MLB Player News

Rays pitcher Matt Moore will begin his minor-league rehab assignment Wednesday for the team's Class A affiliate, reports The Tampa Tribune.

Moore has not pitched since last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He will throw three innings and about 50 pitches Wednesday.

The Rays have promoted reliever Andrew Bellatti from Triple-A Durham to take the roster spot of shelved second baseman Tim Beckham, the Tampa Tribune has reported.

Bellatti performed well in a short stint with Tampa Bay earlier in the year, pitching six shutout innings and allowing just three hits in two appearances.

Athletics pitcher Drew Pomeranz began a rehab assignment with Class A Stockton on Sunday, tossing two perfect innings while striking out three in a 6-2 loss to Lake Elsinore.

Pomeranz didn't get the start in the game, coming in with his team down 5-1, but he was able to fire off two excellent innings while throwing 16 of his 23 pitches for strikes. He has been sidelined since May 18 with a shoulder injury.

Pomeranz is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA and 32:16 K:BB ratio in 43 innings across eight starts with the A's.

Rays closer Brad Boxberger worked a perfect 2/3 of an inning in the ninth on Saturday in Tampa Bay's 9-5 win over the Orioles, earning his 15th save of the season.

Boxberger came on after Xavier Cedeno allowed a leadoff home run and put runners on first and second. Boxberger forced Travis Snider to groundout to second and got J.J. Hardy to fly out to center to end the game. Boxberger moved his ERA to 2.70 in 20 innings of work this season.

Red Sox pitcher Joe Kelly allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits in five innings of work in Boston's 4-3 loss to the Rangers on Sunday. Kelly gave up a run in the first inning when with runners on first and third, he forced Adrian Beltre to groundout, but scored a run.

Then in the third, Kelly allowed another Beltre RBI on a single to center with runners on first and second.

"Every loss is difficult, obviously," Kelly said to MLB.com. "The bullpen pitched a good game, and you know, the error, it hurt. But ultimately we're just going to have to go out there and try to win as many games in a row starting tomorrow and kinda brush this one."

Kelly, who remains 1-4, moved his ERA to 5.83 in 54 innings of work this season. He will look to get back on track on Saturday against the Athletics.

"He made a number of big pitches," Farrell said to The Boston Herald. "There were a lot of high-stress pitches out of him today. He was able to get a key out with multiple runners on base. He battled. He gave us everything he had."

Athletics pitcher Jesse Chavez tossed eight scoreless innings on Saturday in Oakland's 3-0 win over the Yankees. Chavez recorded six strikeouts with no walks on 110 pitches in his outing. Chavez put runners on first and second in the first two innings, but managed to work out of both james using his full arsenal of pitches. 

Chavez, now 2-5, moved his ERA to 2.11 in 59 2/3 innings of work this season. He will look to keep things rolling on Friday against the Red Sox. 

The Yankees activated pitcher Chris Martin from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday and optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Martin has been slowed by elbow tendinitis. He opened a rehab assignment with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and will continue to pitch at that level.

"We want to get him back on a roll, then we’ll go from there," manager Joe Girardi said, per LoHud.com. "At the end (before the injury) it was a little bit of a struggle for him. We’ll see if we can get him back on a roll, and then if we need him, we’ll call him."

Martin has posted a 3.55 ERA and 13:3 K:BB ratio in 12 2/3 innings with the Yankees.

Yankees pitcher Chris Martin began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, tossing a 1-2-3 inning while throwing nine of his 14 pitches for strikes but recording no strikeouts.

Martin was placed on the 15-day disabled list in early May with elbow tendinitis. He has posted a 3.55 ERA and 13:3 K:BB ratio in 12 2/3 innings.

Every save seems to be an adventure for Mariners closer Fernando Rodney, but manager Lloyd McClendon continues to be Rodney's biggest supporter, telling MLB.com that "ERA means nothing when it comes to closers."

Rodney is 14-for-16 this season in save opportunities but his ERA has skyrocketed to 7.08 after allowing a run in seven of his 10 appearances in May. Still, McLendon will continue to send this closer out in high-stakes situations. 

"And I've been known to stand up for my players, so I'm standing up for my closer," McLendon said. "He's pretty [darn] good. … What matters is whether or not you can get it done and close the game out."

After a rough outing in his last appearance, Rays closer Brad Boxberger was back on track Saturday, helping Tampa Bay end a six-game skid by picking up a save in the 3-0 victory over the Orioles. 

Wednesday, Boxberger allowed three earned runs in an inning to pick up his third loss of the season, but on Saturday, he was in control, needing just seven pitches to pick up his 14th save of the campaign.