MLB Player News

Baumann (9-0) pitched 1.2 perfect innings to earn the win Friday over the Mets. He did not walk or strike out a batter.

Baumann cleaned up Dean Kremer's mess with a double play to end the sixth inning before tossing a clean seventh. Since the start of July, Baumann has earned four of his nine wins while pitching to a 1.29 ERA and 1.21 WHIP over 14 innings. He's at a 3.31 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 54:28 K:BB through 54.1 innings overall while working in somewhat of a fireman role in the middle innings.

Schreiber will serve as the Red Sox's opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Chris Murphy, who last pitched Sunday against the Giants and covered 3.1 innings, will likely serve as a bulk reliever behind Schreiber, who will likely work only an inning or two. The Red Sox have now deployed Schreiber as an opener for two of his five appearances since he returned from the 60-day injured list last week.

Wingenter was optioned to Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

This is the corresponding move to accommodate Andrew Vasquez, who was claimed off waivers Friday. Wingenter has a 6.48 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 8.1 innings this season.

Hicks struck out one in 1.1 perfect innings of relief Friday to record his ninth save of the season, and first as a Blue Jay, in a 7-3 win over the Red Sox.

The Jays held a three-run lead when Hicks took the mound in the bottom of the eighth, and the insurance run they tacked on in the ninth didn't cause him to take his foot off the gas -- the right-hander needed only nine pitches, all strikes, to get the four outs and he topped out at 99.9 mph with his power sinker. Toronto is using a closing committee with Jordan Romano (back) on the shelf, and while Hicks will likely continue to split save chances with Yimi Garcia and Erik Swanson depending on availability and matchups, performances like this will make manager John Schneider very comfortable deploying his newest high-leverage option at the end of games.

Duran allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning Friday, striking out one and earning a save over the Diamondbacks.

Duran has been shaky recently, but he's still converted three straight save chances. Over his last four appearances, he's given up six runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks but has been charged with just one blown save during that stretch. His season ERA still sits at 2.89 with a 59:18 K:BB through 43.2 frames.

Cox allowed no hits or walks while striking out one in a scoreless ninth to pick up the save Friday against Philadelphia.

After hitting Kyle Schwarber to start the frame, Cox struck out Alec Bohm, then induced a double play off the bat of Bryce Harper to secure his first career save. With Scott Barlow no longer around and presumed frontrunner Carlos Hernandez pitching in the seventh, the closer position in Kansas City is up for grabs. Cox made a great first impression with his performance and it would not be surprising if he gets the next save opportunity for the Royals.

Brash allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 9-7 win over the Angels.

He allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base before settling down. Andres Munoz had converted the Mariners' first two save chances since they traded away Paul Sewald, but he'd pitched three of the last four days, allowing Brash to step up in a high-leverage spot. The 25-year-old righty has two saves and 15 holds this season while pitching to a 3.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 80:20 K:BB over 46.2 innings. Brash has the stuff to be an effective late-inning reliever, though he's still got some strides to make with his control.

Littell (2-2) earned the win Friday, allowing three hits and one walk over six scoreless innings against Detroit. He struck out one.

The Rays gave Littell a nice cushion early and he cruised, completing six frames on 74 pitches. It wasn't a dominant performance in terms of whiffs -- Littell induced just five swinging strikes -- but the right-hander was efficient and kept the ball on the ground. With Shane McClanahan moving to the 15-day injured list this week with forearm tightness, Littell would seem to be locked into the rotation as long as he keeps delivering solid performances.

The Yankees optioned Ramirez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Friday's game.

A roster spot had to be freed up with Nestor Cortes (shoulder) returning Saturday. Ramirez has been highly effective with a 2.48 ERA so far this season, but he's going to be unavailable for a few days after covering 2.1 innings in Friday's loss to Houston, and the Yankees need all hands on deck over the remainder of the weekend. Expect Ramirez to be back with the club before too long.

Clase issued one walk in a scoreless inning Friday, striking out one and earning a save over the White Sox.

Clase worked around a two-out walk to finish off the 4-2 win for his 29th save of the year. He's turned in nine straight shutout frames, lowering his season ERA to 2.90 through 49.2 innings. Clase has converted five saves during that span after blowing two straight prior to the start of the scoreless streak.