MLB Player News

Lewicki was optioned to Triple-A Toledo following the Tigers' 3-0 loss to the Rangers on Sunday.

Lewicki saw light usage out of the bullpen during his latest stint with Detroit, making just three appearances since being recalled from Toledo on June 22. He'll likely slot back into the Triple-A rotation and build his arm back up in the event the Tigers require a spot starter in the second half of the season.

The Royals moved Hammel to the bullpen ahead of Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Manager Ned Yost elected to pull the plug on Hammel as a starter after the right-hander was touched up for eight runs in just two innings during Friday's loss to the Red Sox. Since the beginning of June, Hammel has gone 0-6 with an 8.03 ERA and 1.95 WHIP over 37 innings in his seven starts. Reliever Burch Smith will move into the rotation while Hammel presumably settles for a mop-up role out of the bullpen.

The Athletics placed Blackburn on the 10-day disabled list Sunday with right elbow lateral epicondylitis.

The injury is better known as tennis elbow, suggesting Blackburn is likely battling a case of tendinitis. It's not expected that a long-term absence will be in play for Blackburn, but the right-hander will be sidelined through at least the All-Star break and is far from a safe bet to regain his rotation spot once he's back to full strength. Blackburn has posted a 7.16 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over six starts with the Athletics, who activated Brett Anderson (shoulder) from the DL ahead of his scheduled start Sunday against the Indians. Oakland is also expected to get fellow rotation members Daniel Mengden (foot) and Trevor Cahill (Achilles) back from the DL shortly before or after the break.

Kluber didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-3 extra-innings loss to the A's, giving up five hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings while striking out three.

The right-hander wasn't as dominant as usual when it came to strikeouts, but he was still in firm control all afternoon and left the game in line for his 13th win of the season before the Cleveland bullpen messed things up. Kluber had to settle instead for his 17th quality start of the year, and he'll carry a 2.49 ERA into his next outing Thursday at home against the Yankees.

Montas will see his next scheduled start bumped back to Monday, Ben Weinrib of MLB.com reports.

The Athletics will activate Brett Anderson (shoulder) off the disabled list to start Sunday's game. That bumps Montas' next scheduled start to Monday's series opener against the Astros, when he'll look to bounce back from allowing nine earned runs on 17 hits and three walks across 8.2 innings over his prior two outings.

Paxton (8-3) allowed four earned runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out nine across seven innings to take the loss Saturday against the Rockies.

Paxton allowed only one earned run through 6.1 innings but stumbled in the seventh inning, allowing a three-run homer to put a damper on his outing. Still, it wasn't a disastrous outing as he allowed only eight baserunners and struck out nine batters. Over his last three starts, Paxton has pitched a combined 22 innings and struck out 30 batters, giving him a safe floor on a start-to-start basis.

McGuire allowed one hit and two walks while striking out six over three scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers on Saturday.

The 29-year-old induced 10 swinging strikes on 61 pitches. He had given up eight runs over 8.1 innings in his first three appearances with the Angels, and he also struggled with Toronto to begin the year. This was a step in the right direction and may afford McGuire some more spot starts down the road, but it looks like he will be headed to the bullpen or Triple-A Salt Lake for the time being with Tyler Skaggs (groin) set to return next week.

Severino (14-2) picked up the win in Saturday's 8-5 victory over the Blue Jays, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks over five innings while striking out five.

The right-hander needed 97 pitches (70 strikes) to get through the minimum innings required for a win, and Severino served up multiple homers for the first time all season, but the outcome was never in doubt after the Yankees' offense staked him to a 4-0 lead before he even took the mound. He's already matched his win total from all of last year, and Severino will carry a 2.12 ERA into his next outing Thursday in Cleveland.

Keller allowed four runs on six hits and five walks while striking out two over 4.2 innings in a no-decision against the Red Sox on Saturday.

This was a stumble for Keller after several strong outings. He couldn't find the strike zone consistently, issuing as many free passes as he had in his previous three starts combined, and he wasn't fooling anyone with just four swinging strikes on 89 pitches. The lack of dominance has been a theme throughout Keller's major-league tenure, as he's totaled just 35 strikeouts in 60.2 innings. Next week's start against the White Sox in Chicago will be a good test for the groundballer.

Hamels (4-8) allowed seven runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out two across just two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Saturday against the Tigers.

Nick Castellanos opened the floodgates against Hamels, cracking a solo home run for the first run of the game. That was followed up by two singles and two walks, with the big blow coming on an error by Delino DeShields with the bases loaded that allowed all three baserunners to score. It's difficult to draw conclusions from such a short outing, but Hamels has now allowed 18 runs (14 earned) in his last 10.2 innings, spanning three starts.