MLB Player News

Lynch (3-3) earned the win over Houston on Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out five over seven innings.

Facing MLB's top run-scoring team, Lynch posted one of the best starts of his young career, as he held Houston to a single run over seven frames while matching his season low with four hits allowed. The left-hander surrendered three baserunners and a run in the third frame but bounced back from there, facing the minimum three batters in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. After looking lost in his first call-up to the big leagues -- Lynch gave up 14 earned runs across eight innings in May -- he has been substantially better in his second go-round with the Royals, registering a 2.35 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over five starts since July 25. That has earned him a stable role in the Royals rotation, and he's slated to get another chance to tame the Astros -- this time on the road -- early next week.

Valdez (8-4) took the loss against Kansas City on Tuesday, pitching 6.2 innings and allowing three runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out five.

The nine hits allowed by Valdez were his second most in a game this season, but he still managed to notch his second straight quality start. The southpaw surrendered only one run through five innings before a single off the bat of Hanser Alberto in the sixth provided a pair of decisive runs and sent Valdez to his fourth loss of the campaign. He'll carry a 3.16 ERA into his next start, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday at home versus Seattle.

Bassitt (head) received stitches near his right cheekbone and is being evaluated at a local hospital after being struck in the head by a line drive during Tuesday's start against the White Sox, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 32-year-old apparently never lost consciousness, and manager Bob Melvin said, "he's in a scan and we'll know more about potential fractures or whatever tomorrow or later tonight." Bassitt was bleeding and had a towel held to his face while being carted off the field after being tended to by the athletic trainers for several minutes. His status should be updated over the next day or two as he continues to be evaluated in Chicago.

Ober (1-2) allowed two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts through six innings, taking the loss in Tuesday's 3-1 defeat to Cleveland.

Ober blanked Cleveland through four innings until Daniel Johnson took him deep for a two-run homer in the fifth. The right-hander then gave up an unearned run before getting the hook from manager Rocco Baldelli. Tuesday marked the first time Ober has been deeper than 5.1 innings in his major-league career, but he owes that more to his efficiency on the night (no walks, 69 pitches) than to a change in his deployment. The Twins clearly want to be careful with the 26-year-old, as he has eclipsed 90 pitches just once in 14 starts and has never thrown more than 80 innings in a season in his professional career.

Means (5-5) allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks while striking out seven across four innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Rays.

Means was undone by two long balls, one a two-run shot and the other a three-run homer. He worked through three scoreless innings, but surrendered six hits across the fourth and fifth frames to account for all the damage. This start continued a trend of short outings for Means, as he has failed to complete five innings in either of his last two starts and has gone three outings without reaching six frames. Despite the recent downturn, he still has a 3.44 ERA with 94 strikeouts across 102 innings.

Gil was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Tuesday's doubleheader against the Red Sox. He started the second game and took a no-decision after allowing three hits with four strikeouts and four walks over 4.2 scoreless innings.

Gil had a chance to pick up his second big-league victory, but he was pulled during the fifth inning after loading the bases with two outs. He served as the 27th man for the twin bill, so he could rejoin the Yankees for another start quickly despite the demotion. However, New York's rotation has recently been fortified by the returns of Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery from the COVID-19 injured list. Still, Gil has pitched well enough that he should receive another major-league chance before long.

Mize allowed two runs on four hits across four innings and did not factor into the decision Tuesday against the Angels. He walked four and struck out four.

Mize struggled a bit with command and needed 88 pitches to get through his four innings. He's failed to go beyond five innings in his last three starts, and he has a 6.08 ERA during that stretch. Despite the recent struggles, it's still been a pretty good sophomore season overall for Mize, as he has a 3.69 ERA and 1.17 WHIP for the year. The 24-year-old, who is now at 124.1 innings pitched after logging 28.1 in 2020, will have his workload monitored the rest of the way as the Tigers deploy a six-man rotation. Mize is currently lined up to pitch again next Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Houck was optioned to Triple-A Worcester after Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

The 25-year-old pitched Game 1 of Tuesday's twin bill and took a no-decision after giving up two runs over four innings, and he'll once again be moved off the big-league roster after a start. Houck has made his past six appearances for the Red Sox, but he's bounced between the majors and minors while the team takes advantage of the roster rules to maintain flexibility. He served as the 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader, so he'll be eligible to rejoin the Red Sox without missing a turn through the rotation. Houck has a 3.12 ERA and 46:7 K:BB across 34.2 innings for Boston this season.

Bieber (shoulder) completed a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

It's Bieber's second bullpen session since landing on the shelf in mid-June, and he continues to throw all fastballs off the mound. The 26-year-old is scheduled for another bullpen session Friday as he continues to push for a return in September. The next step for the right-hander will be to mix in all of his pitches during his mound work.

Urena (groin) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday and threw 13 pitches in a scoreless inning, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

It's not the type of length you'd expect from a starter to begin a rehab assignment, so it's worth keeping an eye on his workload in subsequent outings. Urena landed on the shelf with groin tightness in mid-July, and a shift to the bullpen would allow for a shorter rehab stint and quicker return to the majors since he wouldn't need to build up to a starter's workload. For now it's unclear how the Tigers plan to utilize the right-hander once he's healthy.