MLB Player News

Rocker will pitch in bulk relief Tuesday against the Rockies, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

He had previously been scheduled to start Tuesday, but the Rangers will instead have Rocker enter the game behind lefty Tyler Alexander, who will serve as an opener and is likely to cover an inning or two. Rocker has posted an 11.25 ERA in the first inning this season, so the Rangers will see if he fares better entering in the middle of the game.

Rocker has been scratched from Tuesday's scheduled start in Colorado, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

There's no word yet on the reasoning for Rocker being unable to take the ball, but the Rangers should have an update on his condition shortly. Tyler Alexander will slot in as Tuesday's starter in Rocker's place in what will be a bullpen game for the Rangers.

Woods Richardson struck out a batter and allowed one hit and one walk over a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in Monday's 6-3 win over the Astros.

After Woods Richardson submitted an ugly 7.71 ERA and 1.86 WHIP through nine starts to begin the season, the Twins moved him to the bullpen for the start of their six-game week. In Woods Richardson's place, the Twins tabbed rookie Kendry Rojas as their starter for Monday's game. Though Rojas wasn't built up enough to handle a typical starter's workload and was lifted after tossing four scoreless frames, the Twins opted to use six bullpen arms to cover the final five innings rather than calling upon Woods Richardson to serve as a bulk reliever. Woods Richardson thus appears set to operate in a more flexible bullpen role moving forward, with most of his appearances likely to come in lower-leverage spots.

Walker went 2-for-5 with an RBI in Monday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.

Walker singled home his 31st run of the season in the seventh inning to tie Yordan Alvarez for the team lead. It was Walker's first multi-hit game since May 3 after he'd gone just 5-for-45 (.111) at the plate over his previous 13 games. On the season, Walker is slashing .267/.343/.511 with 11 homers, 31 RBI, 27 runs scored and an 18:38 BB:K across 198 plate appearances.

Imai (1-2) took the loss Monday against the Twins, allowing three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts across 4.2 innings.

All three of the runs against Imai came on a pair of homers by Josh Bell. Otherwise, Imai's stuff looked good, as he generated a season-high 19 whiffs on 74 pitches. In two starts since returning from arm fatigue, Imai has surrendered nine runs on 10 hits and three walks with eight strikeouts across 8.2 innings. He's been hurt by the long ball in both outings, surrendering four round trippers. On the season, Imai owns an ugly 8.31 ERA, 1.79 WHIP and 21:14 K:BB across 17.1 innings. Walks have been a problem, as he'd walked at least three in each of his first four starts before issuing zero Monday.

Bell went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four total RBI in Monday's 6-3 win over the Astros.

Bell took Tatsuya Imai deep in each of his first two plate appearances, swatting a solo homer in the second inning before tagging the right-hander for a two-run shot in the fourth. Bell then singled home a run in the sixth, thereby driving in each of the Twins' first four runs of the game. Bell's two long balls snapped a 31-game home-run drought for the 33-year-old. On the season, he's slashing .223/.286/.361 with five homers, 28 RBI, 23 runs scored, one stolen base and a 14:43 BB:K across 182 plate appearances. Bell's .647 OPS is the lowest of his career.

Duran went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 7-6 loss to Colorado.

Duran continued to be a regular contributor, getting on base and scoring in the second and sixth innings followed by a two-run single in the eighth. He's been a lineup regular for the last month, most recently filling in at shortstop for Corey Seager (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday. He's expected to cover shortstop until Seager's ready. Duran is slashing .286/.348/.454 with three home runs, 17 RBI, four steals and 20 runs scored over 133 plate appearances.

Diaz went 4-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in Monday's win over the Orioles.

Junior Caminero delivered a three-run shot and Ryan Vilade had three hits and three RBI, but it was Diaz who led Tampa Bay's offense in hits and runs scored while matching Caminero's four RBI in this offensive explosion. The slugging first baseman posted his seventh multi-RBI game of the season, and he continues to put up solid numbers across the board. He's hitting .268 with a .794 OPS, three homers, 11 RBI and eight runs scored in 14 games since the beginning of May.

Rogers earned the save in Monday's 6-3 win over the Astros, striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.

Manager Derek Shelton tapped Yoendrys Gomez to begin the ninth inning, but Gomez walked two of his first three batters to bring the tying run to the plate. Rogers was called on to put out the fire, and he stuck out Yordan Alvarez before getting Christian Walker to ground out. It was Rogers' first save of the season, and he now owns a 3.86 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB across 18.2 innings.

Caminero went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional RBI, two additional runs scored and two walks in Monday's win over the Orioles.

Caminero went yard in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season, and he's also now posted three straight multi-RBI efforts. The star third baseman has been on a roll lately, hitting safely in all but three contests since the beginning of May. During that stretch, Caminero is hitting .271 with a .937 OPS, five homers, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and a 10:12 K:BB across 16 games.