MLB Player News

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Sunday that Williams is managing a minor wrist injury, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

The Brewers bolstered their infield depth by acquiring Braden Shewmake from the Astros on Sunday, but that trade may not have been necessary if Williams wasn't banged up. The 23-year-old hasn't seen the field for Triple-A Nashville since Tuesday but currently remains on the active roster, which supports the notion that the injury isn't viewed as a serious concern.

Wheeler (10-1) earned the win Sunday over the Tigers, allowing two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out 10.

It was another dominant performance from Wheeler, who's now logged double-digit strikeouts in three straight outings -- he's totaled 34 strikeouts over 17.1 innings in that span. The star right-hander will head into the All-Star break with a 2.13 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 108:22 K:BB across 15 starts (93 innings).

The Pirates optioned Kelly to Triple-A Indianapolis after Sunday's 14-5 win against the Brewers, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander was called up from Indianapolis on Friday and allowed three runs over two innings during Sunday's blowout victory. Kelly surrendered two runs over 2.1 frames in his MLB debut earlier this season, so his big-league career is off to a bit of a bumpy start with multiple runs allowed in both of his appearances.

Manager Blake Butera said Young was unavailable for Sunday's game against the Yankees since his left hand remains sore, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Young missed some time in early July due to the injury, and he apparently never fully recovered from the issue despite making a couple of recent starts. Butera indicated the outfielder will likely need another 4-to-5 days to get back to full strength, so he could be ready to go Friday against the A's when the Nationals begin the second half of the season.

Lindor went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an RBI double in Sunday's 3-2, extra-inning loss to the Red Sox.

Lindor was responsible for all of New York's offense Sunday -- he opened the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before extending the lead to 2-0 in the sixth with a solo shot off Brayan Bello. It's a nice way to head into the All-Star break for Lindor, who'd gone just 2-for-20 in his past six games coming into the day. Overall, he's slashing .216/.298/.373 with five homers, 12 RBI, 22 runs scored and two steals across 171 plate appearances this year.

Tolle did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Mets, allowing a run on three hits and a walk across 3.2 innings. He struck out seven.

Tolle was scheduled for a shorter outing heading into the All-Star break, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. The left-hander gave up just one run on a Francisco Lindor first-inning double before eventually departing in the fourth inning after throwing 66 pitches. Tolle will head into the All-Star break with a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 87:25 K:BB across 15 starts (84 innings).

Williams was charged with a blown save in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Red Sox, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning.

Entering the ninth inning with a 2-0 lead, Williams would load the bases with two outs before walking Andruw Monasterio and giving up a game-tying hit to Jarren Duran. It's a tough way to finish the first half for Williams, who's blown back-to-back save chances and allowed four earned runs over his last 3.1 frames. He'll head into the All-Star break with a 4.83 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 44:19 K:BB while converting 13 saves across 31.2 innings.

Manager Craig Albernaz said Alexander was diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture in his left hand after being hit by a pitch in Sunday's game against the Royals, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Alexander went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored before being plunked in the bottom of the seventh inning and being replaced by a pinch runner. It's a brutal development for the 27-year-old, who is now likely to miss at least the next couple weeks after batting .365 (35-for-96) with 10 extra-base hits, three steals, 15 RBI and 16 runs in 32 games since the start of June.

Thornton struck out five and allowed two hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings in a no-decision during Sunday's 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Red Sox.

The Mets called Thornton up from Triple-A Syracuse to step in as their fifth starter, after the team had previously opted for a bullpen day when the fifth spot in the rotation last came up Tuesday. In what was just his third big-league start, Thornton delivered an eye-opening performance, needing just 82 pitches to record his 21 outs while limiting the damage to just two free passes and a pair of base hits. After Thornton's excellent outing, interim manager Andy Green told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that the rookie will retain a spot in the big-league rotation to open the second half. The Mets have already locked in Christian Scott, Sean Manaea, Nolan McLean and Freddy Peralta as their starters for the first four games out of the All-Star break, so Thornton will presumably make his next start July 21 in Milwaukee.

Hancock had X-rays come back negative on his palm and middle finger after leaving Sunday's start against the Giants, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Hancock was struck by a comebacker during the first frame Sunday and was pulled from the contest with two outs in the second inning. It appears as though the right-hander escaped with a bruise and should avoid a trip to the injured list. If the Mariners want to give Hancock some extra time to recover coming out of the All-Star break, they could simply slot him into the back end of the rotation rather than have him pitch in the first series of the second half against the Giants next weekend.