MLB Player News

Pomeranz has permitted five hits and one walk while striking out three over 1.1 innings between relief appearances Thursday against the Brewers and Saturday against the Mariners after he previously hadn't pitched since June 14 due to a back soreness.

Pomeranz experienced some back pain during the June 14 outing against the Pirates but was shut down for just a few days before the Cubs made him available out of the bullpen. The lefty was hit around a bit in his last two appearances but still has yet to give up an earned run over his 19.2 innings with the Cubs since being acquired from Seattle on April 21. He owns a 0.92 WHIP and 19:6 K:BB and has collected two wins, one save and four holds over his 22 appearances.

Burdi (foot) hasn't pitched for Triple-A Worcester since making his most recent rehab appearance June 15.

Burdi began his assignment June 13, and after tossing a scoreless inning that same day, he then pitched two days later and allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk over 1.1 innings. According to Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com, Burdi was removed from the Triple-A roster Wednesday but wasn't activated from the Red Sox's injured list, which could be a sign that he's dealing with a setback that resulted in him being pulled off his assignment. The right-hander has been on the shelf since June 3 due to a right foot contusion.

Pagan tossed a perfect inning to convert a save against St. Louis on Sunday.

Pagan entered a 4-1 contest and retired the Cardinals' 3-4-5 batters in order to finish off the win. He struck out four batters in a blown save Saturday but was immediately thrown back into the ninth inning Sunday. Pagan has converted 18 of 21 save chances this season while registering a 3.27 ERA and a 42:11 K:BB.

Paplham (face) was assigned to High-A Fort Wayne on Thursday after being reinstated from Double-A San Antonio's 7-day injured list.

After suffering multiple facial fractures when he was struck by a comebacker in a Cactus League game back in late February, Paplham opened the season on San Antonio's IL. He was cleared to begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on May 20, and after giving up one earned run in 4.2 innings over four appearances, he was moved to Fort Wayne on June 3. Since reporting to the Midwest League, Paplham has made four more appearances and has struck out six while allowing two earned runs on four hits and one walk in six innings. Though he'll stick around with Fort Wayne for the time being, Paplham could be advanced to San Antonio once the Double-A club has an opening in its bullpen.

Achcraft will start Monday's series opener against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After making his first seven appearances out of the Pittsburgh bullpen following his May 26 call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis, Ashcraft will make his first career major-league start against a red-hot Brewers lineup that has averaged 10.8 runs per contest during its active four-game winning streak. The right-hander has fared well thus far while working in relief, producing a 1.54 ERA and 1.29 WHIP with 10 strikeouts over 11.2 innings. He's maxed out at 40 pitches in those relief outings, but the Pirates could be comfortable with him covering somewhere around 60-to-80 pitches Monday after he had previously built up to six innings during his time in the minors. Even so, the fact that Ashcraft likely won't handle a traditional starter's workload in addition to the tough matchup limits his appeal as a streaming option.

Megill earned the save in Sunday's 9-8 win over the Twins, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings.

The Brewers turned to Megill in the eighth inning after Jared Koenig allowed a pair of two-out singles following a Ty France homer that cut Milwaukee's lead to 9-8. Megill struck out Jonah Bride before working around a Harrison Bader one-out double in the ninth inning to pick up his 17th save this year. Megill's converted his last five save chances, allowing one run while striking out 10 in that span (5.1 innings). His ERA sits at 2.70 on the year with a 1.31 WHIP and 32:14 K:BB across 26.2 innings.

Halvorsen allowed a hit in a scoreless inning and earned a save over Arizona on Sunday. He struck out one batter.

Halvorsen worked around a two-out double by Randal Grichuk to close out the 4-2 victory Sunday. It was Halvorsen's first appearance since blowing a save chance against the Nationals on Thursday. He's now converted six of his nine save opportunities while producing a 4.31 ERA and a 29:14 K:BB through 31.1 innings.

Henriquez earned the save in Sunday's 5-3 win over Atlanta, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Henriquez allowed a leadoff single to Alex Verdugo to lead off the ninth, though he got Michael Harris to ground into a double play before striking out Sean Murphy to close out his second save this season. The Marlins have taken a committee approach to the ninth inning this year, and Henriquez has become one of their more trusted relief options. The 25-year-old right-hander has posted a 3.00 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and 48:16 K:BB across 36 innings this year.

Hoffman took a blown save in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the White Sox, allowing one unearned run on a hit and a walk in one-third of an inning.

The Jays turned to Hoffman to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning with two outs and two runners aboard. He issued a walk to Chase Meidroth, loading the bases, before committing an error on an Andrew Benintendi grounder that allowed the tying run to score. Hoffman subsequently allowed a two-run double to Miguel Vargas, putting Toronto behind for good. It's the fourth blown save for Hoffman this year, though Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports that manager John Schneider doesn't seem inclined to make a change at closer. Overall, Hoffman's converted 17 saves while posting a 5.29 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 44:10 K:BB across 32.1 innings this season.

Taylor earned the save in Sunday's 4-2 win over Toronto, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Taylor allowed a single to George Springer to lead off the ninth, though he quickly erased him with a double-play ball before striking out Addison Barger to lock down his first major-league save. Sunday's outing marked just the sixth appearance for Taylor, though he's quickly worked his way up the White Sox bullpen hierarchy. He's allowed two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out seven through his first six innings in the majors after posting a 1.01 ERA with 37 strikeouts over 26.2 innings with Double-A Birmingham this season.