MLB Player News

Bowlan was named the Texas League Pitcher of the Week on Monday.

Bowlan threw five scoreless innings for Double-A Northwest Arkansas versus Springfield on Sunday. He allowed two hits and two walks while striking out two. Bowlan's made six starts at the Double-A level since returning from Tommy John surgery, though he's struggled to a 6.48 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 18:9 K:BB over 25 innings. Sunday's outing matched his longest of the season at any level, and it may signal he's feeling more comfortable on the mound after the lengthy rehab process.

The Yankees plan to reinstate Holmes (back) from the 15-day injured list Monday, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.

New York already optioned Luke Bard to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to clear a spot on the 26-man active roster for Holmes, who will return to action after missing the minimum 15 days. Though the Yankees might prefer to ease Holmes back into the mix in a lower-leverage spot, the team may have to turn to him for closing duties right away after Aroldis Chapman (leg) recently joined Scott Effross (shoulder) on the IL. Along with Holmes, Lou Trivino is another candidate to pick up saves if manager Aaron Boone opts to take a committee approach at closer.

Mayers is slated to make his next start Tuesday against the Yankees in Anaheim.

After tossing 5.1 innings in long relief Aug. 17, Mayers was summoned into the Angels' six-man rotation last week as a replacement for the struggling Touki Toussaint. In his first start of the season last Wednesday in Tampa Bay, Mayers was excellent, as he struck out five over five shutout frames while scattering two hits and three walks. The home matchup with the Yankees isn't the softest landing spot, though it's perhaps more favorable than earlier in the season with New York having performed as a league-average offense (99 wRC+, 15th in MLB) since the All-Star break.

Williams pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout to earn the save in a 9-7 win over the Cubs on Sunday.

Williams was called in to protect a two-run lead in the ninth inning and he did just that by recording three outs on eight pitches without allowing a runner to reach base. Williams has been slotted into Milwaukee's closer role since the trade deadline when Josh Hader was sent to San Diego. He gave up an earned run in each of his last two appearances, so he appears to be right back on track after handling the Cubs with no problems to earn his ninth save of the season. Williams has an excellent 1.84 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 49 innings this year.

Hader gave up six earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out one over one-third of an inning in a 15-7 loss to the Royals on Sunday.

Hader was recently removed from the closer role in San Diego after he struggled since coming over at the trade deadline. Manager Bob Melvin decided to give Hader a chance to pitch in a lower-leverage situation Sunday, as the Padres were trailing by three runs in the eighth. Hader was promptly tagged for six runs and could only get one out. The poor showing means he likely still has much to figure out before he can return to higher-leverage work.

Heasley (2-7) gave up three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings to earn the win in a 15-7 victory over the Padres on Sunday.

Heasley gave up a pair of home runs to Manny Machado but did just enough to earn his second win of the 2022 campaign. He threw 51 of his 85 pitches for strikes and tied his career-best with seven strikeouts. The 26-year-old rookie has an ERA of 5.22 and a WHIP of 1.54 in 70.2 innings pitched. The likelihood of Heasley picking up any more wins down the stretch will be linked to whether the Royals decide to let him go longer into games in his final handful of starts. He is expected to take the mound in a favorable matchup at Detroit later in the week.

Manaea (7-7) gave up six earned runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out four over four innings to take the loss in a 15-7 defeat against the Royals on Sunday.

Manaea's struggles in the month of August continued with an abysmal appearance that saw him picked apart by hits and chased after 79 pitches. It was Manaea's worst start since Aug. 8, when he was pounded for eight runs by the Dodgers. He has now given up 21 earned runs over five starts this month and his season-long ERA has crept up to 4.90. The left-hander is tentatively expected to make his next start at the Dodgers.

Dominguez (triceps) is feeling 'way better' but hasn't yet begun a throwing program, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Dominguez was planning on starting to throw either Sunday or Monday.

Dominguez is still hopeful to return as close as possible to his first eligible date, which is Sept. 2. But the Phillies won't have a real target date until that throwing program starts.

Pivetta (9-10) allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings Sunday, striking out four and taking a loss against the Rays.

Pivetta never found a groove Sunday as he coughed up five runs, matching the total from his previous three starts combined. He was taken deep twice by Isaac Paredes, accounting for three of those runs. The 29-year-old righty saw his season ERA climb to 4.40 with a 143:54 K:BB through 26 starts. Pivetta is lined up to face the Rangers at home next week.

Helsley (9-1) was charged with one run on one hit and struck out three over 1.1 innings, blowing a save but earning the win Sunday versus Atlanta.

Helsley was brought in for a high-leverage chance after Adam Wainwright faded in the seventh inning. Dansby Swanson took Helsley deep for a three-run home run, but the Cardinals rallied ahead again in the eighth after a clean top half of the frame from the righty. While typically the closer, each of Helsley's last three appearances have seen him pick up a win, and his nine victories puts him second among major-league relievers this year behind Toronto's Adam Cimber. Helsley has added 12 saves, four blown saves and six holds while pitching to a 1.04 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 77:13 K:BB. He's given up at least a run in three of his last six appearances, which has opened the door for Giovanny Gallegos to regain a larger share of the closing duties. Both of the Cardinals' top relievers have three saves in August.