MLB Player News

The Rays recalled Englert from Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Englert will provide the Rays' weary bullpen with a fresh arm heading into Wednesday's game against the Tigers, after Tampa Bay needed relievers to cover 12.2 innings between the first two contests of the series. Before being demoted May 9, the 26-year-old righty made a 3.1-inning bulk-relief appearance in his last outing with the Rays, and he had since settled into a starting role with Durham. Over his three starts prior to his call-up, Englert posted a 4.70 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 14:3 K:BB in 15.1 innings.

The Rays optioned Martin to Triple-A Durham on Wednesday.

Martin yielded two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out a batter in a three-inning, 43-pitch relief appearance in Monday's 10-9 loss to the Tigers. As a result of the hefty workload, Martin wasn't available for Tuesday's game and likely wasn't going to be an option for Wednesday's series finale, either. The Rays will swap him off the active roster for a fresh arm in Mason Englert, who was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Gomez picked up the save in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the White Sox, recording a pair of strikeouts over 1.1 hitless and scoreless innings.

Since being acquired from the Rays earlier this season, Gomez has become a reliable late-innings arm for manager Derek Shelton and is a perfect 3-for-3 in save chances with Minnesota. Across 12.2 innings with the Twins, Gomez has allowed just two runs (one earned) on six hits with a 16:4 K:BB. He's struck out nearly one-third (32.7 percent) of the batters he's faced.

Erceg blew the save in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Reds, allowing one run on one hit and two walks with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Tasked with protecting a 3-2 lead, Erceg came on and allowed a leadoff homer to pinch hitter Will Benson to tie the game. Erceg then walked a pair before getting an inning-ending strikeout. Erceg has been dreadful in his last four outings, surrendering nine runs on 14 hits and two walks with three strikeouts across three innings. He has three blown saves in that span, and it's fair to wonder if he's pitched his way out of the ninth. Erceg has six blown saves in 17 chances this season, while his ERA has ballooned to 6.45 with a 20:15 K:BB across 22.1 innings.

Ashcraft (elbow) received a platelet-rich plasma injection Tuesday, MLB.com reports.

Ashcraft got the injection after a second opinion confirmed he's dealing with a UCL sprain. The right-hander was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list following the injury last Friday and is not expected back until some point after the All-Star break.

Puk (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.

The Diamondbacks moved Puk's rehab assignment to Reno after the left-hander threw three scoreless innings in three appearances in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League to close out May. He's scheduled to throw again Friday, per Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com, and Puk will likely need a few more appearances beyond this week before being activated from the 60-day injured list. When Puk opened his minor-league assignment last month, Arizona general manager Mike Hazen said the team was targeting him seven or eight rehab outings, which puts the reliever on a path to return from the shelf around the middle of June.

Soto earned the save in Tuesday's 10-6 win against the Astros, striking out both batters he faced.

After Dennis Santana struggled to close out the ninth inning, allowing four batters to reach base while two runs scored, Pittsburgh turned to Soto with two runners on and one out. The left-hander immediately shut the door, striking out both hitters he faced to lock down his eighth save of the season. Soto continues to pitch at a high level out of the bullpen, holding opponents scoreless in 13 of his last 15 appearances while solidifying himself as Pittsburgh's main ninth-inning option. He now owns a 1.91 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 34:11 K:BB across 28.1 innings.

Scott gave up a hit and struck out one without walking a batter in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

This was Scott's first outing since his blown save Saturday versus the Phillies. He bounced back well, though he needed 20 pitches (12 strikes) to get the job done. Scott is up to six saves this season while earning a 2.10 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 29:3 K:BB across 25.2 innings. The southpaw continues to work as the Dodgers' top high-leverage arm, though that will occasionally get in the way of him picking up saves when he's brought into games before the ninth inning.

Tong (1-1) allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out four over 3.1 innings to take the loss Tuesday versus the Mariners.

Tong was given another bulk-relief assignment, but he didn't do as well this time as he did against the Reds in his last appearance. The right-hander threw 54 of 83 pitches for strikes en route to collecting 10 outs. Over 10 innings this season, he has a 3.60 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 7:7 K:BB. Tong will need to work on the walk rate in the long run, as that has been a limiting factor in keeping his innings down through three bulk-relief assignments so far. With Kodai Senga (back) potentially ready to return from the injured list next week, Tong is not guaranteed to make another appearance in the majors, though it's possible he'll get shifted to a more traditional bullpen role should the Mets want to get a longer look at him against big-league bats.

Harris earned the save Tuesday against the Cubs, recording the final out of the game.

After right-hander Scott Barlow allowed two baserunners in the ninth inning, the Athletics turned to Harris to face Ian Happ with two outs. The move was matchup-based, as Happ entered the game batting just .161 against left-handed pitching compared to .258 against righties. Harris executed perfectly, inducing a flyout from Happ to end the game and secure his fifth save of the season, most on the team. The left-hander now owns a 2.57 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 31:22 K:BB across 28 innings this season.