MLB Player News

Barnes allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out two in the ninth inning to record the save Thursday against the Royals.

Barnes entered the game with a three-run lead in the final frame, though he ultimately allowed the tying to run to come to the plate. After getting Adalberto Mondesi to ground out to begin the inning, Barnes surrendered a single and double to consecutive batters, accounting for his earned run. However, he quickly recovered to strike out the final two batters he faced to earn his fourth save of the season. Barnes, who recorded his first save since May 7, has been used mostly as the team's high-leverage reliever, meaning he's seen limited save chances despite racking up 44 strikeouts across 24.2 innings to supplement his 3.28 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

Barria was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Barria has struggled in the major leagues this season, posting an 8.16 ERA and 1.88 WHIP with 10 punchouts over 14.1 frames, but he'll get another shot out of the bullpen. Taylor Ward was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Norris (2-5) allowed three earned runs on 11 hits and one walk while striking out six across 5.2 innings to take the loss Thursday against the Rays.

Norris was consistently working around trouble Thursday, allowing multiple baserunners in four of his six innings. However, he avoided major damage aside from a two-run homer he surrendered to Travis d'Arnaud. While his ratios haven't fallen into place, Norris has a 27:7 K:BB across his last 34.1 innings, spanning six starts. He'll look for better results in his next outing, likely to come Wednesday at Kansas City.

Palumbo will be recalled from Double-A Frisco to start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Athletics, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Saturday's spot start will mark Palumbo's big-league debut. The prospect has yet to pitch above Double-A Frisco, though he owns a solid 3.38 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 65:24 K:BB in 50.2 innings with the RoughRiders this season. The southpaw is expected to return to the minors after the outing, though manager Chris Woodward noted that a strong performance could open the door for Palumbo to rejoin the rotation later in summer, per Levi Weaver of The Athletic.

Mengden was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

Mengden was sent back to the minors after struggling in a bulk-relief role Wednesday against the Angels, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. The A's have yet to announce who will take his place in the rotation. Ryan Dull was summoned from the minors in a corresponding move.

Mengden didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to the Angels after giving up six runs on six hits and a walk over 2.1 innings. He didn't strike out a batter in the 65-pitch outing.

For the second time this season, Mengden worked as a bulk reliever rather than a traditional starter, but the arrangement didn't pay off for the Athletics. The six runs allowed represented a season high for Mengden, who had carried a 3.05 ERA into the contest. On a more positive note, Mengden at least scaled back the free passes after walking 15.1 percent of the batters he faced in his prior four outings. Mengden tentatively lines up to make his next turn as a starter/bulk reliever Monday in Tampa Bay, if Oakland opts not to drop him from the rotation.

Hand secured his 18th save of the season and struck out a batter during a perfect ninth inning in Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Twins.

Hand has lived up to draft-day expectations and then some in his first full season as the Tribe's closer. The lefty has yet to blow a save while sporting ratios (1.05 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) that have outshone the sterling ones he posted between the past two seasons (2.44 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). An abnormally high strand rate (92.2 percent) and unusually low BABIP (.240) have certainly helped Hand maintain the low ERA, but a 1.91 FIP (3.05 xFIP) don't suggest that significant regression is coming for the southpaw.

Adams will serve as the Mariners' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Astros, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Seattle will experiment with an opener for the first time this season, with Adams pitching ahead of bulk reliever Tommy Milone in the series finale. Adams hasn't covered more than two innings or tossed more than 33 pitches in any of his relief outings this season, so those likely represent the upper bounds of his workload Thursday.

Weber will receive the starting nod for Thursday's game against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

As anticipated, Weber will stick in the rotation for at least one more turn despite being lit up for seven runs in four innings in his previous outing May 29 against the Indians. Weber is expected to move back into a long-relief role or head back to Triple-A Pawtucket once Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) is ready to return from the 10-day injured list, likely around mid-June.

Beeks is expected to serve as the Rays' bulk reliever behind opener Ryne Stanek in Thursday's game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

As per usual, Beeks won't technically start in what will mark his 15th appearance of the season, but he'll nonetheless pitch the majority of the innings once Stanek exits, likely after pitching 1-to-2 frames. Beeks finished May with a 3-0 record, 2.81 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 23:8 K:BB in 25.2 innings.