MLB Player News

Sale (ribs) allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out one over one inning in a rehab start Monday for the Red Sox's rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate.

Sale threw 22 pitches against the Rays' affiliate during the inning, which included a strikeout of a rehabbing Wander Franco (quadriceps). Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters over the weekend that the left-hander was going to pitch two innings, but the Red Sox confirmed that was miscommunication about Sale's workload. If he comes out of Monday's outing without any setbacks, Sale is expected to pitch again in five days as he ramps up his pitch and innings count, although it's unclear where he will throw.

Houck will not make the trip to Toronto for next week's three-game series against the Blue Jays due to being unvaccinated against COVID-19, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. The series runs from Monday to Wednesday.

Houck has evolved into the role as Boston's closer, but manager Alex Cora will have to get creative if the Red Sox need a save during the series. The right-hander opened the season as part of Boston's rotation but was moved to the bullpen, ironically, after he didn't make the team's first trip to Canada in April. Since then, Houck has been a Swiss army knife out of the bullpen and eventually settled in as the best ninth-inning option.

McClanahan allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out eight over six innings against the Yankees on Monday. He did not factor in the decision.

McClanahan served up a first-inning solo shot to Anthony Rizzo but did not allow any runs for the remainder of his outing. He notched 16 swinging strikes and racked up eight punchouts but had to settle for a no-decision as Yankees ace Gerrit Cole carried a no-hitter into the eighth frame. McClanahan has allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine consecutive starts and has posted a 1.26 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 71:9 K:BB while collecting six wins over that span. He ranks third in the majors with a 1.81 ERA on the season.

Cole didn't factor into the decision Monday in the Yankees' 4-2 win over the Rays, allowing one run on one hit and three walks while striking out 12 over 7.1 innings.

Cole carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Isaac Paredes opened the frame with a single. The right-hander was lifted from the game one out later, and he lost his chance at a win after Clay Holmes allowed two runs to cross the plate as the Rays evened the score 2-2. Despite the disappointing no-decision, Cole had arguably his best outing of the campaign, racking up a season-high 12 strikeouts and inducing 19 swinging strikes. He lowered his ERA to 3.12 overall and has yielded one or zero runs in four of his past five starts.

Allen was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday.

Allen earned the weekly award with 11 strikeouts in six innings of two-hit ball for Double-A Akron versus Hartford on Thursday. He's posted three straight quality starts to bounce back from a rough end of May. Through 66 innings with Akron this year, he's logged a 3.55 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 93:21 K:BB and 4-3 record across 12 starts. It's unclear if he'll be in line for a midseason promotion to Triple-A Columbus or if he'll finish the year out at the Double-A level.

Syndergaard (4-6) allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 7.1 innings, taking the loss Monday versus the Royals.

Syndergaard gave up a two-run home run to Andrew Benintendi in the first inning, but he settled in after that. He faded at the end of his start, allowing an RBI double to Nicky Lopez in the seventh and another two-run blast to Salvador Perez in the eighth before he was relieved by Jaime Barria. Syndergaard previously hadn't allowed multiple homers in a start all year, and he's now given up six long balls in 58.1 innings. He has a 3.86 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 40:15 K:BB through 11 outings. The right-hander is lined up to start against the White Sox next week if the Angels continue to use a six-man rotation.

Bubic (1-4) earned the win Monday over the Angels. He allowed two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out seven in six innings.

This was Bubic's longest start of the season, and it was also one of his more effective outings. Taylor Ward gave him some trouble with a solo home run in the third inning and an RBI single in the fifth, but that was the extent of the damage. Even with a strong outing, Bubic has a 7.41 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 31:20 K:BB across 34 innings in 10 appearances (nine starts). When Zack Greinke (elbow) returns from the injured list, it'll likely come down to Bubic or Daniel Lynch exiting the Royals' rotation.

Houck allowed one hit in a scoreless frame against the Tigers on Monday. He struck out one batter and earned a save.

Houck coughed up a one-out single to Spencer Torkelson but had no issue closing out the 5-2 win over Detroit. He's earned a save in five straight outings, allowing one run on five hits over 3.2 frames during that span. Monday's was notable because it was the first time Houck pitched on back-to-back days since becoming a regular in the bullpen. The 25-year-old is sporting a 3.45 ERA as he looks to have a solid hold on the closer role in Boston.

Faedo (1-4) allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits across 4.1 innings to take the loss Monday against the Red Sox. He walked two and struck out two.

Pitching against this Boston lineup at Fenway Park is a tough task, and Faedo never really found his footing, as the Red Sox scored at least one run in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings. That's two rough outings in a row for the righty, who's allowed 11 earned runs across his past 7.1 innings. Faedo has seen his ERA rise from 2.92 to 4.67 in the process. He's lined up to start again Saturday against the Diamondbacks, and given his recent results, fantasy managers should probably look elsewhere until Faedo shows signs of turning things around.

Junk was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday.

Junk threw a single inning of scoreless relief for the Angels in late May but has spent the rest of the year at the Triple-A level. He hasn't been particularly good, posting a 5.08 ERA and 16.6 percent strikeout rate across seven starts, but he'll nevertheless get another opportunity in the majors, seemingly in a relief role. Kenny Rosenberg was optioned to clear space on the roster.