MLB Player News

Alzolay gave up five runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings Thursday to take the loss for Triple-A Iowa. He struck out three.

Alzolay has struggled a bit over his past four starts, allowing 17 earned runs in 18.2 innings, and his ERA has climbed from 2.12 to 5.30 in that stretch. The 23-year-old was a potential option for the Cubs in a doubleheader last weekend, but the team will likely let their top pitching prospect get more work at Triple-A and try to iron things out before any potential callup this summer.

Ortiz (hamstring) has been activated from the disabled list and will start Thursday night with Double-A Biloxi, team broadcaster Garrett Greene reports.

Ortiz missed over a month with his hamstring injury, but he is ready to get back on the bump. Ortiz posted a 2.11 ERA and 22:7 K:BB in 21.1 innings over four outings prior to his injury.

Morejon was scratched from his last scheduled outing due to neck stiffness, Dennis Lin of The Athletic San Diego reports.

The 19-year-old left-hander isn't expected to miss an extended amount of time with the issue, so he'll be considered day-to-day moving forward. Morejon has made seven starts for High-A Lake Elsinore this season, posting a 3.67 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 36 strikeouts and 14 walks over 34.1 innings.

Burdi (elbow) is expected to throw live batting practice and appear in simulated games at extended spring training beginning in early June, Elizabeth Bloom of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The report likely means that Burdi has progressed to throwing off a mound, with facing hitters representing the next hurdle he'll need to clear as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery. He'll likely appear in several simulated games before the Pirates send him out on an extended minor-league rehab assignment. Once activated from the 60-day disabled list, Burdi, a Rule 5 selection this past winter, will need to be included on the Pirates' 25-man roster or else he'll be exposed to waivers and offered back to the Twins.

Boxberger tossed a scoreless eighth inning Wednesday in the Diamondbacks' 9-2 loss to the Brewers, allowing a walk and striking out two.

The mop-up appearance was Boxberger's first since May 15, amounting to the closer's largest break of the season. With the Diamondbacks dropping 13 of their last 14 games, it's not surprising that Boxberger has been collecting dust of late with few save situations being presented to the struggling club.

Hicks, who recorded two strikeouts over a scoreless eighth inning in an extra-inning loss to the Royals on Wednesday, intentionally focused on deploying his slider -- as opposed to his triple-digit sinker -- during the outing, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "That's my go-to strikeout pitch (and) it hasn't been there lately," Hicks said. "I'm not going to go out there and overthrow for 106 or something that's not going to happen. If I get a little extra and I feel like it, I'm going to go get it. If I don't, I won't."

Hicks set the baseball world abuzz last Sunday by hitting 105 mph on the radar gun twice with his sinker in an encounter against the Phillies' Odubel Herrera. However, despite the considerable firepower residing in his right arm, Hicks hadn't recorded multiple strikeouts in an outing since April 10 prior to Wednesday, and his current 4.3 K/9 ranks him 248th among 253 pitchers who've thrown at least 20 innings this season. While those numbers may not make sense on the surface given Hicks' velocity, Goold explains that the sinker's action moves the ball to the end of the bat, prompting more frequent contact. Consequently, pitching coach Mike Maddux has been working with Hicks on honing a pair of breaking pitches that top out in the mid-80s, in an effort to boost his strikeout rate. The results were evident against the Royals, as both of Hicks' punchouts came on the slider, and neither offering exceeded 85 mph.

Jansen worked around a single to strike out the side and pick up his 10th save in Wednesday's 3-0 victory over the Rockies.

Jansen has been on fire of late, picking up his fourth save in the last five days. The 30-year-old has posted a 0.75 ERA with seven saves in 11 May appearances, making his early-season struggles seem like a distant memory.

Smith tossed 1.1 clean innings in Wednesday's loss to the Astros.

Smith has been dominant since returning from Tommy John surgery May 2. The 28-year-old has posted an 11:2 K:BB ratio without allowing a run over 9.1 innings. Tony Watson is still the club's primary setup man, but Smith appears to be right behind him in the bullpen pecking order.

Edgin signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Wednesday.

Edgin has latched on with the Nationals after opting out of his contract with the Orioles earlier in the month. The 31-year-old, who compiled a 4.34 ERA and 25:5 K:BB across 18.2 innings with Triple-A Norfolk prior to opting out of his deal, will report to Triple-A Syracuse. He'll serve as organizational bullpen depth for the Nationals.

Suter (4-3) picked up the win Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six across 5.2 innings.

It was another solid start from Suter, who has now allowed just three runs while striking out 12 batters across 11.1 innings in his past two outings. Aside from a pair of solo shots in the second inning courtesy of Paul Goldschmidt and John Ryan Murphy, the southpaw was able to keep the Diamondbacks in check before exiting in the sixth with a 8-2 lead. With Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta heading to the minors, Suter looks poised to stick in the rotation for the time being. He'll take a 4.56 ERA into his next start, which will come at home against the Cardinals.