MLB Player News

Hart made 29 relief appearances in the pre All-Star break, managing a 2.96 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 24.1 innings.

Bouncing between Triple-A and MLB in his sophomore campaign, Hart has performed admirably overall. He began the year with 12 straight scoreless appearances before struggling a bit in May and early June. Although the 26-year-old southpaw has managed five holds and a victory in 2017, he's unlikely to repeat that in the second half now that the O's bullpen is back to full strength.

McHugh (elbow) logged 4.1 innings and ran his pitch count up to 74 in his third rehabilitation start at Double-A Corpus Christi on Monday, Len Hayward of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports. The right-hander allowed three unearned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four.

McHugh reported feeling soreness after the outing, which he viewed as a good thing because what he felt wasn't pain. Another good sign was his curveball being as effective as it has been during his three-start stint with the Hooks. He'll huddle up with coaches and trainers to determine the next step, but at least one more rehab start is expected.

Axford gave up an earned run on two hits and a walk over one-third of an inning in Sunday's 4-0 loss to the Mariners.

Axford gave up an RBI single to Carlos Ruiz before being relieved by Ryan Madson and closed out the first half on a downswing, having allowed an earned run in each of his last four appearances. The 34-year-old hasn't been able to remain effective for an extended stretch save for a five-appearance scoreless streak in early June, leading to a 6.30 ERA and 2.00 WHIP -- both career highs.

Diaz fired a scoreless ninth inning in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Athletics, recording a pair of strikeouts.

The young closer took the loss in Saturday's contest but righted the ship Sunday with a crisp 15-pitch frame. Diaz endured his share of struggles at various points in the first half of the season, but manager Scott Servais appears committed to letting him work through his periodic difficulties. Diaz heads into the All-Star break having notched 13 saves in 16 opportunities while compiling a 3.53 ERA and an impressive 48 strikeouts in 35.2 innings.

Zych was credited with his fifth hold in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Athletics, firing a scoreless seventh inning and issuing a walk.

The 26-year-old right-hander thus closes out the first half of the season with three straight scoreless efforts after giving up an earned run in each of his last two appearances of June. Zych established a slew of career highs in the first half of the season, and given that he's posted a solid 2.33 ERA over his first 29 appearances, he figures to continue receiving a robust workload in the second half.

Boxberger (1-0) fired a scoreless eighth inning in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Red Sox, issuing two walks and recording a strikeout.

Boxberger wasn't as sharp as he'd been in his first three outings, but he was able to wiggle out of trouble after issuing a pair of free passes by mowing down Christian Vazquez. The 29-year-old then nabbed his first victory of the season courtesy of Brad Miller's two-run homer in the home half of the frame, and he's now rung up seven strikeouts over his first four innings of 2017. Boxberger was notably deployed as a setup option Sunday, his first instance of eighth-inning work over his first four appearances. Given his solid efforts thus far -- as well as his extensive experience in high-leverage scenarios -- this could well be the role that Boxberger carries into the season's second half.

Hernandez fired a scoreless inning while striking out two en route to his eighth hold in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Hernandez was picked up off the scrap heap to begin the season, but he has pitched like one of the Angels' top bullpen arms this year (2.73 ERA and 10.2 K/9). The 32-year-old is still getting it done with a low- to mid-90s fastball complemented by two different breaking balls with good movement. He doesn't get a ton of hold chances, but his ratios should be good enough to help those in deep holds formats.

Wilson recorded a five-out save Sunday against the Indians. He allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one.

Wilson entered in the eighth inning in relief of Shane Greene, whose exit was prompted by back-to-back walks. The Tigers' closer is now up to 10 saves in 11 opportunities this year, and he appears comfortable in a ninth-inning role despite having virtually no closing experience in his first five big-league campaigns.

Fulmer gave up two earned runs on seven hits across six innings in a 5-3 win over the Indians on Sunday.

Despite earning his third win in a row (after dropping the previous three), Fulmer only recorded a single strikeout. The 24-year-old heads into the All-Star break boasting a 9-6 record to go with a solid 3.19 ERA and 1.19 WHIP through 17 starts. Also, even though he hasn't been missing a ton of bats lately, Fulmer has only surrendered seven home runs and an opposing batting average of .238, which suggests he should see continued success in the second half of the season.

Puk allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over two-thirds of an inning during Team USA's 7-6 win over Team World in Sunday's All-Star Futures Game.

The 22-year-old southpaw made things interesting in the ninth by allowing Team World to get to within 7-6 before getting Mauricio Dubon on a game-ending groundout. Double-A bats have been getting the best of Puk over his first three starts with Midland, as he's allowed nine earned runs on 11 hits and nine walks over 13.1 innings. However, given his body of work in his first two stops with the organization -- including his 150 strikeouts over just 107 minor-league frames -- Puk figures to turn things around in the second half of the season.