MLB Player News

Bielak was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old allowed four unearned runs over the past two days and will head to the minors in favor of a fresh arm. Bielak has a 3.97 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB across 22.2 innings for Houston this season.

Cortes had his contract selected by the Yankees on Sunday.

The 26-year-old has a 1.20 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and 18:1 K:BB over 15 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season to earn the promotion. Cortes could be a long reliever option behind Sunday's spot starter, Michael King.

Urquidy (shoulder) is scheduled to come off the injured list to start Monday against the Red Sox, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 26-year-old covered 3.2 innings during his lone rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi on Wednesday, and he apparently showed enough to make his return from the injured list. Urquidy threw 63 pitches during that contest, so he could face some workload limitations in his first big-league start since May 12.

Kikuchi (back) is listed as the Mariners' projected starter for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

Kikuchi's inclusion on the pitching schedule implies that he tossed a between-starts bullpen session without incident after his last outing Monday against the Athletics was cut short when he experienced cramping in his lower back. The southpaw still churned out a fifth consecutive quality start, giving him a 2.78 ERA over that stretch. He'll close out the week with a favorable matchup against a Rangers offense that ranks 22nd in the majors entering Sunday with a team wRC+ of 93 versus left-handed pitching.

Arihara (shoulder) will begin a throwing program in a few weeks.

The Rangers are estimating Arihara will be sidelined a minimum of 12 weeks, but the club is hoping he can pitch before the end of the season. Arihara underwent surgery Thursday to remove an aneurysm and repair the artery in his right shoulder.

Odorizzi did not factor in the decision against San Diego on Saturday despite allowing only one run over 5.1 innings. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out four.

The veteran missed over a month due to a right forearm strain, but he returned in style by posting easily his best start of the season. Odorizzi got through five scoreless frames but was pulled after giving up a pair of singles and notching only one out in the sixth frame, and one of the baserunners he left subsequently came around to score. Prior to Saturday, the right-hander had failed to pitch five full innings in any of his four starts, and he still holds an unpleasant 6.75 ERA overall this season. Odorizzi is tentatively scheduled to next face Boston at home Thursday.

Turnbull (4-2) earned the win over the Yankees on Saturday, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out six.

The right-hander continued his recent run of strong pitching, picking up his third win in his past four outings and narrowly missing his fourth straight quality start. He threw 62 of 100 pitches for strikes while inducing 13 swings-and-misses. Turnbull has allowed one or zero runs three times in his past four games, lowering his overall ERA to 2.93 on the season. He'll look to keep the momentum going in his next start, which is expected to take place in Chicago against the White Sox next weekend.

Dunn took the no-decision against Texas on Saturday, going 5.2 innings and allowing one run on two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in a 3-2 win.

Dunn pitched his best game of the season, tying his season high in innings and runs allowed and recording his second most strikeouts. He only ran into trouble in the fourth, when he allowed his only run but all other innings were clean. The efficient outing lowered Dunn's ERA to 3.18.

Means (4-1) allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four across five innings, taking the loss in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader with the White Sox.

Means was dealt his first loss of the season. He delivered three scoreless innings before allowing a home run in back-to-back innings in the fourth and fifth frames. The 28-year-old has a 2.05 ERA and a spectacular 0.80 WHIP, which leads the American League. However, he's surrendered nine of his 16 earned runs in his last three starts. His next start likely won't come until Saturday as the Orioles are running a six-man rotation.

Lynn (6-1) fired five scoreless innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven to get the win over the Orioles in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.

Lynn delivered another gem, allowing only one extra-base hit. Further, he didn't issue a walk for the third time this season. The 34-year-old has allowed fewer earned runs (8) than he's made starts (9). He boasts a 1.37 ERA, which is the second-best mark in all of baseball. He carries a 9.7 K/9 and leads the White Sox with six wins. His next start is scheduled for Friday against Detroit.