MLB Player News

Lopez didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the Orioles, allowing five hits and a walk across 5.2 scoreless innings. He struck out six.

It was a nice bounce-back outing from Lopez, who had given up nine runs across 9.1 innings in his previous two starts. Overall, the right-hander is 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 66:29 K:BB through 71.2 innings this season. Lopez will look to build on Sunday's outing his next time out, currently slated to come at home against the Nationals.

Petersen was lifted from his relief appearance during Sunday's game against the Padres due to a right forearm contusion, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Petersen came on in relief of starter Janson Junk with two outs in the fourth inning and threw just two pitches before he was nailed by a grounder off the bat of Ty France. Marlins catcher Joe Mack gathered the loose ball and threw to first base to record the final out of the inning, but Petersen retreated to the locker room immediately after the play and wasn't available to return for the top of the fifth. Petersen has now made early exits from two of his last five relief appearances, as he was previously lifted from a July 12 contest against the Guardians due to a hamstring injury before getting a clean bill of health coming out of the All-Star break.

The Brewers recalled Stallings from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.

The right-hander made the first two appearances of his big-league career in early July, firing three scoreless innings with a 4:1 K:BB. Stallings is taking the roster spot of Lance McCullers and should fill a low-leverage relief role.

The Giants optioned Beck to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

The right-hander was called up from Sacramento on Tuesday and pitched in Saturday's 9-2 win over the Angels, giving up a run over two innings of relief. Beck has a 6.39 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 5:3 K:BB across 12.2 frames in the majors this season.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Palencia (elbow) is scheduled to throw an up-and-down bullpen session Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Counsell noted that Palencia felt great after completing a side session Sunday, prompting the Cubs to clear the right-hander to take another small step forward Tuesday with a bullpen session that more closely simulates a game. Assuming that goes well, Palencia could face hitters in live batting practice later in the week before heading out on a minor-league rehab assignment in the first week of August. The 26-year-old has been on the shelf since June 16 due to a mild right flexor strain, after he had previously missed about three weeks earlier in the season on account of a lat strain.

Megill recorded a save against the Rockies on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over one-third of an inning.

It didn't look like Megill would be needed, as Milwaukee entered the ninth inning with an 8-2 advantage. However, Lance McCullers got into trouble, allowing two walks and a single while also being hurt by an error to allow two runs to cross the plate. Megill was summoned with two outs and yielded a single to allow another run to score, but he was able to close the floodgates by striking out Cole Carrigg. That gave Megill his sixth save in his eighth outing of July. The right-hander is locked in as the Brewers' closer with 17 saves in 19 chances on the season.

Stewart struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mets.

The Dodgers turned to Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and Tanner Scott in the seventh and eighth innings. That left the save chance to Stewart, who converted it cleanly for the third save of his big-league career. The reliever has played his part well in a middle-relief role, pitching to a 2.03 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 14:5 K:BB over 13.1 innings this season. He's also added four holds. Stewart reached the 200-inning mark in his career with this outing. While he's been effective when called upon, his path to high-leverage work will get narrower when Edwin Diaz (elbow) comes off the injured list Wednesday.

Beeter worked a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his ninth save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks. He didn't strike out a batter.

The right-hander needed just nine pitches (six strikes) to take care of the middle of Arizona's order. Beeter had been tagged for at least one run in three straight appearances prior to Saturday, and while he's the best closing option the Nationals have at the moment, his 3.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 33:19 K:BB over 30.2 innings on the season are far from elite ratios.

Keller took a no-decision Saturday against the Yankees, allowing one run on two hits and no walks in three innings. He struck out three.

Making his major-league debut, Keller fared well on the bump while acting as a long reliever Saturday. Austin Wells tagged the 32-year-old right-hander for a solo home run in the third inning, but Keller was impressive otherwise against a formidable Yankees lineup. Philadelphia has had a hard time finding stability out of their fifth rotation spot since sending Andrew Painter down to the minors for seasoning, but Keller is tentatively lined up to take the ball next in Baltimore for now.

The Dodgers plan to activate Diaz (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Diaz landed on the IL on April 20 and underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow just a couple of days later. After a lengthy layoff, the veteran right-hander looks just about ready to rejoin the Dodgers while he's turned in a productive rehab assignment thus far. He'll make a final appearance Sunday with Triple-A Oklahoma City after pitching to a 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB in five innings over his first six minor-league outings. Diaz should eventually reclaim the Dodgers' closer role from Tanner Scott, though the former could be eased back into the mix with a couple lower-leverage appearances upon his activation.