MLB Player News

Diaz notched his eighth save Wednesday against the Angels, but not before allowing a run on three hits and a walk. He struck out two.

To be fair, all three hits were singles and the walk to Albert Pujols was intentional; after he loaded the bases with one out following that base on balls, Diaz got a strikeout and a grounder to end the threat. This may have been the rookie's worst outing of the year, which just goes to show you how amazing he's been -- a 1.85 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 34 innings will certainly get the job done in fantasy and reality alike.

Manaea (4-8) was tagged for five runs on nine hits over six innings in Wednesday's road loss to the Rangers. He struck out five without a walk.

The rookie got off to a good start in this one, opening with three shutout frames and limiting Texas to three runs through six innings. But manager Bob Melvin decided to leave him in for the seventh, and he let the Rangers start a rally. He also gave up his 18th homer in 110.1 innings, one of the biggest factors in that unappealing 4.73 ERA. Manaea has plenty of potential -- he can miss bats and his control's been pretty good -- but the 24-year-old southpaw remains a work in progress. He's been particularly ineffective against right-handed hitters, who've compiled a .285/.341/.502 line against him.

Kimbrel will not be available out of the Red Sox's bullpen Wednesday, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports.

Kimbrel has recorded a save in three straight appearances since not being allowed to finish off an August 9 save opportunity, but he pitched three of the last four days and each of the last two, so manager John Farrell will avoid using him Wednesday. Brad Ziegler was tagged with a blown save in Tuesday's game, but he is the favorite to get the ball if the Red Sox find themselves with a ninth-inning save opportunity Wednesday night.

Colome allowed a hit but recorded the final four outs Wednesday to earn his 28th of the season in a 2-0 victory over the Padres. He also struck out one.

With a runner on first and two outs in the eighth, manager Kevin Cash turned to Colome for the four-out save. He struck out former Rays outfielder Will Myers, but he actually reached on a passed ball, so Colome worked around that to retire the next batter before any damage could be done. Alex Dickerson led off the ninth with a single, and Colome hit the next batter to put the tying run on base, but the closer induced a groundball double play and then a fly out to end the threat. Colome is now working on eight straight scoreless outings and has a 1.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP this season.

Martinez was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Martinez takes the roster spot of starter Lucas Harrell, who was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a groin strain. It's possible that Martinez will simply slot into the rotation, or the Rangers could opt to go with a four-man rotation and bring Derek Holland off the DL when they next need a fifth starter on Aug. 27. Martinez has been quite good of late at Triple-A (3.23 ERA, 56 strikeouts in last 61.1 innings), but his 7.18 ERA in the big leagues speaks to his inability to get big leaguers out.

Yates was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday.

Yates will return to the big league club for the first time since he was optioned to Triple-A in late-June. Prior to that, Yates appeared in 30 games for the Yankees, amassing a 5.72 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 28.1 innings. The 29-year-old has fared much better at Triple-A, where he holds a 1.62 ERA in 14 appearances.

Fulmer was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte after Tuesday's game.

The White Sox needed to clear a roster spot in order to call up Wednesday's scheduled starter, Anthony Ranaudo, so Fulmer will head back to the minors. He gave up 11 runs (including two home runs) in 11.2 innings of relief in his first taste of the majors. Fulmer will be stretched out at Triple-A, and has a chance to come back to the big league club as a starter in September, according to MLB.com's Scott Merkin. Of course, his struggles this time around as a reliever -- a role many thought he would excel in -- and his 4.76 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 87 innings as a starter at Double-A this season make him an unappealing add in single-season formats, even if he gets a chance to make some starts for the White Sox in September.

Kimbrel needed just nine pitches to nail his 21st save Tuesday in Baltimore, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Kimbrel has nailed down three saves with three scoreless innings in the last four days. His dominance allows the hard-throwing closer to get through most outings without having to exert too much effort.

Barnes pitched 2.1 innings Tuesday in Baltimore after starter Eduardo Rodriguez exited early with a hamstring injury. He gave up two runs on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts, but came away with no decision when the rest of the Red Sox bullpen blew their 3-0 lead in the seventh inning.

Barnes left two inherited runners on first and second when he departed with one out in the seventh, and Fernando Abad turned those into the two runs on his ledger by allowing both to cross home plate on a Matt Wieters single. The 26-year-old would've likely been in line for his fourth win after picking up right where Rodriguez left off.

Strahm has helped an injury-plagued Royals bullpen with his 1.80 ERA over five innings this season.

The 24-year-old lefty's quick start can be attributed to his 55 percent strikeout rate and the no home runs allowed. Both of those totals have his FIP at a negative value (-0.06). Additionally, his recent addition to the Royals' bullpen has helped with the recent losses of Wade Davis (forearm) and Luke Hochevar (shoulder) to injuries.