MLB Player News

Lopez suffered a lat strain on the back of his pitching shoulder during Tuesday's 10-3 win over the Athletics and is likely to be placed on the injured list, the Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. "It's not the greatest news to hear, to have to deal with, but if there's a silver lining it's that it wasn't that posterior cuff or that I didn't feel anything blowing up," Lopez said after the game.

Lopez was removed in the sixth inning after feeling soreness in his shoulder after throwing warmup pitches. He was still able to come away with his fifth win of the season, giving up two earned runs on fur hits and three walks while striking out four over five frames. Lopez is set to undergo further testing Wednesday before the Twins confirm the diagnosis of a lat strain, but at least his initial outlook doesn't seem to be too ominous. Triple-A St. Paul starters David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson would appear to be the leading candidates to enter the big-league rotation the next time Lopez's turn comes up.

Feltner (back) resumed throwing Monday but is not ready for game action, MLB.com reports.

Feltner suffered a setback and was scratched from a scheduled rehab outing May 27. It's a positive sign that he's been able to resume throwing since, but a return in late June appears to be the best-case scenario.

Alcantara did not factor in the decision during Tuesday's loss to Colorado. He allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four over six innings.

While he couldn't beat the worst team in MLB, Alcantara still snapped an ugly run that lasted over a month. He worked through four shutout frames before the Rockies plated a pair of runs in the fifth inning. Alcantara delivered his first quality start since April 23. He gave up at least four runs in each of his six outings between those two starts, resulting in a brutal 10.08 ERA over 27.2 frames. After three straight outings with at least 100 pitches thrown, he's thrown 71 and 70 pitches in his last two appearances. Still searching for his first win since April 12, Alcantara is expected to make his next start in Pittsburgh.

Bello came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning loss to the Angels, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

After struggling to complete five innings in a start through most of May, Bello began June with a much sharper outing, tossing 65 of 103 pitches for strikes in his third quality start of the year. The 26-year-old right-hander will carry a 3.91 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 33:24 K:BB through 46 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come at home early next week against the Rays.

Dollander did not factor into the decision during Tuesday's win over Miami. He allowed two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out one batter over three innings.

Dollander delivered a pair of scoreless innings in his return from the injured list before stumbling in the third. He walked the first two batters in the frame and then gave up a pair of RBI singles. It was his first outing since May 18 and he threw just 28 of 59 pitches for strikes. The highly-touted rookie has struggled early in his MLB career with a 6.26 ERA and 39:21 K:BB across 41.2 innings. Dollander is lined up to face the Giants at home next week.

Kikuchi came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Red Sox, giving up three runs on eight hits and five walks over five-plus innings. He struck out five.

The left-hander tossed only 56 of 99 pitches for strikes in a shaky outing, but Kikuchi had limited the damage until running out of gas in the sixth inning, when he began the frame with two free passes sandwiched around a two-run homer by Ceddanne Rafaela before getting the hook. Kikuchi has walked at least four batters in four straight starts, but Rafaela's long ball was the first homer he's served up during that stretch, allowing him to escape with a 2.11 ERA in 21.1 innings despite a worrisome 20:18 K:BB. Kikuchi will try to tighten things up in his next trip the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the A's.

Bieber (elbow) will have his rehab start for Double-A Akron pushed back a day to Friday, MLB.com reports.

Bieber's next rehab start was originally slated for Thursday, per Zach Meisel of The Athletic, but Meisel followed up with a note indicating the start will now come Friday, which confirms the MLB.com report. Bieber's first rehab start was in the Arizona Complex League where he tossed 2.1 scoreless frames for the ACL Guardians.

Francis (2-7) took the loss Tuesday against the Phillies, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out two in 1.2 innings.

The Phillies plated six runs in the first against Francis, which included back-to-back home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper among the six hits they had in the inning. Francis has given up 17 home runs, the most in baseball. He's allowed seven hits or more in four starts and has allowed multiple homers five times. He'll aim to rebound on the road against Minnesota this weekend.

Sanchez (5-1) got the win over the Blue Jays on Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits and four walks while striking out four in six innings.

Sanchez battled control issues in this one, tossing 55 of 96 pitches for strikes, but he was able to get out of trouble when needed with a lot of groundballs. The lone run against him came in the fifth inning on a solo blast from Davis Schneider. This was Sanchez's sixth quality start of the year and his first win since May 7. He lines up to complete a two-start week on the road against the Pirates this weekend.

Rodon (8-3) picked up the win in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Guardians, allowing one run on five hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out eight.

The veteran southpaw was locked in a pitchers' duel with Tanner Bibee most of the way, but back-to-back solo shots by Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe to lead off the bottom of the seventh broke open a 1-1 tie. Rodon has won seven straight decisions, with his last loss coming back on April 13, and during his undefeated stretch he's rattled off seven quality starts in nine trips to the mound with a 1.27 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 70:15 K:BB in 56.2 innings. He'll look for his eighth straight win in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home this weekend against the Red Sox.