MLB Player News

Bradford came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Red Sox, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk over 3.2 innings. He struck out five.

A pair of solo homers by Rob Refsnyder accounted for most of the damage off Bradford, but otherwise the southpaw acquitted himself fairly well in the spot start, tossing 41 of 59 pitches for strikes before leaving the mound. With Jon Gray (groin) joining Max Scherzer (shoulder) on the IL over the last week, the Rangers are scrambling for rotation help, and even Tyler Mahle's imminent return from Tommy John surgery will still leave one spot vacant. If Bradford remains in the rotation, he'll face a tough test in his next start -- it lines up to come on the road next weekend in Yankee Stadium.

Taveras went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Saturday's 7-4 win over Boston.

Taveras hit the second of back-to-back homers in the fourth inning that wiped out the Red Sox's early 3-0 lead. It was the second consecutive game with a home run for Taveras, who is 4-for-11 with two home runs over the last four contests.

Refsnyder went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Rangers.

He kept the Red Sox in the game nearly single-handedly, taking Cody Bradford deep for solo shots in the first and fourth innings before adding an RBI double in the seventh, but it wasn't enough. Refsnyder has three multi-hit performances in his last five starts, and he's hitting too well right now to be limited to a short-side platoon role -- since the All-Star break, the 33-year-old is batting .375 (12-for-32) with three doubles, three homers, six runs and eight RBI.

DeGrom (elbow) threw a 45-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Dave Sessions of MLB.com reports.

DeGrom, who threw all of his pitches, simulated three innings in the bullpen and is ready to face hitters for his next outing. "Having a batter step in, the intensity will change a little bit, and that's where you really find out where you're at," deGrom said. The right-hander said he "felt good" but believes he still needs work on location.

Houck (8-8) took the loss Saturday, coughing up six runs on eight hits and two walks over five-plus innings as the Red Sox fell 7-4 to the Rangers. He struck out seven.

The right-hander appeared to be firmly in control to begin the game, blanking Texas through three innings, but the wheels came off for Houck in the fourth as Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras launched back-to-back homers off him. It's only the second time this season Houck has served up multiple homers in a start, but Saturday's outing marked the fifth straight in which he issued multiple free passes, and he sports a rough 4.78 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 18:16 K:BB through 26.1 innings over that stretch. He'll try to turn things around in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next weekend against the Astros.

Bigge will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Sunday's game in Houston, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After being acquired from the Cubs last Sunday as part of the three-player deal that sent Isaac Paredes to Chicago, Bigge was added to the Rays' 26-man active roster two days later. He's already turned in a pair of scoreless frames for Tampa Bay and has now given up just one earned run while striking out seven over his first 5.1 big-league innings, and he was dominant at the Triple-A level before that, accruing an 0.68 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB in 13.1 innings for the Cubs' affiliate in Iowa. Sunday will mark Bigge's first career start, but he's unlikely to cover more than inning or two before turning to game over to lefty Tyler Alexander, who is expected to operate as a bulk reliever.

Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 6-5 extra-innings loss to the Tigers.

The sixth-inning long ball off Kenta Maeda was Pasquantino's 15th of the season, and his fourth in the last four games. He's also driven in at least one run in five straight contests and hit safely in seven straight, continuing a hot streak that has seen the first baseman slash .371/.394/.597 over 15 games since the All-Star break with 17 RBI.

Foley (3-3) allowed two unearned runs on one hit across two innings of relief to earn the win in extra innings Saturday against the Royals. He struck out one.

Foley didn't enter the contest until the top of the 10th inning, when he allowed the automatic runner on second base to score following a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly. He allowed the automatic runner to score again in the 11th, but the Tigers scored twice in the bottom half to give the righty the win. Foley has ceded some ninth-inning work to other relievers, though he's still clearly trusted in high-leverage spots and remains the team's top closer. He leads the Tigers by a wide margin with 15 saves this season.

McArthur (4-5) blew the save and took the loss Saturday, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning in a 6-5 extra-innings loss to the Tigers.

The Kansas City bullpen had a disastrous day, as Hunter Harvey and Kris Bubic blew leads in the ninth and 10th innings, respectively, before McArthur finished the job by surrendering a walk-off single to Wenceel Perez in the bottom of the 11th. The big takeaway was manager Matt Quatraro's reluctance to use McArthur in a save situation, and with good reason -- since the beginning of July, the right-hander has an 8.71 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 5:2 K:BB in 10.1 innings, and he's blown two of his last three save opportunities including Saturday. Harvey's usage in the ninth could mark him as the next man up to get a chance to close for the Royals, but Lucas Erceg might also be in the mix after he picked up a hold with a perfect eighth inning. McArthur hasn't officially been removed from the role, but his job security seems to be hanging by a thread.

Meadows (hamstring) went 2-for-5 with a triple, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 6-5, extra-innings win over the Royals.

Meadows was seeing his first MLB game action since July 7 due to a strained right hamstring. He wasted no time getting back into the swing of things, including his first triple of the season. Meadows should take over as Detroit's primary center fielder moving forward, though Matt Vierling and others may spell him some in the short term to keep his hamstring in good shape.