MLB Player News

The Athletics outrighted Bowden to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

He cleared waivers after being scrubbed from the A's 40-man roster. Bowden has the option to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment, but it's unclear what he plans to do. The 31-year-old allowed four runs in one inning during his lone appearance for the Athletics.

The Angels optioned Farris to Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Farris earned his first win of the season Thursday in Baltimore with a scoreless inning of relief, but he's been jettisoned to the minors a day later. He'll be replaced on the roster by George Klassen, who is slated to be called up from Triple-A to start Friday's game in Miami.

Spence was placed on the 7-day injured list Monday at Triple-A Omaha due to an unspecified injury.

The 28-year-old righty's move to the IL represents yet another hit to the Royals' starting pitching depth, as the organization has already lost Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek, Luinder Avila, Ryan Bergert and Alec Marsh to season-ending surgeries. Spence has been part of the Royals' 40-man roster all year, logging a 5.35 ERA and 1.41 WHIP over 16 starts with Omaha and yielding 22 earned runs in 9.1 innings over three appearances at the big-league level.

Lynch will start Friday's game against the Cubs, and the Royals intend to give the left-hander a longer look in the rotation, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

With a 1.96 ERA and 0.93 WHIP over 46 relief appearances, Lynch has arguably been the Royals' top bullpen option this season. However, Kansas City's rotation depth has been thinned with Cole Ragans, Stephen Kolek and Luinder Avila all recently undergoing season-ending elbow surgeries, so Lynch will get the chance to build back up as a starter, a role he hasn't handled full-time since 2023. Considering that he hasn't covered more than two innings in any of his 2026 appearances, he'll be operating on a limited pitch count Friday and will need time to get fully stretched out. Lynch didn't find much success while working as a starter to begin his MLB career, logging a 5.18 ERA and 1.52 ERA over 51 starts and 252 innings from 2021-23.

Gomez picked up a save against the Royals on Thursday, issuing one walk and striking out two batters over one scoreless inning.

Gomez was summoned in the ninth inning with Minnesota clinging to a one-run lead. He walked the first batter he faced but then picked off pinch runner Tyler Tolbert at first base. With less pressure on him, Gomez then struck out Michael Massey and Isaac Collins to improve to 15-for-15 on save chances this season. Fantasy managers who roster Gomez are likely ecstatic about him being deployed for the save opportunity, as Minnesota's trade-deadline acquisition of Jeff Hoffman cast some doubt about whether Gomez would remain in the closer role. Hoffman hade his first appearance for the Twins on Wednesday, working a perfect eighth inning in a 2-1 loss, and he could still be a threat to Gomez's hold on the ninth-inning job.

Soto allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out three across one inning Thursday against the Brewers.

Soto made his second appearance since the trade deadline and entered in the sixth inning on each occasion. He managed to turn in a scoreless inning Monday, but he allowed a double and a single to the first two batters he faced Thursday to surrender an earned run. Soto has turned things around lately by allowing only two earned runs across his last 10.2 innings, but his usage in Pittsburgh's revamped bullpen suggests he's no longer in the mix for saves.

Patrick recorded his fifth save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning in a 5-2 win.

With Trevor Megill having worked each of the previous two days, Patrick was called upon to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning. He worked around a walk and a single before inducing a game-ending double play to secure his fifth save of the season. Patrick has been dominant to begin August, allowing just two hits across five scoreless innings while piling up 10 strikeouts in four appearances. On the year, he owns a 3.38 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 78:32 K:BB across 85.1 innings.

Mikolas (3-9) took the loss Thursday against the Phillies, allowing six runs on 12 hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out one.

It was a rough night out of the gate for Mikolas, who gave up all six runs on 11 hits, including seven doubles, in the first three innings. The veteran right-hander has struggled to a 7.32 ERA over his last seven appearances (35.2 innings). Overall, Mikolas' ERA is up to 5.89 through 113 innings this season with a 1.41 WHIP and 56:23 K:BB. He'll look to turn things around in his next outing, tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the Cubs.

Thornton (5-4) worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless inning of relief and earn the win in Thursday's 3-2, extra-innings victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out one.

Thornton was the last of five Chicago pitchers to take the mound Thursday, working the top of the 11th inning in a 2-2 tie. The righty picked up the win when Pete Crow-Armstrong stole third base and came around to score on a throwing error in the bottom of the 11th. Thornton has been solid this year with a 2.78 ERA across 35.2 innings, but he's in a crowded back-end mix that features Jacob Webb and the newly acquired Ryan Zeferjahn. Daniel Palencia (elbow) should also be back from the injured list in the near future.

Wilcox left Thursday's game versus the Tigers due to left oblique tightness.

Wilcox came on in relief with one out in the top of the seventh. He gave up three earned runs on a homer after allowing two singles. Given the nature of the injury, it can be expected that the right-hander will land on the injured list.