MLB Player News

Hernandez allowed two hits and two walks while striking out 10 over six scoreless innings for High-A Down East on Wednesday.

This was the second straight game that Hernandez has struck out at least 10 batters, as he raised his Carolina League-leading strikeout total to 62 over 46.1 innings. The 21-year-old right-hander has submitted a body of work in the Carolina League that suggests he's ready for the next challenge at Double-A Frisco. In 22 games (21 starts) for the Wood Ducks, Hernandez has a 2.82 ERA with a 10.2 K/9. He's developed considerably since the start of 2017, when he picked up velocity on his fastball and sharpened his slider, per Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News.

Diaz struck out the side for his 17th save Wednesday against Oakland.

Diaz has now struck out the side a whopping six times. He owns an absurd 45 strikeouts in 25.1 innings, good for a 16.0 K/9 that trails only Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances among all relievers. That's elite company, and with a 1.78 ERA and just two blown saves in 19 chances, Diaz has become one of the best closers in the game.

Covey (1-1) held Baltimore to one run on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts through seven innings to pick up his first major-league win Wednesday night.

Covey was 0-8 across two seasons entering Wednesday's contest but was finally able to break the schneid with a gem. His fastball topped out at a blazing 97.1 mph and induced nine swinging strikes and 10 outs in play. He leaned on it, as the two-seamer made up 80 of his 104 pitches, but when it's that electric, he won't need much else to get by. Covey replaced the demoted Carson Fulmer in the rotation, so given this performance, expect him to get another turn Monday in Cleveland.

Kimbrel struck out two in a perfect ninth inning for his 15th save Wednesday against Tampa Bay.

It was significantly less drama for Kimbrel than Tuesday's save, in which he loaded the bases before escaping with a scoreless inning. Kimbrel now has six saves in a row and has 10 appearances with multiple strikeouts, a big reason why he owns a ludicrous 30:5 K:BB in 21.1 innings.

Jimenez recorded his ninth hold of the season in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Twins, pitching around a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning. He struck out one.

Jimenez started the eighth inning by walking Brian Dozier but then got Max Kepler to ground into a double play to get out of trouble. He allowed a harmless single but struck out Eduardo Escobar to get through the frame. Jimenez now has a solid 2.66 ERA, which is drastically better than the 12.32 mark he posted last season.

Junis allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven over five innings in Wednesday's win over the Cardinals. He did not factor into the decision.

It was the third straight start in which Junis wasn't able to make it through six innings, but he likely could've gone deeper in this one as his pitch count sat at just 81. The seven strikeouts were one shy of matching his season high, as the 25-year-old has had reliable command thus far with 55:13 K:BB over 61.1 innings. He'll sport an impressive 3.52 ERA and 1.09 WHIP when he takes the hill Monday against the Twins.

Fulmer (2-3) got the win Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks while striking out five over 5.2 innings against the Twins.

The win was his first since his second start of the season back on April 7. Fulmer finished his day one out shy of qualifying for a quality start, but he labored just to get as far as he did. He tossed a season-high 112 pitches and allowed a walk to the last batter he faced before getting yanked. The 25-year-old continues to struggle a bit with walks (3.1 BB/9), but he appears to have settled down following a couple of rocky starts earlier in the month. He's due to take on the Angels on Tuesday.

Kahnle (shoulder) will head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday for the next step of his rehab assignment, DJ Eberle of the Times Leader News reports.

Kahnle is expected to return to the Yankees in the near future as he works his way through the minor-league ranks. He'll aim to test his shoulder one last time at Triple-A before coming off the disabled list. Barring any major setbacks, Kahnle could be reinstated from the DL in time for New York's weekend series with the Angels.

The Yankees optioned Gallegos to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Rangers.

Gallegos was only up with the big club for two days, with his lone appearance coming Tuesday, when he tossed two scoreless innings. Considering Gallegos needed 24 pitches to get through the outing, he was unlikely to be available for Wednesday's series finale, so the Yankees will send the right-hander back to the farm and exchange him for a fresh arm in Ryan Bollinger, whose contract was selected from Double-A Trenton.

Diaz notched his 16th save in Tuesday's extra-inning win over the Athletics, firing a scoreless 10th inning and recording two strikeouts.

Diaz fired 13 of 16 pitches for strikes in a dominant appearance during which he set down the trio of Mark Canha, Chad Pinder and Marcus Semien. The 24-year-old has now posted scoreless efforts in five of the last six trips to the mound, with a blown save May 15 against the Rangers the one stumble during that stretch.