MLB Player News

Gil (1-1) was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Saturday's game against Cleveland. He was charged with the loss after giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits while tallying six strikeouts and four walks over 4.1 innings.

The 23-year-old struggled with his command and threw only 50 of 88 pitches in the zone, though he still induced 13 swinging strikes. Gil still has a strong 2.88 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 32:15 K:BB across 25 innings this season, but he'll head back to the minors since the Yankees need only four starters for the near future thanks to having two scheduled off days in the next nine days.

Baz will have his contract selected by the Rays to start Monday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 22-year-old originally lined up to make his MLB debut Friday before being scratched due to back spasms, but he'll end up being pushed back by only a few days. Baz, Tampa Bay's top pitching prospect, posted a 1.76 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 64:11 K:BB over 46 innings at Triple-A after opening the season at the Double-A level.

Matz (13-7) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts through 5.2 innings, picking up the win in Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Twins.

Matz gave up a two-run homer to Josh Donaldson in the first inning but settled in to blank the Twins for the remainder of his outing. He did leave the game with runners on the corners, but Trevor Richards closed the book on the southpaw with no further damage. The 30-year-old Matz pushed his streak of going at least five innings to seven straight starts and has struck out at least five batters in four consecutive appearances. For a player who finished 2020 with a 9.68 ERA, Matz's 2021 has been nothing short of resurgent. He'll look to keep the good vibes going in his next start, which is tentatively set for Thursday against these same Twins in Minneapolis.

Ober (2-3) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts through four innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 6-2 defeat to the Blue Jays.

Ober couldn't contain a hot Blue Jays lineup Saturday, allowing a solo shot to Marcus Semien and a three-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez before being yanked after four innings. Minnesota's deployment of Ober has been interesting, as it has used the rookie as more of an extended opener rather than a true starter this season. The 26-year-old has thrown over 85 pitches just once in 19 starts and has never gone beyond the sixth inning. If the Twins take the training wheels off Ober next season and allow him to pitch deeper into games, the 6-foot-9 right-hander's ability to rack up strikeouts could make him a fantasy sleeper.

Kaprielian will start Saturday's game against the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manager Bob Melvin announced earlier in the week that Kaprielian was shifting to a bullpen role, but his replacement in the rotation, Daulton Jefferies, landed on the injured list Saturday with an elbow injury. Kaprielian will end up making his previously scheduled turn through the rotation, though he may need a strong performance to receive additional starts given that he has an 8.10 ERA across his past four outings.

Bielak was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Bielak would likely have been unavailable for a few days after he was called upon to throw 2.2 innings in a spot start Friday. The Astros elected to swap him out for a fresh arm, calling up Peter Solomon to take his place.

Bieber (shoulder) will make a rehab start for Double-A Akron on Sunday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Bieber has been out with a shoulder strain since mid-June. He threw 2.2 innings in a rehab start Tuesday and is expected to throw four in his second rehab appearance. If that's the final rehab start he needs, he could return on a reduced pitch count near the end of next week. It doesn't look as though he'll have time to make more than two major-league starts before the end of the season.

Bundy (shoulder) had a recent simulated game in Chicago cut short and, per manager Joe Maddon, is unlikely to pitch again this season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Bundy recently stated that he intended to return to the big club before the end of the campaign, but he couldn't complete a scheduled three-inning simulated game due to discomfort and is now almost certain to be shut down for the remainder of the season. After breaking out with a career-best campaign in 2020, the right-hander has suffered through a miserable 2021 season, posting his worst ERA (6.06) as a big leaguer while registering a 2-9 record. Bundy will be a free agent in the offseason, and his struggles this year -- along with the shoulder injury -- have likely lowered his attractiveness to big-league clubs considerably.

Irvin (10-13) picked up the win in a victory over the Angels on Friday, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out three.

Irvin got his 18 outs on an efficient 89 pitches and lowered his ERA back under 4.00 -- to 3.94 -- in the process. The left-hander did stumble in a tough matchup versus the Blue Jays three starts ago on the road, but he has otherwise allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight other trips to the mound dating back to July 31.

Flexen (12-6) secured the victory in a win over the Royals on Friday, allowing an earned run on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out three in the game.

The right-hander bounced back nicely after a rough outing versus the Diamondbacks his last time out, coaxing his ERA back down to 3.66. Flexen also encouragingly stayed away from the long ball after allowing his 15th and 16th home runs of the season in his previous two starts, and all six hits he surrendered were singles. The 27-year-old will look to extend what has been a strong stretch of pitching since early August -- save for the aforementioned stumble against Arizona -- when he takes the mound next week.