MLB Player News

Alexander is scheduled to make his second straight turn through the rotation Thursday against the Rangers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Alexander was summoned from the bullpen to make a spot start in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Twins. He was limited to 48 pitches and recorded 10 outs during the start, surrendering two runs on four hits while striking out one. The lefty should face slightly fewer restrictions with his workload Thursday, though it would be surprising if he covered more than five innings. Detroit hasn't announced its plans for Alexander beyond Thursday, but he could be in store for an extended stay in the rotation with none of Julio Teheran (shoulder), Matthew Boyd (triceps), Spencer Turnbull (forearm) or Jose Urena (groin) considered especially close to returning from the injured list.

The Twins will call up Jax from Triple-A St. Paul to start the first game of Monday's doubleheader with the White Sox, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Due to the twin bill, the Twins will temporarily have a need for a sixth starter, so Jax will return from the minors to fill the void. Jax previously made five appearances (one start) for Minnesota earlier this season, posting an 8.66 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across 17.2 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Loaisiga (illness) has cleared COVID-19 health and safety protocols and is eligible to rejoin the team, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Considering Loaisiga was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Thursday due to a positive test rather than having been identified as a close contact of an infected person, he may need some additional time to get his conditioning in order before being activated. He's the first of three relievers who tested positive coming out of the All-Star break to get the green light to rejoin the team, as Nestor Cortes and Wandy Peralta remain in isolation.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that King (finger) will remain on a "no-throw" program for about 5-to-7 more days, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

After landing on the 10-day injured list July 8 with a right middle finger contusion, King was hoping that he would be ready to go coming out of the All-Star break, but the injured digit has apparently bothered him more than he anticipated. Due to an off day Monday, the Yankees won't require a replacement in the rotation for King until July 24 in Boston. King posted a 4.44 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 27:11 K:BB in 26.1 innings over his six starts since he joined the rotation in early June.

Fleming (7-5) took the loss against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits and a walk over 4.1 innings. He also struck out two and hit a batter.

The young left-hander had his worst outing as a big-leaguer yet, allowing a pair of home runs in same-handed confrontations with Joc Pederson and Freddie Freeman to account for part of the damage. Atlanta bats were able to square up consistently against Fleming, considering Kevan Smith, opposing starter Max Fried, Ozzie Albies and Guillermo Heredia all laced doubles off him as well. Fleming will look to regroup and bounce back in his next turn, which will likely come Thursday or Friday versus Cleveland.

Scott has allowed three runs on seven hits and six walks across 10.1 innings in his last 10 appearances.

In that span, the left-hander has struck out 13 batters. While Scott continues to have a troubling 6.6 BB/9 for the year, he's done better recently at run prevention. He owns a 2.70 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 52:27 K:BB across 36.2 innings overall while earning 12 holds in 41 appearances.

Rijo (forearm) has been activated from the 7-day injured list at High-A Cedar Rapids.

He's expected to start Sunday's game for Cedar Rapids. Rijo has made just one appearance this season for Cedar Rapids, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout. He began the season on the temporary inactive list before being reinstated June 10 and then was hurt after his first outing June 13.

Jimenez (3-1) picked up the win over the Tigers in the second game of Saturday's twin bill, allowing an unearned run on one hit while striking out two over two innings.

Jimenez pitched a scoreless seventh but was a bit wild the following frame in extras. He started off by hitting Nelson Cruz and eventually allowed the Twins to take the lead on a wild pitch. Fortunately for him, the Tigers were able to walk it off in the bottom half, which awarded him his third win of the year and his first since June 14. The 26-year-old has had his share of struggles this season with a 7.54 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and a 28:21 K:BB over 22.2 innings.

Alexander didn't factor into the decision in the Tigers' 5-4 win over the Twins in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader after giving up two runs across 3.1 innings. He scattered four hits and walked none while striking out one.

Alexander picked up his third start of the season for the pitching-thin Tigers, who added Game 1 starter Jose Urena (groin) to the injured list Saturday. With Urena, Spencer Turnbull (forearm), Matthew Boyd (triceps) and Julio Teheran (shoulder) all facing uncertain return timelines, Alexander should have a good chance at making multiple turns through the rotation, especially after a decent showing versus Minnesota. Since he's mostly been working in a relief role this season, Alexander was capped at 48 pitches Saturday, but he could push up to the 60-to-70 range in his next outing.

Rogers (2-4) was hit with the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Tigers after allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.

Rogers entered in the eighth to try and preserve a one-run lead but was unable to do so. Both outs he recorded came via strikeout, but two singles in the inning were enough to bring in two runs as the Tigers were able to celebrate a walk-off win. It's the second consecutive blown save for Rogers, both coming against the Tigers. The 30-year-old southpaw now owns a 3.52 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 56:8 K:BB over 38.1 innings. He may be starting to lose his grip as a potential save candidate with back-to-back uninspiring performances.