MLB Player News

Ortiz is getting an MRI on his neck after being removed early from Saturday's game against Minnesota, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinelreports.

Ortiz felt tightness in his neck during his first at-bat, leading to his removal later in the game. The 28-year-old will receive an MRI to assess the extent of the damage. Manager Pat Murphy said the injury is located in his lower neck, closer to his scapula.

Holmes (4-5) took the loss against the Royals on Saturday, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks in four innings. He struck out one.

Making both his Cubs team debut and return from nearly a two-month absence due to a fractured fibula, Holmes was mostly ineffective and failed to turn in a single clean inning of work. The 33-year-old right-hander managed to throw 70 pitches in what was arguably a season-worst outing, but his workload restrictions are likely to loosen in future starts. Holmes will aim to rebound in his next scheduled appearance against the Cardinals, still holding a strong 2.86 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 46:20 K:BB over 56.2 innings.

Gimenez went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI during Toronto's 7-5 extra-innings win over Philadelphia on Saturday.

Gimenez sent Saturday's game to extra innings after his two-run double in the eighth inning tied the game at 4-4, and he added to the Blue Jays' run total with a sacrifice fly in the 10th. It was the third time this season that Gimenez logged at least three RBI, with the last instance taking place May 11 against the Rays, when he drove in five runs. He has gone 10-for-28 (.357) with three steals, four RBI and three extra-base hits over his last nine games.

Lukes went 3-for-6 with a two-run homer during the Blue Jays' 7-5 extra-innings win over the Phillies on Saturday.

Lukes was responsible for the Blue Jays' game-winning runs in the 11th inning, with his fly ball to center field clearing the wall for a two-run homer. It was just the sixth long ball of the season for the 31-year-old outfielder, with his last homer coming July 12 against the Padres. Lukes has a .697 OPS with one steal, 21 RBI and 17 extra-base hits over 298 plate appearances this season.

Lugo (5-7) earned the win against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out five.

Lugo was pretty effective against a formidable Cubs lineup, tossing 61 of his 90 pitches for strikes while hanging on for a quality start after giving up his third run of the game in the sixth inning. Saturday's outing marked the 36-year-old right-hander's fourth quality start in his past five outings as well. Lugo will carry a pedestrian 4.41 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 104:46 K:BB over 134.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance against the Angels in Anaheim.

Washington optioned Palmquist to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.

Palmquist will head back to Rochester for the first time since June 29. The southpaw opened Tuesday's game against Philadelphia and lasted just one-third of an inning after giving up one run on two hits. In 16.1 innings this season, the 25-year-old owns a 7.71 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and 15:8 K:BB.

Scherzer did not factor into the decision Saturday against the Phillies, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four across 5.1 innings. He did not issue a walk.

Scherzer turned back the clock in Philadelphia, keeping the Phillies off the board for the first five innings. His punchout of Kyle Schwarber in the sixth was his fourth of the game, and it moved Scherzer up to 10th on the all-time leaderboard with 3,516 career strikeouts, surpassing Walter Johnson. Unfortunately for Scherzer, the good times were short-lived after he gave up back-to-back solo home runs to Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, leading to the right-hander being pulled. In what is likely Scherzer's last season, he needs 18 more strikeouts to match Gaylord Perry for ninth on the all-time Ks leaderboard. Scherzer's next start is scheduled for next week at the Rogers Centre against the Yankees.

Alvarez did not factor into the decision Saturday against the Reds, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two across 5.1 innings.

It wasn't a flashy performance by any means from Alvarez, but he managed to keep the Reds off the board through the first five innings. He was pulled in the sixth after yielding an infield single and was tagged for his lone run after Max Kranick gave up a two-run homer to Eugenio Suarez, which also removed Alvarez from the decision. Alvarez has yielded two earned runs or fewer in each of his last three outings and has a 3.76 ERA and 1.40 WHIP over 69.1 innings this season. His next start is lined up for next weekend on the road against the Mets.

Lord will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher Sunday in a bullpen game against the Reds, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Lord made his return from the 15-day injured list Wednesday and tossed a scoreless inning of relief later that day against the Phillies, but he'll now be called upon to make his second start of the season. Washington has a permanent opening in its rotation after recently designating Zack Littell for assignment, but it's unclear if Lord will be gradually built up for a starting role or if the Nationals will turn to a Triple-A starter such as Luis Perales or Jackson Kent to fill the void. At least for Sunday's contest, expect Lord to be operating with a restricted workload after having not worked longer than three innings in any of his 28 appearances on the season.

Suarez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run during the Reds' 8-2 loss to the Nationals on Saturday.

The Reds were kept off the board through five innings, but Suarez ended the shutout in the sixth with a two-run long ball off Max Kranick. Suarez has homered in back-to-back games and is up to 16 long balls on the year, which puts him on pace to crack the 20-homer mark for a sixth consecutive regular season. He has a .688 OPS with 43 RBI and 29 extra-base hits over 339 plate appearances this season.