MLB Player News

Birdsong has been appointed the Giants' 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Rockies. He'll start Game 2.

Birdsong will temporarily join the Giants' active roster to make his sixth big-league start of the year. Birdsong has a 2-0 record with a 3.55 ERA and 30:12 K:BB in 25.1 innings with San Francisco and will likely return to the minors after Saturday's start.

The Padres optioned Mazur to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday.

Mazur only lasted 2.2 innings during his start Friday against Baltimore, allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks in the process. The Padres won't need to use a fifth starter for another two weeks, so they'll send down the struggling right-hander in favor of Alek Jacob, who will provide the bullpen with another fresh arm.

The Phillies recalled Allard from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday.

With Ranger Suarez (back) landing on the injured list, the Phillies will call upon Allard to fill the opening on the 26-man active roster and in the rotation. The 26-year-old southpaw has made 16 appearances (10 starts) for Lehigh Valley this season, posting a 5.23 ERA and 1.61 WHIP through 63.2 innings. He's slated to replace Suarez in the rotation beginning with Sunday's game against the Guardians in Philadelphia, per Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Phillies placed Suarez on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to lower-back soreness.

Suarez allowed three earned runs in 5.1 innings Monday against the Twins, and he appears to have aggravated his lingering back issue during his latest outing. His move to the IL is retroactive to Wednesday, so the 28-year-old southpaw will be eligible to return beginning Aug. 8. In the meantime, Kolby Allard will come up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to claim the open spot on the active roster and could possibly fill in for Suarez as the Phillies' starter for Sunday's contest.

Buehler (hip) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out three batters over four innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

Buehler is trying to get right after struggling with Los Angeles over eight major-league starts across May and June and subsequently landing on the IL with right hip inflammation. The right-hander wasn't exactly in peak form Friday, as he gave up two runs in the first inning and four overall while also allowing five stolen bases in four frames. Buehler threw 72 pitches (45 for strikes), so he seems to be ready to handle a sizable workload, and the plan has been for him to return to the big-league Dodgers' rotation after one more rehab appearance. It remains to be seen if that will be the case should Buehler struggle again in his next start with OKC.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday that he expects Senga (calf) to miss the rest of the regular season, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Senga was diagnosed with a high-grade calf strain Saturday, and an 8-to-10-week return timeline virtually guarantees the start he made Friday will be his only appearance of the regular season. New York's skipper left open the possibility of a postseason return for the 31-year-old righty, but that will likely depend on how Senga's able to progress through his rehab program. Now without their ace, the Mets will likely be active in the market for starting pitchers ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

The Mets placed Senga on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a left calf strain.

Senga missed the first four months of the year due to injuries to his right shoulder and triceps, and his season debut was cut short Friday after he strained his calf in the sixth inning. He's slated to undergo an MRI on Saturday that will help determine how long he will have to spend on the injured list, though the Mets don't believe the right-hander suffered anything more serious than a strain. Tylor Megill, who is filling in for Christian Scott (elbow), will claim the open roster spot, and the Mets have yet to name a replacement for Senga's place in the rotation.

Mazur allowed one run on two hits and two walks while striking out one batter over 2.2 innings in a no-decision against Baltimore on Friday.

Mazur was called up from Triple-A prior to the contest to make his first big-league appearance since July 9. The rookie walked two batters in the first inning but emerged unscathed on the scoreboard, though he gave up a solo homer to Jordan Westburg in the second and a double to Gunnar Henderson in the third before being pulled with two outs. Mazur tossed only 39 pitches overall in the outing, but that appeared to be due to a short leash rather than any sort of injury. The right-hander has pitched to a poor 7.49 ERA and 1.81 WHIP through eight starts, but he may need to stick in the rotation until Yu Darvish (personal) or Joe Musgrove (elbow) is ready to return.

The Mets recalled Megill from Triple-A Syracuse ahead of his start Saturday versus Atlanta.

With Christian Scott set to miss some time due to an elbow injury, Megill will now return to the majors in order to fill the opening in New York's rotation. The 28-year-old allowed 12 earned runs in 13.1 innings across his last three starts in the big leagues, but he has improved since moving to Triple-A (4.05 ERA in 13.1 IP) and will match up with an Atlanta offense that ranks 21st in MLB with 428 runs scored on the year. Kodai Senga (calf) was placed on the 15-day injured list.

Stone (9-4) took the loss Friday as the Dodgers fell 5-0 to the Astros, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out three.

The Los Angeles offense couldn't get anything going against Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen, but Stone didn't help his cause by serving up long balls to Alex Bregman and Jon Singleton. The right-hander managed to last six innings for the first time in four July starts, but his 6.27 ERA, 1.93 WHIP and 12:5 K:BB through 18.2 innings on the month are still rough. His spot in the rotation is safe for now, but once Walker Buehler (hip) is ready to return, Stone could be fighting for one job with River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski, and that's before considering any trade deadline additions for the team. Stone is scheduled to make his next start on the road next weekend in Oakland.