MLB Player News

McKenzie did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Mets, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five.

McKenzie didn't appear to have his best stuff Wednesday, as he'd allow three solo homers before departing with a 3-0 deficit in the sixth inning. However, the Guardians would rally for six unanswered runs in an eventual victory, sparing McKenzie the loss. Still, it's the first time in seven starts that McKenzie's allowed more than two earned runs -- he came into the day with a 2.10 ERA over his prior six outings. Overall, the 26-year-old right-hander sports a 3.44 ERA with a 1.34 WHIP and 45:31 K:BB over 10 starts (52.1 innings) this season. McKenzie's next start is currently lined up for early next week against the Rockies in Colorado.

Grossman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Though the Rangers have an opening in the lineup at designated hitter while Wyatt Langford (hamstring) is on the shelf, Grossman hasn't yet taken hold of an everyday lineup spot, despite starting in each of the previous four games. Three of those starts came while the Rangers were facing left-handed pitching, and switch-hitting Grossman hasn't helped his case for earning steadier playing time by going 1-for-16 with five walks in seven games since he was acquired from the White Sox earlier this month. The Rangers may prefer to rotate a number of players at DH rather than committing to Grossman as their preferred option.

Duran is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Duran is on the bench for the third time in four games and looks set to fill more of a part-time role moving forward now that Evan Carter is healthy again after a back injury recently kept him out of the lineup for more than a week. The Rangers still have an opening in the lineup at designated hitter while Wyatt Langford (hamstring) is on the shelf, but manager Bruce Bochy appears content to rotate a number of different players at that spot.

Smith earned the save in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Mets, allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless inning of work.

After Emmanuel Clase pitched in three consecutive days, the Guardians turned to Smith in the ninth with a three-run lead Wednesday. The rookie right-hander would allow a two-out double to Francisco Lindor before rebounding to strike out Pete Alonso, sealing his first MLB save. Smith's been solid out of the bullpen for Cleveland this year, pitching to a 2.01 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB while recording five holds in 22.1 innings. While he won't unseat Clase for the closing job, Smith has certainly established himself as a high-leverage option going forward.

Garcia (forearm) will serve as the Rangers' designated hitter and cleanup batter in Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The Rangers held Garcia out of the lineup for the past two games while he contended with right forearm discomfort, but he's made enough improvement to enter the starting nine Wednesday, albeit in a non-defensive role. Provided the injury doesn't affect his throwing for too much longer, Garcia should be ready to return to his usual spot in right field in the coming days.

The Rangers optioned Winn to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Winn will give up his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Dane Dunning (shoulder), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Wednesday versus the Phillies. The demotion comes after Winn had struggled mightily thus far in May, giving up runs in five of his six appearances while pitching to a 13.50 ERA and 2.05 WHIP over 7.1 innings.

The Rangers activated Dunning (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday ahead of his scheduled start against the Phillies.

The right-hander has missed most of this month with a right rotator cuff strain and didn't make a rehab start prior to being activated, so he could be subject to a relatively limited pitch count in his first start since May 4. Dunning enters Wednesday's contest with a 3-2 record, 4.10 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 37.1 innings on the season.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Even with the Rays bringing a right-hander (Ryan Pepiot) to the hill, the lefty-hitting Smith will find himself on the bench in the series finale. Smith has mustered a lowly .460 OPS since signing with Boston earlier this month, and he looks like he could soon be in danger of losing out on a regular spot in the lineup if he doesn't show improvement.

Duran picked up the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals despite allowing a run on two hits in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth, Duran got off to a rocky start, surrendering a leadoff homer to Joey Meneses followed by a Luis Garcia single. However, following a sac bunt that moved Garcia into scoring position, Duran struck out Joey Gallo before inducing a game-ending groundout from Keibert Ruiz to close out a 3-2 win. While he was able to escape with the save Wednesday, Duran's been shaky recently, allowing homers in three consecutive outings and five runs over 2.2 innings in that span. He now has four saves with a 4.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB across 9.2 innings to start the year.

Neto was removed from Wednesday's game against the Astros in the bottom of the fifth inning due to right elbow soreness. He went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before exiting the game.

Neto uncorked a high throw to first base in the fifth inning which Nolan Schanuel had to leap up to grab. As it turns out, Neto must have tweaked his elbow on the throw. The Angels should have more information on the young shortstop after the game, but he could be at risk of landing on the 10-day injured list.