MLB Player News

Kurtz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Brewers.

Kurtz has launched four homers over his last three games and seven long balls over his last 11 contests. This stretch has gotten the first baseman back in the neighborhood of what's expected of him from a power standpoint -- he now has 15 homers on the year. Kurtz is also batting .283 with a .969 OPS, 49 RBI, 46 runs scored, 12 doubles, one triple and seven stolen bases over 302 plate appearances this season.

Barnett struck out four over two perfect innings to earn the save in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Brewers.

Barnett wasn't utilized in Monday's slugfest, leaving him fresh to pitch Tuesday while the bullpen was short. He delivered a tidy outing, collecting his six outs on 31 pitches (20 strikes) for his first career save. Barnett has allowed just two hits with a 12:4 K:BB across eight innings over three relief appearances this season. The Athletics have a hole in the rotation currently, but it may not be an issue until next week. Barnett came up through the minor leagues as a starter, which could make him a candidate for a spot start at some point later in the year. For now, he can be considered a long reliever.

Meckler went 1-for-2 with a double, three walks, three runs and two RBI in a 10-1 win over the Astros on Tuesday.

Meckler continued what has been an excellent start to his tenure with the Angels, reaching base in four plate appearances for the second time over his past seven games. The 26-year-old registered one of his team's two extra-base hits with a double and crossed the plate three times. Meckler has started each of the Angels' past seven games and has taken over as the team's primary left fielder. He's slashing an impressive .340/.417/.547 with two homers, 10 runs, 12 RBI, two stolen bases and a 7:10 BB:K through 60 plate appearances.

Heim went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Brewers.

Heim was the lone Athletic to collect multiple hits, and one of them was one of the team's five long balls. While his playing time remains limited, the catcher has gone 10-for-32 (.313) with four homers and two doubles over his last 10 contests, a stretch that dates back to May 17. He is batting .232 with a .777 OPS, five long balls, 14 RBI, 13 runs scored, six doubles and no steals through 90 plate appearances this season. Heim is in no position to challenge Shea Langeliers for starts behind the plate, but Heim has delivered when called upon lately, either in spot starts or off the bench.

Ginn (4-3) allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings to earn the win over the Brewers on Tuesday.

Ginn wasn't all that good, but he did better than opposing starter Robert Gasser, who got tagged for six runs, including four home runs. This was just the second time all season Ginn has allowed more than three runs. He's now at a 3.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 65:30 K:BB across 71.1 innings through 15 appearances (12 starts) on the year. He's projected to make his next start against the Rockies in Las Vegas, assuming the Athletics use Thursday's off day to skip the open fifth spot in their rotation.

Teng (3-5) took the loss Tuesday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out five batters over four innings against the Angels.

Teng was ambushed early, as the Angels got to him for seven runs over the first two innings. The right-hander closed out his outing with two scoreless frames, but the early damage was more than enough to send him to defeat. Teng did manage to keep the ball in the park, and five of the seven hits against him were singles, but he issued three free passes and hit two batters on a night when his control was clearly lacking. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively slated to be a home matchup versus Detroit.

Urena (4-4) allowed three hits and issued five walks while striking out seven batters over five scoreless innings to earn the win over Houston on Tuesday.

The Angels sprinted out to a 7-0 lead by the end of the second inning, giving Urena plenty of runaway to record the victory. However, the right-hander battled his control, and he ran his pitch count up so high that it wasn't certain he'd stick around long enough to qualify for the win. Manager Kurt Suzuki ultimately let Urena sweat out five innings, over which he threw a whopping 107 pitches (only 59 of which were strikes). Control issues aside, Urena looked good in holding Houston scoreless while registering seven punchouts. The rookie's 1.36 WHIP is somewhat worrying, but he's still managed to post a strong 2.44 ERA through 55.1 frames on the season.

Rivero was removed from Tuesday's game against the Astros with an apparent left hand injury, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Rivero suffered the injury after fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning of Tuesday's contest and wasn't able to finish his at-bat. The severity of his injury remains unknown, but if he needs to go on the IL, the Angels will need to promote another catcher from the minors to provide depth behind Logan O'Hoppe.

Jones went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Tuesday's 3-2 win against Cleveland.

Jones launched a 443-foot two-run shot off Slade Cecconi in the second inning that opened the scoring. It was his first career MLB homer, and it looked like anything but a young player finding his footing. After he hit .167 in 10 games before he was sent back down, he's now hitting .500 across four games since being recalled. The strikeout rate has been a well-documented concern -- he's posted a 32.4 percent strikeout rate at Triple-A this season -- so the plate discipline bears watching, but with how banged up New York's outfield is at the moment, Jones should see playing time for the foreseeable future.

Finnegan tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and earned a hold in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Twins. He walked one and struck out three.

Finnegan got the last two batters of the seventh inning and then worked through the eighth for the Tigers. With Kenley Jansen (pelvis) on the IL, Finnegan has gotten some run as Detroit's closer, but he's blown four saves in five chances this year. The Tigers have seemingly turned to Will Vest to end games instead, though Finnegan has been effective overall with a 2.01 ERA across 31.1 innings out of the bullpen this season. The righty also leads the team with nine holds.