Michael King got his fifth save Sunday by throwing a scoreless ninth against the Rangers.
Clay Holmes was unavailable after pitching the previous two days. King got the call despite having allowed eight earned runs over 7 1/3 innings in his previous six appearances. He's had a very consequential month; in eight appearances, he has two saves, two blown saves, three losses and two holds.
Gerrit Cole was lifted in the fifth after allowing three runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings Sunday against the Rangers.
Cole's velocity was fine and he walked just one, but he struggled to find his slider early on and gave up three runs in the first two innings. The slider did get better as the afternoon went along, but the Yankees still decided to pull him shy of five innings for the first time this year. The nine hits allowed were a season high. Thanks to an eighth-inning comeback, he avoided taking his second loss.
Gleyber Torres was thrown out on the basepaths after collecting his first hit in three days Sunday against the Rangers.
Torres doubled to lead off the first, but he then misjudged Harrison Bader's flare to right, thinking it would drop in. To be fair, it took an outstanding play from Marcus Semien to haul it in. Still, particularly with no outs, Torres absolutely should have made sure it dropped. Torres also got doubled off first for no good reason on Wednesday -- and he's in a 2-for-18 slump anyway -- so it might be time for Aaron Boone to take action and sit him for a couple of games.
Nick Pratto struck out all four times up versus the Rays on Sunday.
Both the Royals and Rays led off their first basemen today, but Yandy Díaz (4-for-4) had a far better game than Pratto did. It's Pratto's second four-strikeout game in three days. He's fanned 36 times in 89 plate appearances this month and 76 times in 212 plate appearances for the year. Pratto's numbers on contact are terrific, and he shouldn't have any playing time concerns the rest of the way with Vinnie Pasquantino unfortunately out for the year. He needs to cut down on the strikeouts a little bit, though.
Daniel Lynch allowed only a run over six innings Sunday in a no-decision versus the Rays.
Lynch allowed one hit and no runs in seven innings last time out, but that was against the Tigers. This is at least an equivalent performance, considering the opponent. He settled for two strikeouts, but he did get nine missed swings, which isn't bad. Apart from Jose Siri's solo homer, all five hits he allowed were singles. Lynch's ERA stands at 3.96 after six starts. He will have another tough assignment next weekend against the Dodgers.
Pete Fairbanks worked a hitless ninth for his eighth save versus the Royals on Sunday.
Fairbanks took a loss after giving up a run in a tie game last time out, but he's now pitched scoreless ball in 16 of his 18 appearances this season. He just needs to stay healthy, and he should keep racking up saves.
Tyler Heineman was removed from Sunday's victory over the Athletics due to left side discomfort.
The Blue Jays will utilize Monday's off-day to get him checked out to determine the severity of the issue and determine whether or not he'll require a trip to the injured list. The 31-year-old backstop had been 1-for-3 with a single prior to exiting Sunday's contest.
Brent Rooker finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts versus the Blue Jays on Sunday.
There's no longer much of a corner outfield/DH playing time crunch in Oakland with Ramón Laureano on the IL, but Rooker has sat against the last three righties the A's have faced anyway. Having this bad of a game against a lefty won't help the cause. Rooker is batting .167 with two homers and a 47/12 K/BB ratio in 127 plate appearances since May 13. His OPS has plummeted from 1.100 to .810.
George Springer went 2-for-3 with a homer, a sac fly and a walk Sunday versus the A's.
The homer was Springer's 11th of the season. He's on a nice run of late, having gone 20-for-58 (.345) with two homers and two steals in his last 15 games.
Luis Medina dropped to 1-7 after allowing four runs -- three earned -- in five innings Sunday against the Blue Jays.
Aside from George Springer's leadoff homer in the first, Medina wasn't hit very hard. The problem is that he walked seven batters, making things way too easy for the Blue Jays. His ERA stands at 6.84 after 10 outings as a starter and bulk guy. His spot is anything but safe, but he actually is improving; he had an 8.19 ERA on June 3.
Yusei Kikuchi tossed seven innings of one-run ball Sunday as the Blue Jays steamrolled the A's 12-1.
Kikuchi struck out eight. This makes six starts in a row in which he's allowed no more than two runs, though he has thrown more than five innings just twice in the span. The win today is actually his first decision of the month; he's now 7-2 with a 3.75 ERA.
Dodgers placed OF Chris Taylor on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 21, with a bone bruise on his right knee.
The Dodgers played short-handed for as long as they could without him, but Taylor simply wasn't progressing quickly enough. He'll now get the full rest that he needs to heal up properly. Yonny Hernandez was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City to take his place on the Dodgers' active roster.
Dodgers recalled INF Yonny Hernández from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
With Chris Taylor (knee) landing on the injured list on Sunday, Hernández will get another opportunity to serve as infield depth for the big league club. The 25-year-old has hit .260/.407/.385 with two homers, 25 RBI and eight stolen bases in 47 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.
Cal Raleigh crushed a two-run homer to account for the Mariners' only runs Sunday against the Orioles.
Raleigh tagged the ball 114 mph and barely snuck it in left of the foul pole in right. Raleigh hit just .146 over the first three weeks of June, but in the last four days, he's collected seven hits, two of them homers.
George Kirby surrendered three runs -- two earned -- in 6 1/3 innings Sunday in a loss to the Orioles.
Kirby walked a batter for the first time in a month, with Jorge Mateo, of all people, drawing the free pass. That also matches Kirby's season high for walks, incredibly enough. He has a 79/7 K/BB ratio to go along with his 3.26 ERA in 94 innings.
Félix Bautista struck out three of the four batters he faced Sunday for a save versus the Mariners.
Bautista was cooking with gas today, averaging a career-high 101.8 mph on his nine fastballs. He topped out at 103.4 mph. He season average with the fastball is 99.0 mph, but this is the sixth straight outing in which he's come in at 100.0 mph.
Kyle Bradish limited the Mariners to two runs and two hits over seven innings in the Orioles' 3-2 win Sunday.
Bradish got the victory, moving him to 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA. He's allowed a total of five runs over 19 innings in his last three starts. Next up for him is a home start versus the Twins, making him a decent play in mixed leagues.
Jhoan Duran protected a three-run lead in the tenth inning and picked up his 11th save of the season on Sunday against the Tigers.
Duran fired a scoreless tenth inning, striking out one and while not allowing a hit or walk. The 25-year-old closer has been lights out this season, posting a microscopic 1.45 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 42/14 K/BB ratio across 31 innings (28 appearances).
Rodolfo Castro went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against the Marlins on Sunday.
All three of Castro, Ji Hwan Bae and Tucupita Marcano are struggling mightily this month -- each has an OPS in the .400-.450 range -- which is a big part of why Nick Gonzales was called up a couple of days ago. Castro got a start against a righty today with Ke'Bryan Hayes resting, but he'll likely be limited to playing mostly against lefties until he heats up.
Jose Altuve is not in the Astros' lineup for Sunday's showdown against the Dodgers.
It appears to be a scheduled day off for the 33-year-old veteran. Mauricio Dubón will bat leadoff and play second base in his absence.