MLB Player News

The Giants optioned Hjelle to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Hjelle was hammered for five earned runs on three hits and three walks in a one-inning relief appearance Monday against the Astros. Cole Waites will fill the vacant spot in the Giants bullpen Tuesday at Houston.

The Cardinals recalled Zuniga from Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Zuniga will be making his MLB debut whenever he first gets the call out of the Cardinals bullpen. The 24-year-old right-hander had posted a 5.40 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB through 8.1 innings of relief this season at Memphis.

The Cardinals optioned Thompson to Triple-A Memphis on Tuesday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Guillermo Zuniga will fill the vacancy in the Cardinals bullpen ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Angels. Thompson had been lit up for five earned runs on four hits and five walks over his last three appearances covering just 2.1 innings. He'll get stretched out in a starting role at Memphis.

The Cubs designated Borucki for assignment Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Borucki just had his contract selected to the major-league roster Sunday and he didn't wind up making an appearance during his brief time with the Cubs. Catcher Miguel Amaya has been called up from Double-A Tennessee in a corresponding move.

Hjelle (1-1) allowed five runs on three hits and three walks over one inning, taking the loss Monday versus the Astros.

Hjelle got the last out of the sixth inning without trouble, but the Astros found some success with small ball against him in the seventh. Through 10 appearances, Hjelle has struggled to pitch consistently -- he's been charged with at least one run in seven of those outings. He has a 10.13 ERA, 2.33 WHIP and 16:10 K:BB across 13.1 innings and will likely see most of his action in low-leverage spots for as long as he's on the big-league roster.

Varland (hand) had his rehab assignment transferred Tuesday from Low-A Wisconsin to Triple-A Nashville, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Varland surrendered three earned runs on four hits and one walk over two innings (two appearances) at Wisconsin, but he remains on track to return to the Brewers' bullpen sometime this week. The 26-year-old right-hander landed on the injured list April 16 after taking a comebacker off his throwing hand, but X-rays subsequently ruled out any fractures.

Robertson earned a save against Atlanta in the second game of Monday's twin bill, allowing two hits and striking out four batters over two scoreless innings.

The Mets turned to Robertson in the eighth inning Monday while nursing a one-run lead. The right-hander worked around a one-out single in that frame, then continued into the ninth after New York posted an insurance run to make the score 5-3. Robertson gave up a leadoff double to Ozzie Albies to begin the ninth, but he fanned the next two batters and ended the contest by getting Chadwick Tromp to pop out. Robertson is now a perfect 6-for-6 in save chances this season, and he has given up only one earned run over 13.1 frames. Monday's outing was his first two-inning appearance of the campaign.

Minter earned a save in the first game of Monday's doubleheader against the Mets, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one batter over one inning.

Minter inherited a 9-7 lead in the ninth inning and retired the first two batters he faced. Eduardo Escobar then tagged him for a solo homer, but Minter got Brett Baty to line out to end the contest and earn the save. Despite the successful outcome, the run the southpaw allowed marked the fourth time in his past five outings that he has been scored upon. Over that stretch, Minter has taken three losses and a blown save while allowing 11 earned runs across 4.2 frames. With Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) expected back by the end of the week, Minter probably won't hang onto the closer role much longer.

Tapia struck out two batters across two perfect frames to earn a save over the Reds on Monday.

Tapia was promoted from Triple-A El Paso on Monday and immediately impressed in his first MLB appearance since April 15. He tossed 17 of 26 pitches for strikes to quickly take care of the Reds in order over two frames. He lowered his ERA to 3.48 with an 11:6 K:BB through 10.1 innings this season. With an 8-3 final score, normal closer Josh Hader didn't get the chance to enter the contest.

Garcia (1-2) earned the win over San Francisco on Sunday, striking out two batters over two scoreless innings.

Garcia got the call from the bullpen for San Diego in the seventh inning with the Giants up a run. He worked around a one-out Xander Bogaerts error in the seventh and a two-out hit-by-pitch in the eighth to keep San Francisco off the scoreboard and was credited with the win when the Padres tallied three runs in the ninth. Garcia has an unattractive 7.11 ERA on the campaign through 12.2 innings, though that's mostly due to two blow-ups. In two separate games against Arizona, he allowed a combined nine earned runs over two-thirds of an inning; in his other 11 appearances, he has yielded just one earned run over 12.0 frames.