MLB Player News

Junis (4-5) earned the win Thursday by holding the Rangers to two runs on four hits and two walks while punching out seven through six innings of work.

Junis logged his second straight quality start with the help of seven strikeouts to pick up his first win since May 1. The right-hander looked sharp against the Rangers, highlighting his solid strikeout effort by fanning three batters in the second inning. Otherwise, his only major blemishes were home runs to Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara. The 26-year-old will carry a 5.35 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 48:42 K:BB into a tough matchup against the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Beeks will serve as the primary pitcher for Friday's game against the Twins, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Ryne Stanek will open the contest for Tampa Bay, and Beeks figures to enter the ballgame in either the second or third inning to work as the bulk reliever. He tossed 4.2 scoreless frames Sunday against the Indians in his last outing as the primary pitcher.

Stanek will open Friday's game against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Stanek continues to find success while serving as an opener this season, as he tossed two scoreless frames in his last appearance as an opener Tuesday against the Blue Jays. Jalen Beeks figure to be the primary pitcher after Stanek's work is done.

Hu was placed on the 7-day injured list Thursday due to right hip flexor tightness, Tribeinsider reports.

It's unclear as to when Hu's injury cropped up, but he'll head to the shelf for at least a week while on the mend. He's accrued a 6.54 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with a 34:16 K:BB over 42.2 innings this season for Triple-A Columbus.

Ramirez struck out five over three perfect innings in long relief to capture his first career win Wednesday in the Tigers' 4-2 victory over the Orioles.

Despite only converting to pitching two years ago after stalling out as a first-base prospect in the Brewers system, Ramirez has emerged as a force out of the Detroit bullpen in his initial MLB action. Through five long-relief appearances, Ramirez has compiled a 2.81 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB in 16 innings. In order to maintain success for the long haul, however, Ramirez will likely need to do a better job of reining in the long ball, as he's already surrendered three home runs. That could be an ongoing struggle for a pitcher with a flyball tilt who typically works in the high 80s-to-low 90s.

Garcia will serve as the opener Thursday against the Mariners.

Garcia will open for Felix Pena, who figures to cover the bulk of innings Wednesday. In 21 appearances this season (all in relief), Garcia owns a 3.32 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 13:13 K:BB in 19 innings.

Betances (shoulder) could begin facing hitters next week, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

Betances has thrown a pair of bullpens with no issues, and he's reportedly getting closer to testing out his balky shoulder against hitters. He appears to be tracking towards a return sometime in June, though a concrete return date likely won't come into focus until he progresses to live BP.

Shawaryn had his contract purchased from Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday.

Shawaryn will take the roster spot of Hector Velazquez (back), who was sent to the injured list in a corresponding move. The right-hander has strictly work as a starter for the PawSox this season -- compiling a 3.72 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 10 starts (55.2 innings) -- so he figures to fill the long-relief role left open by Velazquez.

Colome gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his 11th save of the season in an 8-7 win over the Royals.

The veteran reliever continues to shine as the White Sox closer. Colome has yet to blow a save this season and has given up only one run over his last 14 appearances, posting a 0.66 ERA, 0.37 WHIP and 13:3 K:BB over that stretch.

Lopez didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Royals, coughing up five runs on 12 hits and two walks over 5.2 innings while striking out three.

He kept the damage to a minimum through five innings but faded badly in the sixth, as Lopez got tagged for four runs and three extra-base hits in a span of seven batters, including a Jorge Soler homer. The right-hander will take a 6.20 ERA and 60:29 K:BB through 65.1 innings into his next outing Tuesday -- on the road against the club that originally signed him, the Nationals.