MLB Player News

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Casparius will "most likely" work in bulk relief behind Shohei Ohtani on Sunday against the Nationals, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Though Ohtani made his first appearance on the mound since August 2023 in Monday's game, he wasn't fully built up and tossed 28 pitches as a one-inning opener. Casparius was the second reliever into the contest after Anthony Banda and covered 3.2 innings en route to his fifth win of the season. Ohtani should be stretched out a bit more Sunday, but Casparius once again profiles as the Dodgers pitcher most likely to qualify for a win, making him an appealing streaming option against a Nationals squad that has stumbled to a 2-15 record thus far in June.

Rodriguez picked up a hold in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Guardians, striking out two in a scoreless inning.

Rodriguez entered the game in the eighth and threw nine of his 12 pitches for strikes in an efficient outing. The 25-year-old earned his third hold of the month, during which he has posted a 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 10:2 K:BB over 6.1 innings in seven games. Overall, he owns a 0.84 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and a 46:5 K:BB with nine holds across 32 innings in 31 appearances.

The Royals activated Long (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Friday.

Long has been sidelined since mid-April with left elbow inflammation but has been cleared to return after making 12 rehab appearances. The southpaw held a 12.86 ERA before going on the IL and a 9.90 ERA on his rehab assignment, so Long will likely be used in low-leverage spots initially.

Kelly (1-0) earned the win in Thursday's 6-4 victory over the Astros. He allowed no hits and one walk over a scoreless inning.

The right-hander was summoned for the 10th inning and escaped unscathed, inducing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Jake Meyers to set the stage for a Nick Kurtz walk-off homer. Kelly was reinstated June 5 after serving a year-long suspension for violating MLB's gambling policy. Since returning, the reliever has tossed 6.2 scoreless innings. While his 3.65 FIP and 5.4 BB/9 suggest potential regression, the Athletics have to be encouraged by Kelly's performance after a year off from MLB action.

Loutos (1-0) picked up the win Thursday against the Rockies, giving up an unearned run on one hit in the 11th inning. He struck out one.

The rookie right-hander allowed the automatic runner to score on a leadoff single by Michael Toglia, but Loutos prevented any further damage and then fell into his first career MLB win when James Wood walked it off with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 11th. Loutos has been effective in low-leverage spots for the Nationals since being claimed off waivers from the Dodgers earlier in June, posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 2:2 K:BB in four innings for his new club.

Bender (1-5) took the loss Thursday against the Phillies, giving up one run on one hit in two-thirds of an inning.

After entering a 1-1 game with one out in the eighth inning, the right-hander left a 96.7 mph sinker over the middle of the plate that Kyle Schwarber crushed 428 feet to right-center field for the winning run. Bender hasn't struck out a batter in five straight appearances, and all three of the homers he's served up this season have come in June. Over 6.1 innings this month, he's stumbled to a 7.11 ERA and 3:2 K:BB, although he has managed to collect four holds in seven trips to the mound.

Latz didn't strike out a batter and allowed one run on three hits and one walk over 5.2 innings out of the bullpen in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Royals.

The Rangers are without multiple members of the rotation due to injuries, and as a result, the team has resorted to three bullpen games over the last 10 days. Latz, who was primarily a starter in the minors, entered the game behind opening pitcher Shawn Armstrong and ended up making his lengthiest appearance since April 2022, when he was in the rotation at Triple-A Round Rock.. He's averaged three innings over his last four outings and might be an option to make another spot start or bulk-relief appearance next week if Nathan Eovaldi (triceps) needs more time to return from the 15-day injured list.

The Royals optioned Bowlan to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

Bowlan was unscored upon in three appearances during his most recent stint in the majors, but he nonetheless finds himself heading back to Omaha. The Royals will announce a corresponding move prior to Friday's game in San Diego.

Matsui walked one and struck out one over one-third of a hitless and scoreless inning to earn the save in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Dodgers.

Sean Reynolds and Robert Suarez both struggled earlier in the ninth inning, and Matsui wasn't much better. He allowed an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, but Matsui struck out Dalton Rushing to squash the Dodgers' late rally. This was Matsui's first save of the season -- Suarez has been locked in as the Padres' closer, though he's now been scored upon in three straight appearances. Overall, Matsui is at a 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 35:15 K:BB over 30 innings. He's added just two holds and isn't a regular part of the late-inning mix, as the Padres have plenty of other options to close if Suarez loses the job or becomes part of a committee. Don't expect to see many other save opportunities for Matsui this season.

Bergert allowed three hits and a walk while striking out three over 4.2 scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Dodgers on Thursday.

Bergert came up an out short of qualifying for the win, exiting at 71 pitches (47 strikes). It appears to be simply a managerial decision, as Shohei Ohtani was up with runners on the corners and two outs when Bergert was lifted for Adrian Morejon. While it was a short start, Bergert's holding his own quite well in the majors, allowing just five runs over 20 innings across his first four starts. He's at a 1.88 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 19:9 K:BB through 24 innings over eight appearances in total this season. The 25-year-old is projected to make his next start at home versus the Nationals.