MLB Player News

The Twins recalled Festa from Triple-A St. Paul on Wednesday.

Festa started in his two appearances with the Twins earlier this season back on June 27 and July 3, giving up 12 earned runs while striking out eight batters over 10 innings. Though the Twins have an opening in the rotation for Wednesday's game against the Phillies after Chris Paddack (forearm) landed on the injured list, Festa looks set to work as a bulk reliever rather than a traditional starter, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. Reliever Steven Okert will start the contest and likely work an inning or two before giving way to Festa, who owns a 4.06 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 93:28 K:BB over 64.1 innings at Triple-A this season.

Alexander (3-3) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing three hits over three scoreless innings of relief in a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out four without walking a batter.

The southpaw entered the game in the third inning after Shawn Armstrong gave the Rays two scoreless innings as the opener, and Alexander kept the goose eggs coming to lower his ERA on the season to 5.88. It was his first appearance in the majors since May 30, but Alexander's latest stint as a bulk reliever figures to be a short one with both Jeffrey Springs (elbow) and Ryan Pepiot (knee) expected to rejoin the rotation in late July or early August. Alexander will likely get one more turn, however, and lines up for an outing at home against the Reds this weekend.

Gilbert (6-6) took the loss to the Angels on Tuesday, allowing five runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out eight over 6.2 innings.

Gilbert retired the first 12 batters he faced before things completely unraveled in the fifth. He allowed three base hits in the inning, and two throwing errors played a part in the Angels tacking on all five of their runs in the frame. Still, it was his third straight start of more than six innings, a span during which he's compiled a 24:2 K:BB in 21.1 innings. Gilbert only has one win over his last five starts despite posting four quality starts over that timeframe. He now has a 2.72 ERA (fifth lowest in MLB) and an 0.86 WHIP (lowest in MLB) to complement a 132:26 K:BB in 139 innings and lines up to face the Red Sox on the road to begin next week.

Gil came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Mets, allowing one run on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out six.

After a rough stretch in late June and early July, Gil has turned things around and given up just one run in each of his last three outings while delivering a 22:2 K:BB over 17.2 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander's stumble came after he topped 100 pitches for the first time June 14 against the Red Sox, so expect the Yankees to keep a close eye on his workload the rest of the way. Gil lines up to make his next start on the road early next week in Philadelphia.

Gray (5-4) picked up the win Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing one run on four hits and no walks across 7.2 innings. He struck out five.

Gray finished off Tuesday's start by retiring 15 consecutive batters and pitched into the eighth inning on 80 pitches before being pulled. The outing marked Gray's first time exceeding six innings pitched since May 15. While he hasn't been a great source of strikeouts, notching 78 Ks in 94 innings, the veteran righty has been a reliable option, owning a 3.73 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He's on track to close out a two-start week Sunday in Toronto.

Soriano (6-7) got the win over the Mariners on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits and three walks while striking out five over 7.2 innings.

Soriano faced off against the Mariners for the second time in 10 days and was even better Tuesday night. His only troublesome inning was in the fifth when he allowed a leadoff double followed by a walk, but he was able to get out of the jam with only one run allowed. Tuesday's outing marked just the third time this season he's pitched more than seven innings and he's now given up two runs or fewer in four of his last six starts. The hard-throwing righty lowered his ERA to 3.51 to complement a 1.17 WHIP and 77:37 K:BB in 95 innings. He'll aim to pick up his third straight win when he faces the Athletics over the weekend.

Crochet (6-7) took the loss Tuesday against the Rangers, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks across four innings. He struck out seven.

Crochet threw only 74 pitches Tuesday, a result of the White Sox monitoring his workload down the stretch of the 25-year-old's first season as a starter. Both runs attributed to Crochet came in the first inning, with Adolis Garcia plating Robbie Grossman on a single and Josh Smith stealing home during a double steal. Crochet hasn't gone deeper than four innings in his last three starts, and he's logged a 3.07 ERA with 157 strikeouts in 111.1 innings on the year. The left-hander is tentatively scheduled to face the Mariners on Sunday.

Bloss (0-1) took the loss in Tuesday's game against the Athletics, allowing five runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five over four innings.

Bloss did not fare well against a hot Athletics lineup. He began by allowing a leadoff triple before Brent Rooker took him deep to put the Astros in an early 2-0 hole. Lawrence Butler was next to homer off him in the third before Seth Brown and Zack Gelof went back-to-back in the fourth. Bloss hasn't been able to cover more than four innings in any of his three starts since getting promoted just over a month ago and he'll likely see his time in the bigs temporarily come to an end next week once Justin Verlander (neck) returns from the injured list. Bloss has a 6.94 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 11:3 K:BB in 11.2 innings.

DeGrom (elbow) threw a bullpen session Tuesday and is expected to throw another Friday, MLB.com reports.

DeGrom is estimated to have thrown between 40 and 45 pitches with three up-and-downs Tuesday, with manager Bruce Bochy noting that the right-hander's fastball checked in at around 94 or 95 miles per hour. Following Friday's session, deGrom will throw a few live batting practice sessions before likely going out on a rehab assignment.

Criswell (4-4) allowed five hits and a walk while striking out four over seven shutout innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Rockies.

This was Criswell's third scoreless outing of the campaign and his first such effort since April 30. For the second appearance in a row, he enjoyed his longest outing of the year, and it's all the more impressive he was able to navigate Coors Field unscathed. He's now at a 4.02 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 54:16 K:BB through 65 innings over 14 appearances (13 starts) this season. Criswell has likely done enough to earn another start, which is tentatively projected to come next week at home versus light-hitting Seattle.