MLB Player News

Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Guardians.

The first baseman opened the scoring for his squad in the first inning by taking Tanner Bibee deep, but the Royals' offense dried up after that. Pasquantino has gone yard in back-to-back games and has a six-game RBI streak going, batting .348 (8-for-23) over that stretch with a double, three homers and eight RBI.

Ragans (5-6) took the loss Saturday, coughing up five runs on six hits and a walk over 4.2 innings as the Royals were downed 7-2 by the Guardians. He struck out six.

The big blow off the southpaw was a two-run blast by rookie Jhonkensy Noel in the fourth inning, but Ragans also got tagged for doubles by Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez, with the latter chasing him from the game in the fifth after 93 pitches (52 strikes). Ragans hadn't given up more than three runs in a start since May 11, and he'll take a 3.33 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 126:34 K:BB through 102.2 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Colorado.

Noel went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-2 win over the Royals.

In his fourth big-league game, Noel launched his second big-league homer, and it wasn't a cheap one -- the 22-year-old ripped a Cole Ragans slider down the left-field line in the fourth inning, and the ball left his bat at 115.4 mph. Per Mandy Bell of MLB.com, it was the hardest-hit home run by a Cleveland player since Statcast was introduced in 2015. Noel has started two of four games since his promotion, going 3-for-9 with a double in addition to the long balls, but the Guardians will find room for him in the lineup more often if he keeps displaying this kind of power.

Bibee (7-2) picked up the win Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings in a 7-2 victory over the Royals. He struck out three without walking a batter.

The right-hander looked shaky early, serving up solo shots to Vinnie Pasquantino in the first inning and Michael Massey in the second, but Bibee didn't let a runner even get to second base after that. He's reeled off three straight wins, all quality starts, and he'll take a 3.47 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 109:22 K:BB through 93.1 innings into his next outing, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the Giants.

Garcia (elbow) threw one scoreless inning in the Florida Complex League on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Garcia returned to game action for the first time since May of 2023. He threw 12 pitches and averaged 92.7 mph with his fastball. Garcia is slated to make his next rehab outing in early July.

Bloss (shoulder) will throw a bullpen session Sunday, MLB.com reports.

Bloss has played catch a few times since landing on the injured list, but Sunday will mark his most intense activity. He's expected to return in early July, shortly after he is first eligible to be activated.

Pressly struck out one and allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth inning to earn a hold Saturday against the Mets.

Pressly struggled significantly to begin the season, but he's now turned in seven straight scoreless appearances. He's picked up five holds and a save while maintaining a 6:1 K:BB in that span. Even with that stretch, Pressly has a 4.40 ERA with a 1.43 WHIP overall on the campaign.

Pena went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Mets.

Pena did the majority of his damage with a two-RBI double in the fourth inning. He has now driven in eight runs across his last seven starts, and he's also hit .320 in that span. Pena has just a .099 ISO across 327 plate appearances this season, though he's cut his strikeout rate to 16.5 percent and is hitting a career-best .281.

Okert allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning in Saturday's 5-1 victory over the Mariners.

Okert started the season somewhat slowly with a 3.97 ERA and six walks in 11.1 innings in his first 13 outings. He's since posted a 2.57 ERA with just four walks in 14 innings since May 11. While his 8.5 K/9 is down from an 11.2 K/9 last season, he's still been productive with a low 2.6 BB/9 and 1.11 HR/9. He's become a steady setup man for the Twins but isn't used in many high-leverage situations to earn holds or saves.

Alcala allowed a hit while striking out two over a scoreless inning Saturday against Seattle. He reached a career-high 101.2 mph on the radar gun, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Alcala has been an impact setup man for the Twins since returning from his inexplicable demotions to Triple-A in May and April. Alcala has a 1.05 ERA with a 19:7 K:BB over 17.2 innings since returning to the majors in late May.