MLB Player News

Fairbanks walked one and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his ninth save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

The right-hander picked up his first save since May 4, but the drought was due to a lack of opportunities rather than effectiveness -- Fairbanks has blown only one save chance all season, and that came on an unearned run. Through 9.2 innings in May, Fairbanks has produced a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 12:4 K:BB.

Mead went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

Getting the start at first base and batting eighth, the 24-year-old drove a cutter from lefty Eric Lauer down the left-field line in the fourth inning. Mead only has two homers on the season, but they've come in the last two games, and he has a six-game hitting streak going sandwiched around an eight-game stretch in which he didn't get off the bench, as the Rays faced nothing but right-handed starters. Despite being limited primarily to a short-side platoon role, Mead is finding his rhythm at the plate, and since the beginning of May he's slashing .286/.342/.486 in 38 plate appearances.

Rasmussen (3-4) picked up the win Friday, allowing four hits and two walks over six scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out three.

It's the second straight quality start, and second straight scoreless outing, for Rasmussen, who kept Toronto's bats in check despite generating only four swinging strikes among his 76 pitches (43 strikes). The 29-year-old righty has given up more than three runs only once in 10 trips to the mound this season, and he'll take a 2.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 43:12 K:BB through 52 innings into his next start, which lines up to come at home next week against the Twins.

Lauer (1-1) took the loss Friday as the Blue Jays were downed 3-1 by the Rays, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.

The southpaw gave up plenty of hard contact among his 85 pitches (50 strikes), as five of the six hits off him went for extra bases, including homers by Brandon Lowe in the third inning and Curtis Mead in the fourth. Lauer sports a 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 16.1 innings over five appearances (two starts) for Toronto, and he'll continue to fill in as the team's fifth starter next week on the road against the Rangers.

Matthews is slated to start Saturday's game against the Royals at Target Field.

Matthews entered the rotation last weekend as a replacement for righty Simeon Woods Richardson, who was demoted to Triple-A St. Paul after a string of poor outings. In his 2025 debut with the big club Sunday in Milwaukee, Matthews took a loss while giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five over three innings. Though he likely doesn't have a long leash in the Minnesota rotation, Matthews will get at least one more chance to redeem himself in his home start Saturday versus a Kansas City offense that has performed at roughly a league-average level (100 team wRC+) in May. With another rough start, however, Matthews could be at risk of a demotion himself, as David Festa is healthy again at Triple-A following a brief bout with arm fatigue and would make for an appealing alternative in the big-league rotation.

Kurtz went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.

Kurtz made things interesting in this contest, as he got the Athletics to within a run after taking Jordan Romano deep in the ninth inning. This was Kurtz's fourth homer over the last four games, a span in which he has gone 5-for-14 with eight RBI and three walks. The first baseman is up to .231/.291/.440 slash line, five homers, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and no stolen bases over 103 plate appearances. He looks to be past a slump from the middle of the month, and the power that has helped him take the fast track to the majors hasn't taken long to show up at baseball's highest level.

Lopez (0-2) allowed a run on three hits and a walk while striking out eight over seven innings, taking the loss versus the Phillies on Friday.

Lopez deserved better, but he gave up the only run of the first seven innings of the game, a Trea Turner solo shot four pitches in. The Phillies tacked on three more runs in the ninth, and the Athletics' comeback push came up one run short, leaving Lopez with a hard-luck loss. This was his second start and fifth appearance of the season, and he threw 58 of 91 pitches for strikes in an impressive showing against a tough opponent. He has a 2.57 ERA despite a 1.57 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB through 14 innings in the majors this season. Lopez has a chance to make a positive impression while J.T. Ginn (quadriceps) is on the 15-day injured list. Lopez will look to repeat his performance from this start in his next outing, tentatively scheduled to be on the road in Toronto.

Stephenson (elbow) had his minor-league rehab assignment moved up to Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Stephenson pitched in two games with Single-A Inland Empire prior to being bumped up to Salt Lake. He's gotten into two contests in Triple-A so far, allowing a run on two hits while striking out two batters and walking none over two innings. The righty reliever underwent UCL repair surgery in May of last year, and he appears on the brink of a return to the majors. If all goes well moving forward, Stephenson could join the Angels' bullpen as soon as early June.

Jobe (4-1) took the loss against the Guardians on Friday, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out three across five innings.

Both of the runs Jobe yielded came in the first inning. He kept the Guardians off the board over the next four frames and generated 11 whiffs on 89 pitches (53 strikes), but he didn't receive enough run support to avoid the loss, his first of 2025. Jobe has yielded three earned runs or less in eight of nine starts this season and has a 4.06 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 44.1 innings. His next start is tentatively slated for next week at home against the Giants.

Clase earned the save in Friday's 3-1 win over the Tigers, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.

Clase needed 12 pitches (eight strikes) to protect the Guardians' two-run lead in the ninth, highlighted by a three-pitch punchout of Trey Sweeney. Clase has converted 10 of 12 save opportunities this season and hasn't yielded an earned run since April 30 against the Twins. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 4.29 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 22:5 K:BB across 21 innings in 2025.