MLB Player News

Littell allowed one walk and struck out one in one inning during Friday's 3-2 loss to San Diego.

Littell worked the seventh inning with the Giants down by one, and he made a good first impression with his new team. The 25-year-old had an awful 2020 with the Twins, posting a 9.95 ERA and 2.37 WHIP across 6.1 innings. He'll look to regain his 2019 form (2.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 32:9 K:BB) if he's able to stick on San Francisco's big-league roster.

Richards was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Richards has made five major-league appearances to begin the season and posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 11 innings. However, he'll now be removed from the big-league roster as part of a shuffle to make room for Rich Hill (illness) and Cody Reed (thumb), who were activated from the injured list Saturday.

Alcala threw two scoreless innings with a strikeout in Friday's win over Kansas City to lower his ERA to 3.60.

Alcala has a strong 11:1 K:BB ratio in 10 innings, albeit with three home runs allowed, but hasn't been used in many high-leverage spots. With Alex Colome falling out of favor to finish games, it's possible Alcala could enter the mix in the near future as the Twins are not usually committed to a single closer.

Hill was credited with a hold in Friday's win over San Francisco as a result of striking out both batters he faced in the seventh inning.

The southpaw certainly earned the hold after inheriting a one-out, bases-loaded situation and proceeding to strike out both Darin Ruf and Mike Tauchman, even though he had to escape a grand slam that was turned into a foul ball upon review. Hill has allowed only two earned runs over 12.2 frames this season while registering an impressive 17:4 K:BB.

King was recalled by the Yankees on Saturday.

King continues to be shuffled between the Yankees' alternate training site and the major-league roster. He'll rejoin the big-league bullpen after Darren O'Day (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day IL in a corresponding move.

Hader struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his seventh save of the year in a 3-1 win over the Dodgers on Friday.

Hader had no easy task facing Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Max Muncy, but he sat each one of them down on strikes, throwing just 12 pitches. The 27-year-old looks as dominant as ever this year with a 0.93 ERA and 19:4 K:BB over 9.2 innings while converting all seven of his save chances so far.

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Yang will be evaluated for the rotation, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Yang made his second straight bullpen-saving appearance of the week Friday, shutting down the Red Sox for 4.1 innings after the Rangers fell behind 6-1. He made his Rangers debut Monday when starter Jordan Lyles was chased after 2.2 innings, and Friday he took over for Kohei Arihara, who allowed four home runs in 2.2 innings. Of those two starters, Arihara prompts the most concern. The Rangers already suspected he was tipping pitches, but the new worry that emerged Friday was diminished velocity.

Uceta (0-1) allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two over two innings in a loss to the Brewers on Friday.

Manager Dave Roberts opted to go with a bullpen game Friday and awarded Uceta with the opportunity to be the opener. The 23-year-old pitched a 1-2-3 first but allowed four hits in the second, including a two-run homer to Jackie Bradley. He turned it over to the rest of the bullpen after just two innings and 27 pitches and could see some more opportunities in the near future with the Dodgers' bullpen decimated by injuries.

Melancon earned the save Friday against the Giants, pitching a perfect inning and notching two strikeouts.

Melancon breezed through three batters in the ninth inning, tossing 10 of 13 pitches for strikes and collecting a pair of strikeouts. The veteran has a stranglehold on the closer position in San Diego due to an outstanding start to the campaign during which he has gone 9-for-9 in save opportunities and allowed only one run over 13 innings. Melancon has also racked up a superb 14:1 K:BB while allowing only four hits.

Sims was called upon to finish the ninth Friday against the Cubs but couldn't record the final out, eventually giving way to Tejay Antone for the save. He walked three while retiring two batters.

While Sims was wild in the outing (only 13 strikes on 27 pitches), he twice had what appeared to be potential game-ending third strikes instead called balls by home plate umpire Marty Foster. Given the number of pitches Sims threw, it's possible that he won't get the next save chance if one arises on Saturday.