MLB Player News

Pena (hand) isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Pena made an early exit from Wednesday's contest after taking a pitch off his hand, and he'll need at least one day off to recover before returning to the starting nine. Nick Allen will start at shortstop as a result and bat eighth.

Kay (9-6) took the loss against Atlanta on Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts over six innings.

Kay departed after allowing a leadoff double in the seventh inning, throwing 62 of 94 pitches for strikes to earn his sixth quality start of the season. It continued a consistent second half for the southpaw, who's yielded three earned runs or fewer in each of his seven outings since the All-Star break. He'll take a 3.96 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 104:45 K:BB across 127.1 innings this year into a home matchup with the Rangers next week.

Walker isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Walker will get a chance to regroup Thursday after going 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts across his last four games. LaMonte Wade will start at first base and bat leadoff while Walker sits.

Diaz isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Diaz will sit out a second consecutive game after posting a .443 OPS in 37 plate appearances since the beginning of August. Christian Vazquez will start behind the plate and bat ninth Thursday.

Guzman isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Guzman will retreat to the bench after going 2-for-8 with two RBI and four strikeouts across the first two games of the series. His absence will cause Vaughn Grissom to move to third base, opening up the keystone for Adam Frazier.

Smith worked around two walks to earn the save in a scoreless ninth inning Thursday against the Giants. He struck out one.

San Francisco brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Smith was able to hang on and close it out for the Guardians. The star closer hasn't let in an earned run since July 12 in Miami, a streak of 12 straight outings. Through 57 innings this year, Smith boasts a 2.21 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 80:20 K:BB with 32 saves in 37 chances.

The Angels recalled Peralta from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

Peralta has given up five earned runs over 5.2 major-league innings this season, but he'll be welcomed back into the Angels' bullpen in order to make up for the loss of Samy Natera (back). Peralta isn't likely to see much work outside of low-leverage situations.

The Angels placed Natera on the 15-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to Monday, with lower-back spasms.

Natera hasn't appeared in game since Aug. 11, though his back didn't begin to bother him until Saturday. He'll now be forced to remain on the sidelines through the end of the month, which will allow Ben Joyce to continue working as the Angels' premier high-leverage reliever. Sammy Peralta was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Gimenez had "good strength, good mobility" during testing of his right hamstring after Thursday's game versus the Rays, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Gimenez was removed from Thursday's game when he tweaked his hamstring while attempting to beat out an infield single. The Blue Jays will wait to see how Gimenez feels Friday, but for now he is not scheduled to undergo an MRI. If Gimenez does ultimately have to miss time, Josh Smith and/or Charles McAdoo would be in line for more playing time.

Williams (12-7) notched the win against the Giants on Thursday, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in 5.2 innings. He struck out 11.

Williams dominated at times, touching 100 mph with his fastball while generating 18 whiffs, but San Francisco managed to get to him for a pair of runs in the fourth inning. The right-hander continues to be a strikeout artist, fanning double-digit hitters in six of his last eight outings. Williams, who is tied with Dylan Cease for the AL lead in punchouts, will take a 3.72 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 201:48 K:BB over 154.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance against the Angels in Anaheim.