MLB Player News

McKenzie came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Royals, surrendering five runs on nine hits -- including three home runs -- and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out seven.

He was taken deep twice by Bobby Witt and once by Hunter Renfroe as McKenzie dug a 5-0 hole through four innings, but the Guardians were able to climb out of it. The right-hander's suddenly having trouble keeping the ball in the park -- after serving up only six homers over his first nine starts of the season, McKenzie's coughed up multiple long balls in three straight outings and has a 7.04 ERA over that stretch. He'll try to turn things around in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road this weekend in Miami.

Lugo came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Guardians, coughing up five runs on six hits and a walk over six-plus innings. He struck out five.

Kansas City staked the veteran right-hander to a 5-0 lead, but homers by Josh Naylor in the bottom of the fourth inning and Tyler Freeman in the seventh fueled a Cleveland comeback. Lugo tossed 64 of 98 pitches for strikes before exiting, as he lasted at least six innings for the seventh time in his last eight trips to the mound, a stretch in which he sports a 2.19 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 57:12 K:BB through 53.1 innings. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which lines up to come at home this weekend against the Mariners.

Ober (5-4) took the loss Tuesday, allowing three runs on three hits, including a home run, and four walks over five innings against the Yankees. He struck out two.

Ober wasn't sharp against a Yankees lineup that is on a roll. The outing continued his recent struggles, as he has a 7.58 ERA with a 15:8 K:BB in his last 19 innings. Ober hasn't thrown more than five innings in any of his last four starts, making him a risky option in his next start, which lines up to come this weekend in Pittsburgh.

Eflin (back) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Marlins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

As expected, Eflin will slot back into the rotation for the series finale in Miami after missing just over the minimum 15 days while recovering from lower-back inflammation. Because Eflin didn't head out on a minor-league rehab assignment while he was on the shelf, manager Kevin Cash acknowledged that the right-hander could face some light restrictions with his workload Wednesday, per MLB.com. Eflin threw a 40-pitch bullpen session consisting of two simulated innings Sunday, so Cash suggested that the Rays would wait and see how Eflin is feeling around the three-inning mark Wednesday before deciding how much longer he'll end up working.

Cole (elbow) completed 3.1 scoreless innings in a minor-league rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday, allowing two hits and striking out five batters.

In the first of what is expected to be multiple rehab outings, Cole threw 45 pitches and hit 97 miles per hour on the radar gun, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. The veteran hurler surrendered a single to the first batter he faced but yielded just one more hit over the remainder of his outing. The beginning of Cole's rehab stint couldn't have gone much better, but he's still expected to need at least a couple more appearances in the minors before he's ready to join the Yankees rotation. If he doesn't experience any setbacks, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner could make his season debut for the big club in the latter half of June.

Pepiot (4-2) earned the win over the Marlins on Tuesday, allowing three runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out eight.

Pepiot got off to an ugly start Tuesday, allowing three runs in the opening frame. However, he'd proceed to blank Miami over his final five frames while allowing just one additional hit while the Rays rallied for a 9-5 victory. The 26-year-old Pepiot now has 15 strikeouts over his last two starts (11.2 innings). His ERA sits at 3.96 on the season with a 0.96 WHIP and 59:16 K:BB across 10 outings (52.1 innings). Pepiot is currently in line for a home matchup with Baltimore early next week in his next start.

Flexen allowed a run on three hits and struck out four without walking a batter over five innings in a no-decision versus the Cubs on Tuesday.

This was one of Flexen's better outing this season, and it was the first time he issued zero walks since April 19. His good work was all for naught, as relievers Justin Anderson and Tanner Banks gave up a total of four runs in the sixth inning to squander the White Sox's lead. Flexen has gone five starts without a win, and he hasn't completed more than five innings in any of them. He's at a poor 5.19 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 46:22 K:BB through 59 innings across 13 appearances (11 starts) this year. The right-hander is projected for a home start versus the Red Sox this weekend.

Dunning didn't factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk across five innings against the Tigers. He struck out four.

Dunning couldn't keep the ball in the yard, yielding a two-run home run to Zach McKinstry in the second inning and a solo homer to Riley Greene in the fifth inning for the three runs that went on his ledger. The 29-year-old hasn't completed six innings since his second start of the campaign and owns a 4.09 ERA across 50.2 innings on the year. He's tentatively scheduled for a road matchup with the Dodgers on Wednesday, June 12.

Burnes (6-2) picked up the win Tuesday against Toronto, allowing one run on four hits and one walk across seven innings. He struck out five.

The lone run against Burnes came on a George Springer solo homer in the seventh frame. Burnes hasn't allowed more than three runs in a start this season and has logged eight straight quality starts. On the year, Burnes owns a 2.25 ERA with 76 strikeouts across 79.2 innings and is tied for the league lead in quality starts. Burnes is scheduled for a road start against the Rays on Sunday.

Flaherty was removed from Tuesday's game against the Rangers due to back tightness, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Flaherty had cruised through five shutout innings and thrown just 60 pitches before being suddenly pulled from the game. Manager A.J. Hinch said after the contest that the team still does not know the severity of the right-hander's injury, but the Tigers will presumably continue to run tests on his back and have an update on his status within the next couple of days.