MLB Player News

Sands will start Saturday's game against the Rays.

Sands pitched one-third of an inning during a win in Friday's series opener, and the Twins will now let him face the top of Tampa Bay's batting order to begin Saturday's game. The 27-year-old isn't expected to last more than an inning or two before turning things over to Minnesota's bullpen.

The Twins optioned Funderburk to Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

After tossing a shutout inning against the Marlins on Thursday, Funderburk will head back to the minors, where he owns a 1.69 ERA and 1.04 WHIP through 21.1 frames. Travis Adams was recalled from Triple-A to fill the open roster spot.

Brazoban (4-2) picked up the win Friday over the Yankees, walking one and striking out three in a scoreless seventh inning.

The right-hander has been struggling lately but came through in a big spot, preventing the Yanks from increasing a one-run lead by fanning DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger before the Mets took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame. Even after that performance, Brazoban still carries a 10.97 ERA, 2.16 WHIP and 12:14 K:BB in 10.2 innings since the beginning of June, and his usage Friday came with Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz both unavailable after having worked two straight days. Brazoban will likely need to string together at least a few more good outings before he'll be a regular member of the high-leverage crew again -- the decision was his first win, save or hold since June 24.

The Twins recalled Adams from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

The Twins are going to use Cole Sands as their starter Saturday against the Rays, but Adams is expected to get in the game at some point, which will mark his MLB debut. The 25-year-old right-hander has made 19 appearances (five starts) in Triple-A this year and owns a 3.68 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP and a 58:20 K:BB through 63.2 innings. Kody Funderburk was optioned to St. Paul in a corresponding move.

Green (3-2) struck out one in a scoreless 10th inning Friday to record the win in a 3-2 victory over the Angels.

He did plunk Nolan Schanuel with a pitch, but it was otherwise another tidy performance from Green. The veteran right-hander has been scored upon only once in his last nine appearances, posting a 1.04 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 6:5 K:BB through 8.2 innings over that stretch, and he's worked his way back into a high-leverage spot in the Toronto bullpen as a result, collecting two holds and a win in his last four outings.

Cantillo is listed as the Guardians' scheduled starter for Tuesday's game in Houston.

Cantillo will be making his second turn through the Cleveland rotation after he was called up from Triple-A Columbus to start in Thursday's 1-0 extra-inning loss to the Cubs after Luis L. Ortiz was placed on the restricted list. Ortiz will remain out through at least the All-Star break while he remains the subject of an ongoing league investigation, so Cantillo looks as though he'll be in line for a two-start week to close out the Guardians' first-half schedule, with the young lefty's second turn expected to come next Sunday against the White Sox. After he hadn't covered four innings in any of his four starts with Triple-A Columbus prior to being recalled Thursday, Cantillo handled a light workload in his outing against the Cubs, tossing 68 pitches over 3.1 scoreless innings while striking out five batters.

Taylor gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his third save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Rockies.

The rookie right-hander is separating himself from the pack in the White Sox bullpen. Taylor has three of the team's last four saves, and the only exception came one day after he'd thrown 31 pitches over two innings against the Giants. His stuff warrants getting a chance to establish himself as a dominant late-inning arm, as he topped out at 101.3 mph with his fastball Friday while getting whiffs with both his slider and curveball. Through his first 12.1 big-league innings, Taylor has a 4.38 ERA, but he has yet to allow a homer and sports a much more impressive 0.97 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB.

Graveman (hip) threw a live batting practice session Friday, MLB.com reports.

Graveman's session was overshadowed by the hitter he threw to -- rehabbing outfielder Corbin Carroll (wrist) -- but the reliever's activity carries significance. Arizona's bullpen ranks 28th in the majors with a 5.18 ERA, and the team's relief corps has had recent meltdowns in the latter innings of losses. Graveman battled a back injury and missed the first six weeks of the season before a right hip impingement shut him down early in June.

Bautista pitched a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his 17th save of the season in a 3-2 win over Atlanta.

He didn't strike out a batter in an appearance for the first time since June 4, but it was still another impressive performance from Bautista. The right-hander has blown only one save chance all season, and since May 26 he's gone 10-for-10 with a 1.20 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 26:8 K:BB through 15 innings.

Megill gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 19th save of the season in a 6-5 win over the Marlins. He struck out one.

Miami's hitters made him work, fouling off 10 of his 32 pitches (20 total strikes), but Megill finally got the job done. The right-hander bounced back nicely from his third blown save of the season, and he's two saves shy of matching the career-high 21 he racked up last year. Since the beginning of June, Megill has a 2.92 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB through 12.1 innings.