHIP figures. Currently slated only for fifth starter duty, his performances may prompt the Rays to re-think how they'll deploy him going forward.