MLB Player News

Tarnok is listed as the Athletics' probable starting pitcher for Tuesday's game in St. Louis.

The Athletics could end up changing course and deploy Tarnok behind an opener, but the 24-year-old right-hander at least appears to be locked into a rotation spot for the time being. After going 2.2 innings in his first career start July 26, Tarnok has worked in bulk relief in his last two appearances, covering 2.1 innings on Aug. 1 and four scoreless frames this past Wednesday. Tarnok tossed 69 pitches his last time out, and while he's still likely to have a workload restriction in place to some degree Tuesday, he should be stretched out enough to reach the five innings he would need to qualify for a win if used as a starter.

Smith (1-4) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit while striking out a batter in two-thirds of an inning Sunday against the Giants. He blew the save and took the loss.

Smith was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the 10th and nearly accomplished it after retiring the first two batters he faced. The lefty made a good pitch with an inside fastball to Patrick Bailey, but Bailey jumped on it and just cleared the fence in left field to give the Giants the win. Sunday was Smith's first blown save and loss since July 3 even though he's allowed runs in three of his last four outings. Aroldis Chapman has thrown six shutout innings while recording a 15:2 K:BB this month and could be making a case to get a look at the closer role if Smith's struggles continue.

Estevez struck out two during a 1-2-3 ninth inning Sunday to slam the door on the Astros and pick up his 25th save of the year.

Estevez locked down his second save of the week and needed just 12 pitches to send the Astros down in order. He struck out Grae Kessinger and Yainer Diaz before getting Jose Altuve to fly out to end the game. The 30-year-old seems to be getting back on track after some rough showings over the past few weeks. Estevez now holds a 3.42 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 58:27 K:BB in 47.1 innings.

Silseth (4-1) tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win over the Astros on Sunday. He allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out five.

Silseth continued his run of dominance since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on July 19. He's made four starts, all against teams currently over .500, and holds a 1.59 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 31:5 K:BB in 22.2 innings. The one negative is that manager Phil Nevin has allowed Silseth to throw more than 85 pitches just once over that span and therefore he's reached only six innings once. The Angels just returned Griffin Canning from the injured list Sunday, which congests the rotation; however, it seems safe to say Silseth's starting spot is secure for now given the season-long struggles for Tyler Anderson and the recent struggles for Reid Detmers.

Duran picked up the save Sunday against Philadelphia, working around a hit in a scoreless inning.

It's the third straight scoreless appearance for Duran after he allowed five earned runs over his previous three outings (2.1 innings). The 25-year-old right-hander is now 21-for-25 in save chances with a 2.76 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 61:18 K:BB across 45.2 innings this season.

Jansen picked up the save Sunday against the Tigers, working around a hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Jansen has now gone 29 appearances without blowing a save -- he's recorded 17 saves while working to a 2.36 ERA in that span (26.2 innings). The 35-year-old right-hander is now 27-for-30 in save opportunities with a 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 47:15 K:BB across 39.1 innings this season.

Vespi (1-0) retired the only batter he faced to earn the extra-inning win over the Mariners on Sunday.

Vespi kept the game tied at 3-3 after Mike Baumann allowed a tying home run to Dominic Canzone. The Orioles gained the lead in the top of the 10th inning, and Shintaro Fujinami logged a save to earn Vespi his first win of the season. Over 10.2 innings across seven appearances this year, Vespi has a 2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP And 7:2 K:BB. He'll likely continue to feature as a low-leverage left-hander for as long as he's in the major-league bullpen.

Fujinami struck out one without putting a runner on base in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-3 extra-inning win over the Mariners.

Fujinami uncorked a wild pitch in the outing, but it was his lone mistake. The right-hander has showed some talent since he was traded from Oakland, but he's also allowed seven runs (six earned) with a 12:8 K:BB over 10.1 innings across his 10 appearances in that span. Overall, he's posted a 7.99 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 63:38 K:BB with a save, four holds and a 5-8 record over 59.2 innings across 44 outings (seven starts) this year. Until he can display better command, Fujinami is likely to see only sporadic late-inning assignments in a bullpen as strong as Baltimore's.

Munoz (2-5) took the extra-inning loss against the Orioles on Saturday, allowing an unearned run on one hit over one inning. He struck out one.

Munoz got the call following nine masterful innings from starter George Kirby, but matters got challenging immediately when inning-opening runner Cedric Mullins swiped third and Ryan Mountcastle subsequently singled him home to lead off the 10th frame. Munoz retired Baltimore in order after that point, but the Mariners went down 1-2-3 on swinging strikes in the home half of the inning against the dominant Felix Bautista. The end result was Munoz's fourth straight losing decision dating back to July 8, but his first stumble in a month of August during which he's already compiled four saves while pitching to a 1.80 ERA and 9:2 K:BB across five innings over five appearances.

Erceg (2-3) took the loss against the Nationals on Saturday, allowing a walk-off solo home run to the only batter he faced.

Although Trevor May was available after last having pitched Wednesday, manager Mark Kotsay decided to entrust Erceg with preserving a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth. That decision quickly became regrettable, as Keibert Ruiz took the first pitch he saw from Erceg to lead off the inning and sent it 391 feet into the right-field stands for a game-winning home run. It was the second straight night the Nationals had gotten to Erceg, as he'd yielded a pair of earned runs over two-thirds of an inning Friday. It's been a rough August for the right-hander overall, as he's now given up nine runs (eight earned) over four innings across six appearances while posting a 3:4 K:BB.