MLB Player News

Lange earned the save in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Cardinals, recording two strikeouts and a walk over 1.1 scoreless innings.

Lange struck out Willson Contreras for the final out in the eighth inning before closing the door in the ninth, working around a two-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt for his second save this season. Jason Foley was likely unavailable Wednesday after pitching three of the last four days, though Lange has continued to pitch well in a set-up role -- he's held opponents scoreless in his last 7.2 innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out nine in that span. The 28-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 0.75 with a 1.17 WHIP 16:9 K:BB across 12 innings this season.

The Angels designated Kristofak for assignment Wendesday.

The team needed to clear a spot on its 40-man roster for designated hitter/outfielder Willie Calhoun, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday. Kristofak, 26, made one appearance during his brief stint with the Angels, allowing two unearned runs over two innings Sunday against the Twins.

Santos (lat) recently upped his throwing distance to 120 feet, MLB.com reports.

A recent shift to the 60-day IL didn't impact Santos' return timeline, as he was never expected to be able to make his season debut before late May. That timeframe appears to still remain realistic, and he's slated to continue throwing at the 120-foot distance throughout this week before upping his intensity again.

Alexander (ribs) threw live batting practice to Miguel Andujar (knee) on Tuesday and is now set to join Single-A Stockton to begin a rehab assignment Friday, MLB.com reports.

Alexander cleared his final hurdle to a return to the mound with Tuesday's activity, and when he does debut for the Ports, it will be his first game action since a March 6 Cactus League appearance against the Angels. Given the amount of time he's been sidelined, Alexander figures to need a fairly lengthy rehab assignment, even though he'll likely be utilized for no more than two innings per appearance once he's with the big-league club.

Spence (3-1) got the win against the Pirates on Tuesday, firing three scoreless, one-hit innings during which he recorded two strikeouts.

Spence got the fifth-inning call after starter Alex Wood labored to the tune of 93 pitches over four frames. As has become increasingly customary, Spence delivered an impressive multi-inning effort, his third three-inning scoreless outing over his last four appearances. Spence now has victories in back-to-back appearances as well and sports a 2.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB across his eight trips to the mound.

The Twins optioned Funderburk to Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Funderburk worked two innings in Tuesday's win over the White Sox, allowing a pair of runs. Since he wasn't going to be available for Wednesday's series finale in Chicago, Funderburk will head back to Triple-A while the Twins bring aboard right-hander Caleb Boushley from St. Paul to serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen.

The White Sox recalled Shuster from Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

Chris Flexen will start for the White Sox on Wednesday versus the Twins and has bounced between the rotation and bullpen lately, so Shuster will give Chicago an option for long relief, if needed. The lefty has allowed just one run over 6.1 innings in two relief appearances with the big club this season.

The White Sox optioned Berroa to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

Berroa made just one appearance during his time with the White Sox, retiring one batter and hitting another with a pitch in Tuesday's loss to the Twins. The White Sox will replace him on the active roster with Jared Shuster, who was recalled from Triple-A and will give the bullpen more length.

Keller is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Keller was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday and proceeded to make his White Sox debut as a reliever Monday, when he tossed 1.2 scoreless innings against the Twins. The White Sox haven't indicated that Keller will be joining the rotation on a permanent basis, as the team might have just wanted to build in an extra day of rest for Erick Fedde, who will take the hill Saturday after tossing 8.1 innings and 108 pitches in his most recent outing last Sunday versus the Rays. Keller will be taking the mound Friday on three days' rest, so he could face a light workload, even though he had worked five-plus innings in each of his three starts with Charlotte prior to his call-up.

Munoz completed a five-out save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Atlanta, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three in the process.

Munoz was forced into the game a bit earlier than expected after Ryne Stanek allowed three base hits to turn things into a 3-1 ballgame. Munoz did allow an inherited runner to score on a throwing error but was dominant otherwise and retired the side in order in the ninth with two strikeouts. Tuesday was the fourth time this season Munoz has pitched more than three outs and it was the third consecutive save he's converted, with all three coming over the last five days. The 25-year-old now owns a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 16:7 K:BB in 12 innings thus far.