MLB Player News

Junis will make his next scheduled start Friday against the Blue Jays, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Manager Ned Yost commented that keeping Junis in the rotation will allow the other rotation members to get an extra day off. The 24-year-old will look to improve his 5.56 ERA and right the ship against J.A. Happ in the weekend series opener.

Hart was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.

Hart was outstanding during his recent minor-league tuneup, keeping opponents scoreless in eight innings pitched while producing an 11:1 K:BB with the Tides. He'll reclaim his spot in the Orioles' bullpen, replacing Vidal Nuno. Hart will likely assume a middle-relief role until he regains manager Buck Showalter's trust.

Axford gave up a solo home run and issued a walk over an inning in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Astros.

The veteran reliever yielded a 385-foot shot to George Springer in the eighth, the second homer he's surrendered over his last two appearances. Axford has given up four earned runs over his last three trips to the mound and has had a rough June overall (6.23 ERA).

Diaz fired a scoreless ninth inning in Monday's 6-2 win over the Tigers, issuing a walk and recording a strikeout.

The hard-throwing 23-year-old has now been deployed in non-save scenarios in back-to-back games, firing a scoreless inning in each. Manager Scott Servais seems intent on affording Diaz consistent work, with the goal of avoiding some of the inconsistency that plagued him earlier in the season and brought about a temporary demotion from the closer's role.

Alvarado (0-2) gave up three earned runs on two hits and a walk while failing to record an out in Monday's 7-3 loss to the Reds.

Alvarado was asked to preserve a 3-3 tie but didn't come close to accomplishing that goal, allowing all three hitters he faced to reach base before getting pulled. The 22-year-old southpaw has hit a rough patch over his last three trips to the mound, giving up five earned runs over three innings and seeing his ERA rise from 3.21 to 5.29 in the process.

Giles picked up his 17th save with a clean ninth inning in Monday's win over the Athletics.

After a rough stretch to open the month, Giles has thrown four straight scoreless innings. Despite a mediocre 3.62 ERA, Giles is a sharp 17-for-19 on save conversions, far better than his 15-for-20 mark from last season.

Graveman continued his long-toss program Monday, but he remains a week or two away from a bullpen session, Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group reports.

Graveman long-tossed from 105 feet Monday and still needs to do so from 120 feet before he can move on to throwing off a mound. A return before the All-Star break seems optimistic at this point.

Lopez (personal) returned to the mound for Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday, completing 5.1 innings while allowing three runs and striking out three in a no-decision versus Indianapolis.

The pitching prospect was scratched from his previous scheduled start to allow him to attend to a personal matter, but it seems he was able to sort everything out in just a few days. After getting himself noticed by pitching well in spring training, Lopez has gone on to post a 3.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 64:30 K:BB through 13 starts with the Knights.

McHugh (elbow) will head to Florida this week to face live hitters, Mark Eisenhauer of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This will essentially be spring training for McHugh, who experienced elbow discomfort early in training camp and has yet to throw a ball for the Astros this season. If his initial results in Florida are positive, the right-hander will graduate to a full-on rehab assignment.

Boxberger (back) fired a scoreless inning for Triple-A Durham on Sunday versus Toledo, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two.

The 22-year-old worked up to 22 pitches, equaling the most he's thrown in any rehab appearance this season. Boxberger has turned in a trio of scoreless efforts for the Bulls, with Sunday's outing particularly noteworthy since it was the first time he'd pitched consecutive days in his rehab. As per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Boxberger is slated to pitch again Wednesday and could rejoin the team on Friday.