MLB Player News

Walter was recalled from Triple-A Worcester prior to serving as the primary pitcher Thursday against the Twins, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 26-year-old lefty is in line for his big-league debut and is scheduled to follow opener Justin Garza. Walter hasn't lived up to expectations this season at Triple-A (6.28 ERA, 1.65 WHIP), but he has been solid in his two most recent starts, in which he walked two and struck out 13 over 10.1 innings.

Snead (shoulder) took the loss for Triple-A Las Vegas against Oklahoma City on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on a hit and a walk over 1.2 innings. He struck out one.

Snead worked up to 28 pitches during what was his third rehab appearance with the Aviators and fifth overall. The southpaw has surrendered an earned run in each of his outings in Las Vegas, but Wednesday marked the first time he allowed the ball to leave the yard over 5.1 frames down on the farm. Snead is seemingly built up enough for the relief role he'd fill at the big-league level were he to be activated, but the Athletics may allow him to continue knocking off rust in at least one more minor-league appearance.

Tarnok (shoulder) fired four scoreless innings in Triple-A Las Vegas' loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday, allowing three hits while recording two strikeouts.

Tarnok has gotten more impressive with each rehab appearance, and Wednesday's outing saw him work up to 53 pitches. The promising right-hander would likely need at least one more start on the farm before being built up enough to be activated with an eye on joining the big-league rotation, but the fact he's already tossed 6.2 scoreless frames in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League supports the notion he'll have the ability to offer a boost to Oakland's starting pitching arsenal.

Romano picked up the save in Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the Marlins. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

After getting Joey Wendle to go down swinging to open the ninth, Romano allowed a single and a walk in the next two at-bats while also being charged with a balk. However, the reliever was able to get out of the jam, retiring the next two batters to earn his 22nd save of the season, which ties him with Emmanuel Clase for the league lead. Romano has now converted his last 12 save opportunities and has 10 saves in June alone to go along with a 1.74 ERA for the month.

Pruitt (1-5) took the loss and was charged with a blown save Wednesday against the Guardians, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits over one inning. He didn't issue a walk or record a strikeout.

Pruitt was entrusted with protecting a one-run lead when he entered in the eighth, but after inducing an inning-opening groundout from Gabriel Arias, the right-hander allowed the next three hitters to reach safely, capped off by a Steven Kwan two-run double that was augmented by a Ramon Laureano throwing error. Pruitt has now allowed an earned run in three of his last five appearances, with each of those instances resulting in a loss.

Pressly struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 14th save of the season in a 10-8 win over the Mets.

Both pitching staffs struggled in this one, combining for 16 walks, two hit-by-pitches and two wild pitches, but Pressly was unaffected by the general malaise. After a stretch in late May and June that saw the veteran reliever cough up runs in six of seven appearances, he's now kept the opposition off the board in three straight, leaving him with a 3.16 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 34:7 K:BB through 31.1 innings on the year.

Morgan (3-1) pitched a perfect inning and earned the win Wednesday over the Athletics.

The Guardians spent much of the game behind but finally pulled ahead in the eighth inning after Morgan kept the deficit to one run. The right-hander has been solid lately, allowing two runs, six hits and five walks over his last 11.1 innings while picking up a hold in that span. The 27-year-old reliever has a 1.78 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 31:9 K:BB through 30.1 innings overall. He's added a save and a hold, but he's unlikely to unseat Emmanuel Clase or Trevor Stephan from the top of the bullpen hierarchy.

Duran was tagged with a blown save against the Red Sox on Wednesday, allowing a run on one hit and one walk over two innings. He struck out two.

Duran entered in the eighth inning tasked with protecting a one-run lead. He allowed two of the first three batters he faced to reach base, resulting in the game-tying run, but retired the next five hitters as the game went into extra frames. It wasn't a terrible performance by the right-hander, though the run he allowed caused him to take his second blown save of the season. Duran has had few missteps overall, posting a 1.55 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 38:13 K:BB over 29 innings while collecting nine saves and one hold.

Clase earned a save against the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.

Clase came on in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead and allowed two of the first three hitters he faced to reach base. However, he notched a big strikeout of Ryan Noda with one out and the tying run on third base before getting Seth Brown to fly out to end the game. Clase thus recorded his seventh straight successful save opportunity and is now 22-for-27 in save chances this season. He is tied for the major-league lead in that category and is on pace to challenge his career-best total of 42 saves, which he set last season.

Kahnle earned a save against the Mariners on Wednesday, retiring both batters he faced, including one by strikeout.

Clay Holmes has recently regained a hold on the Yankees' closer position, but he was held out Wednesday after tossing 21 pitches over 1.2 innings the previous night. That allowed Kahnle to get a save opportunity after Michael King allowed two of the first three batters he faced to reach base in the ninth, and the former got the job done by allowing a sacrifice fly before striking out Eugenio Suarez to end the contest. Kahnle didn't make his season debut until June 2 due to a biceps injury, but he's been outstanding since then, pitching 7.2 scoreless frames with a 9:1 K:BB over eight appearances. He's earned two holds and figures to be one of the team's top high-leverage relievers moving forward.