MLB Player News

Eyanson allowed one hit and one walk while striking out eight over five scoreless innings for Double-A Portland on Saturday.

Eyanson, who picked up the win in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last Sunday, made his first regular-season start since July 4. It was the ninth start in which he hasn't allowed an earned run and his third with at least eight strikeouts. The 21-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.19. Eyanson's mainly attacking hitters with a four-seam fastball, an offering that's increased from low-90s mph in college to high-90s and has touched 100 mph in the pros, while mixing in a curveball and a 65-grade slider.

McDougal (forearm) has struck out five and allowed one hit and four walks over five scoreless relief innings since being reinstated from Triple-A Charlotte's 7-day injured list July 7.

Before hitting the shelf April 30 due to a right forearm flexor strain, all six of McDougal's appearances for Charlotte had come in the rotation. The White Sox could revisit developing the 23-year-old as a starter down the road, but in the short term he's being positioned to potentially join the big-league bullpen for the stretch run. The lanky right-hander has looked overpowering since moving to relief despite his control issues, and he'll likely need to show some improvement on that front before gaining any major momentum for a promotion.

Manager Walt Weiss said Saturday that Perez (forearm) is likely to return from the 15-day injured list during Atlanta's four-game home series with San Diego that begins Monday, MLB.com reports.

The lefty appears most likely to slot back into the rotation Wednesday, which would afford ace Chris Sale an extra day of rest. Perez has been on the shelf since July 6 due to a left forearm contusion, but he's made good progress in his recovery and doesn't look like he'll require a rehab assignment. The 35-year-old doesn't miss many bats (18.6 K%, 22 percent whiff rate), but he's been able to maintain a 3.54 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 81.1 innings by generating groundballs at a healthy 47.7 percent clip.

The Pirates optioned Curtis to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

The right-hander received his first promotion to the big leagues Saturday and made his MLB debut in the second game of a doubleheader in Cleveland with five scoreless innings of bulk relief. Curtis should have a better chance of returning to the majors later this summer now that he's on the 40-man roster, though his 4.96 ERA in 18 appearances between the Double-A and Triple-A levels could be a limiting factor, even after his strong performance Saturday.

Ritchie was credited with his second hold of the season in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Rangers after striking out a batter and allowing one hit and no walks over a scoreless inning of relief.

Ritchie helped cover for the demoted Hurston Waldrep last Sunday, with Atlanta deploying him for 4.1 innings of bulk relief in a 4-3 win over St. Louis. Rather than opening the second half with Ritchie as the fifth starter, Atlanta instead handed Owen Murphy his first MLB start Saturday before Atlanta manager Walt Weiss leaned on Ritchie and six other relievers to finish out the contest. Atlanta optioned Murphy to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday, but Ritchie appears likely to stick in the bullpen for the time being with Martin Perez (forearm) expected to return from the injured list during the upcoming week.

Boyd (6-1) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk over six innings in a 6-2 victory over the Twins. He struck out four.

The veteran southpaw won his fourth straight start and picked up his sixth straight winning decision since he took the loss Opening Day against the Nationals. Since returning from knee and shoulder issues in late June, Boyd has produced a 2.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB over five outings and 28 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next start, which lines up to come on the road next weekend in Pittsburgh.

Bradley (9-4) took the loss Saturday, surrendering five runs on seven hits and three walks over five innings as the Twins fell 6-2 to the Cubs. He struck out six.

A Michael Busch solo shot in the first inning set the tone, as Bradley wound up allowing runs in each of the first three frames to put Minnesota in a hole it couldn't escape. The right-hander saw a three-start win streak snapped as he got tagged with his first loss since June 9, and it was the first time since June 14 that he's given up more than two runs. Bradley will take a 3.85 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 124:43 K:BB over 107.2 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Cleveland.

Rodriguez (3-3) took the loss against Detroit on Saturday, allowing six runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three batters over four innings.

Rodriguez had a daunting task facing off against Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, and a Tigers four-run first inning essentially put the game out of reach for the Angels. Rodriguez needed 87 pitches to get through four innings, and he's now finished fewer than five frames in four of his eight starts so far this season. The 26-year-old hurler has been very up-and-down when healthy enough to pitch, giving up three or fewer earned runs on four occasions and six-plus runs three times. The blow-ups have been more impactful to his overall line than the decent appearances, as altogether Rodriguez has a troubling 8.23 ERA and 1.77 WHIP across 35 innings.

Williams (10-5) took the loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Pirates, giving up five runs on seven hits -- including three home runs -- over six innings. He struck out 11 without walking a batter.

Despite the right-hander's dominance over 84 pitches (65 strikes), he served up more than two long balls in a start for the first time this season to get saddled with his first loss in over a month. The 11 strikeouts tied Williams' season high, a mark he's reached four times now, including his last outing before the All-Star break. Williams will take a 4.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 145:37 K:BB over 119.1 innings into his next trip to the mound, which is set to come at home next week against the Twins.

Skubal (6-5) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing five hits and issuing no walks while striking out nine batters over seven scoreless innings.

Detroit put up four runs in the first inning, which were more than enough for the veteran southpaw. Skubal held the Angels without an extra-base hit and racked up 19 whiffs en route to nine punchouts -- an amount he has posted exactly in four of his past five outings. Skubal also notched his first scoreless start since his very first appearance of the campaign (March 26 versus San Diego). There has been plenty of trade chatter including Skubal's name, but there's no guarantee that the Tigers will move him, especially since they've won eight of their past 10 contests to pull within 5.5 games of the White Sox and Guardians in a tight AL Central.