MLB Player News

Alvarez did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Rays, allowing one run on four hits while striking out six over four innings.

Alvarez turned in another effective start, with the lone run against him coming in the third inning when Tampa Bay strung together consecutive doubles. The left-hander set a season high with his six punchouts. After tossing 90 pitches in his June 9 start, Alvarez has been limited to under 70 in each of his last two starts. He has yet to complete five innings in any outing, limiting his chances to qualify for wins unless he's working behind an opener. Alvarez owns a 3.34 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 37:12 K:BB across 32.1 innings and is lined up to face Baltimore on the road in his next outing.

Stowers went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Sunday's 2-1 win over the Giants.

Stowers opened the scoring in the second inning, taking Logan Webb deep for a solo shot that proved to be a key run in Miami's one-run victory. The homer was his eighth of the season and continued a recent power surge, as he has now gone deep three times in his last four games. The outfielder is batting .230 with five homers and 17 RBI across 17 June contests. On the season, Stowers is slashing .223/.319/.416 with 12 doubles, one triple, 28 RBI, 25 runs scored and one stolen base through 54 games.

Dotel (lat) tossed a bullpen session Saturday, MLB.com reports.

According to general manager Ben Cherington, Dotel's fastball sat around 96 mph during the session, just a couple ticks behind his season-long average (98.2). The Pirates placed Dotel on the 15-day injured list June 13 due to a right lat strain, but he looks on track to avoid an extended absence and could be ready to rejoin the Pittsburgh bullpen by late June.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that Barco was removed from his last start Friday at Triple-A Indianapolis due to an apparent left elbow or triceps injury, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Barco is scheduled to meet with Pirates team doctors Monday, at which time a formal diagnosis for his injury should be made. The 25-year-old lefty has posted a 5.46 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 39:16 K:BB over 31.1 innings in nine appearances at Triple-A since being demoted April 29.

Bachar earned the save Sunday against the Giants, working a scoreless ninth inning with one walk in a 2-1 victory.

With Pete Fairbanks having recorded a save each of the previous two days, Bachar was entrusted with a one-run lead in the ninth inning Sunday. He successfully closed the door after working around a leadoff walk to Rafael Devers to secure his first save of the season. While he isn't a regular fixture in the ninth inning, Bachar has been one of Miami's steadier relievers lately, allowing just two runs over his last 13 innings. He now owns a 3.02 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 46:16 K:BB across 41.2 innings on the season.

Gusto did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Giants, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out six over 4.1 innings.

Gusto turned in one of his better outings of the season, setting a season high with six strikeouts. The lone blemish came in the third inning, when he allowed a walk and two hits, including an RBI single by Casey Schmitt. Outside of that frame, Gusto kept the Giants largely in check and showed more improvement in the swing-and-miss department. While the overall results have been uneven, Sunday's effort could earn him additional opportunities in the rotation. Despite the encouraging outing though, the right-hander still owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.61 WHIP across 18 innings this season.

Atlanta outrighted Leon to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.

Leon cleared waivers after being designated for assignment Thursday, and he'll wind up sticking around in the organization as catching depth at Triple-A. Before being pushed off the 40-man roster, the 37-year-old slashed .091/.091/.182 in 44 plate appearances with Atlanta.

Rumfield went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 8-6 loss to the Pirates.

Rumfield put a big dent in a seven-run deficit with his eighth-inning blast, but the Rockies' comeback ultimately fell short. The first baseman has hit consistently and for power lately, going 15-for-42 (.357) with five homers and 13 RBI over his last 11 games. For the season, he's batting .279 with an .842 OPS, 12 long balls, 42 RBI, 34 runs scored, 14 doubles and two triples over 75 contests.

Lorenzen (2-9) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out five over 5.1 innings to take the loss versus the Pirates on Sunday.

Lorenzen pitched well against the Cubs over his last two starts, allowing a total of two runs over 10 innings, but he couldn't do the same against a different NL Central foe. He's now allowed at least four runs in eight of his 17 appearances (16 starts) this season, including two of four in June. For the season, the right-hander has a 7.11 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 65:26 K:BB through 17 innings. Lorenzen's next start is projected to come on the road in Minnesota.

Mangum went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in Sunday's 8-6 win over the Rockies.

Mangum logged his fifth multi-hit effort over 17 games in June. He's batting .375 (21-for-56) this month, though his only extra-base hits are five doubles. The outfielder has taken over a strong-side platoon role in center field in the absence of Oneil Cruz (hand), but Mangum is also regularly hitting in the bottom third of the order, which limits his upside a bit. On the season, Mangum is batting .306 with a .722 OPS, one home run, 13 RBI, 21 runs scored, seven doubles and 13 stolen bases over 176 plate appearances.