MLB Player News

Betances (shoulder) plans to stretch out his throwing distance off flat ground to 110 feet Monday, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

Betances felt good after making approximately 50 throws from 90 feet Sunday, making him confident he'll be able to take another step forward in his rehab during the upcoming week. The right-hander remains without a clear timeline to return from the 60-day injured list and will likely need to complete a multi-appearance minor-league rehab assignment before his activation can be considered imminent.

Jurado pitched well enough Saturday to earn another look as a starter, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Jurado allowed four runs (two earned) over 4.1 innings but was sitting on 55 pitches and one unearned run over the first four innings. He tired in the fifth and wasn't helped by his defense or reliever Jeanmar Gomez, who allowed inherited runners to score. "I think he did a really good job, especially not being built out to throw 80-90 pitches," manager Chris Woodward said. "He was up to [76] today. Next time out he will obviously get deeper in his pitch count but even at the end he was throwing the ball pretty good. He was in command the whole day. I thought he did a really good job for us." The key phrase in Woodward's comments are "next time out," indicating Jurado earned a second start, which is projected to be Friday on the road in Anaheim against the Angels.

Junis (3-5) took the loss Saturday, giving up five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks over seven innings while striking out six as the Royals were downed 6-3 by the Angels.

It was the longest outing of the year for the right-hander, but that didn't stop Junis from losing his third straight start. He's allowed fewer than four runs only twice in his last eight trips to the mound, and he'll take a 5.69 ERA and 47:21 K:BB through 55,1 innings into his next start Friday, at home against the Yankees.

Duffey (1-0) pitched 1.1 innings in Saturday's 18-4 win over the Mariners, allowing one hit and striking out three batters to earn the win.

Starter Jose Berrios ran up a high pitch count, leaving Duffey as the pitcher of record in the blowout win. The 28-year-old right hander has a 3.72 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 14 strikeouts over eight appearances (9.2 innings) this season. He'll continue to see the bulk of his usage in middle relief.

Hand earned the save in Saturday's win over the Orioles by striking out two and not allowing a baserunner across 1.1 innings.

Hand had no issues retiring the top of Baltimore's order as he delivered 13 of his 17 pitches for strikes. The 29-year-old remains a perfect 12-for-12 in save opportunities and has a 1.42 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 27:5 K:BB over 19 innings.

Jurado (1-2) took the loss Saturday against the Cardinals by allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits across 4.1 innings. He struck out four and walked one.

Jurado likely deserved a better fate, but an error and a passed ball led to a pair of unearned runs. The performance was still his longest in the majors this season, as the 23-year-old previously worked out of the bullpen. Jurado has a 2.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 11:2 K:BB over 16.1 innings and lines up to face the Angels next weekend, assuming he gets another turn in the starting rotation.

Martin didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Red Sox, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks over four-plus innings. He failed to strike out a batter.

The rookie's second big-league start did not go as smoothly as his first, as he threw only 38 of 74 pitches for strikes and gave up hits to the first two batters he faced in the fifth inning before being bailed out by Josh James. Martin will next take the mound Thursday, at home against the White Sox, but if he continues to struggle with his control the Astros have plenty of other rotation options they could use to replace the 23-year-old.

Treinen allowed one hit but struck out one to nail down his seventh save in a 4-1 victory over the Tigers on Saturday.

This was his first outing since blowing a save Sunday, so it was nice to see Treinen bounce back after a five-day layoff. Treinen was efficient too, retiring the side on 10 pitches (eight strikes). He is 7-for-9 in save situations with a 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 21 innings this season.

Mengden allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks across seven innings to earn a victory against the Tigers on Saturday.

As he did in his first MLB start of the year, the 26-year-old experienced some control issues, walking two batters in the first and then yielding a run on a wild pitch in the fourth, but he was pretty sharp other than that. When he's throwing strikes, Mengden is tough on major-league hitters. Opposing batters have yet to hit a homer and are batting .186 against Mengden in 12.1 innings this year. He is also 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and nine strikeouts in two starts. Given that Mengden earned a second chance at starting despite an underwhelming first MLB outing, he's probably earned a third start with this much better performance.

Green will start a bullpen game for the Yankees on Sunday, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

The right-hander will act as the opener for the Yankees' Sunday tilt with the Rays. He's struggled in his time at the big-league level so far this season, as he's given up 15 earned runs over 9.2 innings.