MLB Player News

Duran picked up the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays, striking out a batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

Duran reeled off his second save of the weekend. He began his outing with a strikeout and navigated around a hit batter to pick up his 20th save of the season, his second consecutive campaign with at least 20 saves. Duran has now had to work around a batter on the bases in seven straight appearances but has only allowed an earned run one of those outings. For the year, the 26-year-old has a 3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 50:13 K:BB in 45 innings.

Lewis went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Lewis had the Twins only extra-base hit of the afternoon, taking Chad Green deep in the eighth to give Minnesota a one-run lead. The home run was Lewis' first since Aug. 12, and Sunday marked his first game reaching base multiple times since then. Perhaps more noteworthy than Lewis' breakthrough performance at the plate was the fact that he played three innings at second base, where he could see more exposure in September as Minnesota looks to see where he and rookie infielder Brooks Lee fit best defensively alongside shortstop Carlos Correa (heel). Though Lewis has met expectations at the plate with an .879 OPS, he's struggled with throwing errors at third base. Lee possesses better arm strength and could be a preferable option at the hot corner to Lewis, whose throwing issues would be a lesser concern at second base.

Green (4-4) took the loss and blew a save Sunday against the Twins, allowing three runs on three hits while striking out a batter over one inning.

Green entered with a 3-1 lead and blew his first save of the season. He retired the first batter he faced before allowing back-to-back singles and then surrendered a three-run homer to Royce Lewis to give the Twins their first lead of the game and eventually the win. Before Sunday's outing, Green was a perfect 16-for-16 in save opportunities, and he had gone five straight outings without giving up a run. The 33-year-old is still putting together one of the best seasons of his career, posting a 2.17 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 40:11 K:BB in 45.2 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that there's a "very good chance" Gil (back) will return from the 15-day injured list and rejoin the rotation this weekend against the Cubs, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Gil made what's expected to be his lone rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Sunday, getting charged with three runs while striking out six over 3.2 frames. He threw 80 pitches in the outing, so the righty should be sufficiently stretched out for a typical workload versus the Cubs. Clarke Schmidt (lat) is also expected to return from the 60-day IL to make a start this weekend, so the Yankees appear poised to operate with a six-man setup for now. Eventually, one or both pitchers could be shifted to the bullpen ahead of the postseason.

Rodriguez (3-4) allowed one earned run on one hit and one walk to take the loss Sunday against the Padres.

Rodriguez entered the game with the score tied at 3-3 in the ninth inning. He allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base, which was enough to allow the Padres to scratch across the game-winning run. Rodriguez has recorded two of the five saves for the Rays since Pete Fairbanks (lat) went down but has also suffered two losses and given up three earned runs across 7.1 innings.

Rodriguez took a no-decision Sunday against the Twins after he allowed three hits and two walks while striking out three over three scoreless innings.

Rodriguez had his shortest outing since he went just two-thirds of an inning July 29. The 27-year-old threw 57 pitches across three innings and only faced any real danger in the first inning when he had the bases loaded. Though it was an abbreviated start, it was the first time in four outings Rodriguez didn't surrender a home run, but he has issued at least one walk every time he's stepped on the mound. For the year, he owns a 4.61 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 69:33 K:BB in 68.1 innings. He lines up for a road matchup against Atlanta his next time out.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that there's a "very good chance" Schmidt (lat) will return from the 60-day injured list and rejoin rotation this weekend in Chicago against the Cubs, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Schmidt will make a third and final rehab start with Double-A Somerset on Monday before rejoining the big club. He has been terrific in his first two rehab outings, yielding two runs with an 11:2 K:BB covering 6.2 innings. Boone noted that Luis Gil (back) is also expected to rejoin the rotation this weekend, so the Yankees look set to go with a six-man setup for a bit.

Clement went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Twins.

Clement had the Blue Jays' only extra-base hit of the afternoon and was the only player in the lineup with more than one hit. Clement took Bailey Ober deep in the opening frame and later singled and stole a bag in the eighth. The 28-year-old finished with 17 RBI in 27 games in August and also now has three steals over his last six starts. For the year, he's slashing .261/.284/.423 with 11 homers, 46 RBI, 39 runs, 11 steals and a 9:33 BB:K in 361 plate appearances.

Story (shoulder) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, serving as the starting designated hitter while going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Story is expected to start at shortstop Monday for Worcester and will likely play in a few more Triple-A games after that before the Red Sox pinpoint a date for him to return from the IL. After he dislocated his left shoulder April 5, Story was thought to be lost for the season. His outlook improved by the middle of the summer, outlook, and he's now poised to return to the majors during the second half of September.

Kjerstad (concussion) is expected to begin a rehab assignment on Sept. 10 or shortly thereafter, Danielle Allentuck and Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner report.

Kjerstad has not played since experiencing a recurrence of his concussion symptoms back in early August. However, he was recently cleared to begin baseball activities, and the hope is he will be ready to play in games next week. Kjerstad will be build back up slowly, so he's looking at a late-September return from the 10-day injured list, provided he has no setbacks along the way.