MLB Player News

Cruz secured the save Sunday against the Tigers, allowing no runs on one hit and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out two.

Closer Alex Lange was presumably getting Sunday off after picking up the save Saturday against Detroit, allowing Cruz to get a save opportunity. Cruz does have his two saves for the season in his past three appearances, so he at least appears to have worked his way into Kansas City's high-leverage mix along with Lucas Erceg, Matt Strahm and Daniel Lynch. Through 37 innings, Cruz has a 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 45:17 K:BB.

Pomeranz elected free agency Friday.

The veteran southpaw will explore his options on the open market after he recently cleared waivers upon being designated for assignment by the Cubs. Over his 31 appearances in the majors this season between the Angels and Cubs, Pomeranz has pitched to a 5.59 ERA and 1.66 WHIP across 29 innings.

Montgomery secured the save Sunday against the Cubs, allowing two runs on two hits and no walks in the ninth inning. He struck out two.

It was interesting to see Pittsburgh deploy Montgomery in the ninth over Gregory Soto, who's been the club's primary closer this season and last worked Friday. Montgomery appears to be working his way up the bullpen ladder following the departure of Dennis Santana, but he barely survived Sunday and needed every bit of the 8-5 lead he was granted. Through 42.1 innings, Montgomery has a 4.04 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 65:19 K:BB with two saves in two chances.

Iglesias took a blown save in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Orioles in extra innings. He gave up an unearned run while logging a walk and a strikeout in the ninth inning.

Though an Ozzie Albies error helped Baltimore to tie the game Sunday, Iglesias was still tagged with his second blown save in his last eight appearances after he had converted his first 17 save chances of the season. Iglesias has given up seven runs (six earned) in his last 8.2 innings, though he still sports an excellent 2.43 ERA overall with a 1.08 WHIP and 43 strikeouts through 37 innings this year.

Hurter (spine) threw a bullpen session Friday, MLB.com reports.

Hurter is working his way back from lumbar spine inflammation, which has kept him on the shelf since May 24. He's eligible to come off the 60-day injured list at any time but will likely need to complete a rehab assignment prior to being reinstated.

Lopez didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the Orioles, allowing five hits and a walk across 5.2 scoreless innings. He struck out six.

It was a nice bounce-back outing from Lopez, who had given up nine runs across 9.1 innings in his previous two starts. Overall, the right-hander is 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 66:29 K:BB through 71.2 innings this season. Lopez will look to build on Sunday's outing his next time out, currently slated to come at home against the Nationals.

The Mariners optioned Davila to Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday.

Davila allowed a run over 1.1 innings during Saturday's game against the Rangers and will now head to Triple-A in favor of a fresh bullpen arm. The 27-year-old rookie has a 3.57 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 22.2 innings this year, though his 9:11 K:BB paints a less-encouraging outlook of his performance.

The Mariners recalled Hoppe from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday.

The rookie right-hander has spent the past month in the minors but will rejoin the Mariners ahead of Sunday's series finale at Texas. Hoppe has a 6.38 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 26:10 K:BB across 24 innings in the majors this year.

The Astros optioned Teng to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Teng was activated from the injured list in mid-July after missing a few weeks due to a knee sprain, but Houston elected to demote him after just two appearances, during which he gave up two runs on three hits with a 4:2 K:BB and four hit batsmen across 4.1 innings. The right-hander pitched to a 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 through his first 17 outings of the year, but he has a 6.89 ERA across his past eight appearances (31.1 innings).

Baker earned the save in Sunday's 1-0 victory over the Guardians, tallying a strikeout and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

Baker is up to 28 saves (in 31 chances) this season, good for the second most in the majors. The right-hander has been stellar of late, allowing just one run in his last 22 innings. Baker's ERA now sits at a sparkling 1.56 across 40.1 innings this season with a 0.84 WHIP and 43:13 K:BB.