MLB Player News

Ramirez (1-0) was credited with the win in an extra-innings victory over the Royals on Sunday, firing a scoreless 12th inning in which he issued two walks and recorded two strikeouts.

A day after blowing a two-run lead, Ramirez was thrust into a high-leverage scenario and delivered, albeit with some suspense attached. The right-hander issued back-to-back free passes to Michael Taylor and Ryan O'Hearn after recording a strikeout of Bobby Witt to open the inning, but he bounced back with strikeouts of Whit Merrifield and Nicky Lopez to escape the jam. Ramirez has produced scoreless efforts in four of his six appearances while giving up multiple earned runs in the other two, making him a bit of a feast-or-famine fantasy option early in the season.

Jackson recorded his third hold in a win over the Rangers on Sunday, firing two perfect innings during which he recorded two strikeouts.

Jackson got his six outs on an efficient 22 pitches, 14 of which found the strike zone. The 27-year-old right-hander has now generated scoreless efforts in three of his last four appearances, a stretch during which he's lowered his ERA from 5.40 to 3.86 while also generating a 5:0 K:BB over 3.2 innings.

Yarbrough (groin) retired only one of the six batters he faced Saturday in his rehab start with Triple-A Durham, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit and four walks during the 27-pitch appearance.

Since he was placed on the 10-day injured list April 11 with a left groin injury, Yarbrough was expected to need only one rehab appearance before slotting back into the Tampa Bay rotation. However, after Yarbrough's rough showing for Durham in which he threw only 10 of his 27 pitches for strikes, the Rays will likely want to see him right the ship in the minors before activating him. The Rays will need to break in a fifth starter for their home series with the Twins over the weekend, and it's possible the team opts for a bullpen game that day to allow Yarbrough to iron things out at Triple-A.

Scott gave up three runs on two hits while striking out one and getting just one out before being replaced in the ninth inning Sunday against Atlanta. He entered with a 5-1 lead, and Miami ended up winning 5-4.

Scott struck out Travis Demeritte for what would have been the first out of the ninth inning with the Marlins up four runs, but it was a wild pitch and Demeritte reached first base safely. That was followed by an Ozzie Albies double, a Matt Olson sacrifice fly and an Austin Riley two-run homer. Scott got a save Saturday in a clean ninth inning and was called on a second day in a row to protect a four-run lead. He created a save situation that Louis Head converted. The Marlins seem to have a committee in the ninth inning, though manager Don Mattingly would like one pitcher to emerge as the go-to option. Anthony Bender has faltered in the role, so any of Scott, Cole Sulser or Anthony Bass could get opportunities in the short term.

Otto is scheduled to make his next start for the Rangers at home Wednesday against the Astros.

He'll be making a second straight turn in the rotation as a replacement for Jon Gray (knee), who recently moved to the injured list for the second time this season. Though Gray's injury isn't believed to be a long-term issue, Otto could vie for a back-end spot in the rotation even once the Rangers' Opening Day starter is cleared to return from the IL. Otto looked sharp in his first start of the season Friday in Oakland, limiting the Athletics to one earned run on two hits and one walk while striking out five en route to capturing his first MLB win.

Harris (undisclosed) came off High-A Lansing's 7-day injured list and made his season debut in Sunday's 13-5 loss to Fort Wayne, covering one inning and giving up three runs (two earned) on one hit and two walks while striking out two. He also hit a batter.

Making his first appearance in affiliated ball since the 2019 season, Harris had a shaky debut, needing 28 pitches to record three outs. The 25-year-old southpaw will look to improve his efficiency while upping his pitch counts in his subsequent starts for Lansing.

The Athletics outrighted Romero to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

Romero went unclaimed off waivers by baseball's other 29 teams after Oakland designated him for assignment Thursday. The 28-year-old right-hander no longer possesses a spot on the 40-man roster and will now have a tougher path to potentially making his big-league debut in 2022.

Martin struck out two over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Oakland.

Martin kept the Rangers close by cleaning up a one-out, bases-loaded mess created by Albert Abreu. The left-hander retired two righty batters to keep it a 2-0 game in the fifth inning. Since giving up runs in each of his first three outings, the high-leverage reliever has thrown five scoreless frames, giving up one hit and one walk while striking out four and earning two holds.

Abreu allowed three walks over a scoreless third of an inning in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Oakland.

The Rangers had planned to use multiple pitchers to get through Sunday's game, but Abreu's abbreviated showing forced manager Chris Woodward to adjust on the fly. Thankfully for Texas, left-hander Brett Martin cleaned up Abreu's mess by getting the final two batters in the fifth inning via strikeout. Sunday's walk-fest didn't hurt Abreu's ERA, but he's encountered some adversity in his four outings thus far. The right-hander has allowed only one run but has given up three hits, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out six over 5.1 innings.

Payamps (0-1) allowed an unearned run on a hit and a walk while failing to retire a batter, taking the loss in Sunday's game versus the Mariners.

Payamps was unable to navigate the heart of the Mariners' order in the 12th inning, giving up a walkoff single to Jesse Winker. He had logged three scoreless innings in a row prior to Sunday's outing. The right-hander has allowed six hits, two walks and two runs (one earned) while striking out four through four innings across five appearances. He'll likely continue to function mostly as a middle reliever for much of the season.