Jeffers homers, drives in three in win over Cubs

There was a time that Brieske was a pretty key cog to the Detroit bullpen, but his struggles have made him nothing more than an up-and-down arm. He’s down this time, with Framber Valdez taken of the bereavement list in the corresponding move.

Bieber’s velocity today wasn’t quite as good as in his final start before the break, but at 92.3 mph on average with his fastball, he was still better than in his first three outings back. He was able to generate 13 whiffs and finish with a 33 percent CSW while throwing only 80 pitches to get his 18 outs. If the velocity heads south again, Bieber probably won’t be helpful in mixed leagues. Right now, though, he’s looking good. He’ll get the Rays at home on Thursday.

Varland struck out one in earning his 20th save. He’s fanned a batter in 15 straight appearances. He needed just nine pitches to get through this one, so he’ll be good to go on Sunday.

Martin, who opened up 9-2 through 13 turns, is now winless in his last six starts, even though he’s pitched very well in three of those games. He allowed four hits, walked two and struck out five today. He’ll pitch at home against Houston next Friday.

Guerrero’s double in the fourth was cranked 107 mph to the wall in center and missed being a homer by a foot or two. George Springer went on to single him in afterwards. Guerrero also had three balls hit in excess of 105 mph last night, so taking the All-Star break off might have done him and his back some good.

With 14 RBI in his 15 starts since coming off the injured list, Teel is timing his hits well. However, he’s batting just .198/.275/.323 with a 39 percent strikeout rate through 69 plate appearances. His bat speed is actually well up from last year, but if, as the numbers suggest, he’s sacrificing contact to make that happen, it’s might not be worth it.

Dion rejoins the Guardians bullpen with Codi Heuer getting optioned in a corresponding move. He’ll be an option against left-handed lineups while a part of the Cleveland staff.

Heuer is optioned to make room for a fresh arm in left-hander Will Dion. It seems likely that Heuer will be back as a mid-inning option for Cleveland at some point this summer.

Specialist Dr. Gregory Pearl got back to the Yankees on Saturday and basically confirmed Friday’s news. “There’s healing going on, which is good, but he’s still not able to start any baseball activities or anything,” Boone told reporters. “He needs to get to a point where he’s asymptomatic, where you really start ramping up more upper-body stuff.” Boone did say that the good news was that the pain is starting to subside for Judge, and that it’s more of a dull pain than the sharp one that has bothered the slugger. Judge was moved to the 60-day injured list that won’t allow him to return until the beginning of August, but there’s a good chance he’s not back until closer to the start of September.

It’s both Rumfield’s first four-hit game and his first four-RBI game. The homer came off reliever Caleb Ferguson, making it his second off a left-hander in 116 plate appearances this season. He had been without a home run since June 21, but it wasn’t mattering much; he hit .351 over 21 games during the span anyway. He’s now eighth in the majors with a .302 average and 17th with an .868 OPS. His mediocre exit velocity numbers don’t really back those figures up, but he’s been a big find for a player who was passed over in the Rule 5 draft before being acquired from the Yankees.