MLB Player News

Alexander will start Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks as the opener, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Jakob Junis hasn't had much success lately (7.13 ERA in his last five appearances), so manager Gabe Kapler will throw the lefty Alexander in front of Junis and give Arizona a couple different looks early. Alexander has been excellent since joining the major-league team in San Francisco (1.38 ERA, 0.77 WHIP), but he hasn't thrown more than 1.1 innings in an appearance.

Szapucki was removed from Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks with right hip tightness, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Szapucki tossed a couple scoreless innings behind starting pitcher Alex Cobb, needing just 20 pitches to record six outs. It seems he would have continued on if not for the hip injury. If this turns out to be more than a day-to-day issue, Szapucki will finish the campaign with a 9.00 ERA and 16:5 K:BB in nine big-league appearances (one start) between the Mets and Giants.

Jackson was recalled by the Dodgers on Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Jackson will be spending his third separate stint on the active roster in September alone. He was most recently demoted Tuesday but is needed again after Dustin May (back) landed on the injured list.

Colome returned from bereavement leave Saturday.

Colome had been away from his teammates since Sunday. He owns a 5.20 ERA and 1.64 WHIP on the season and hasn't picked up a single save in the second half, so he's unlikely to return to a particularly high-leverage role. Noah Davis was optioned to clear space for his return.

Moreta was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.

Moreta was called up by the Reds last week and allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six in 4.2 innings over three appearances during his time in the majors. However, he'll head back to Louisville after Graham Ashcraft (biceps) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list.

Gonzalez (elbow) returned to the mound with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, per MLB.com.

Gonzalez was temporarily shut down from throwing earlier in the month due to fatigue, but he's since returned to pitching with the Dodgers' Triple-A club. The left-hander has made two appearances this week, allowing two hits and striking out two batters over two scoreless innings. Gonzalez has yet to pitch with the big-league club in 2022, so it's uncertain whether he will be able to ramp up in time to get back to the majors before the end of the regular season.

Bruihl was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Los Angeles needed to make room on the big-league roster for the returning Brusdar Graterol, and Bruihl was consequently sent down. The latter had been busy prior to the move, pitching four of the previous five days and allowing one run over 3.1 innings during that span. Bruihl has posted a 3.80 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 24 major-league outings this season, and he figures to be among the first options should the Dodgers need to call up a bullpen arm over the final stretch of the regular season.

Young (1-1) earned the win Friday by retiring the only batter he faced.

Young got the last out of the eighth inning in a 5-5 game, and the Giants pulled ahead in the top of the ninth to put him in line for the win. The southpaw has endured a rough September, allowing five runs (two earned) across 8.2 innings while adding two holds. He has a 2.53 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 17:10 K:BB through 21.1 innings between the Giants and the Guardians this year while adding five holds and a blown save.

Bickford pitched 1.1 innings against St. Louis on Friday, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and no walks while striking out two batters.

Bickford had his name etched into the history books when he became the fourth pitcher even to serve up career homer No. 700 to an opposing batter, as Albert Pujols tagged him for a three-run shot in the fourth inning. That was one of two homers Bickford gave up in the outing -- Lars Nootbaar got to him for a much less memorable two-run shot in the fifth frame. The long ball has been a problem for Bickford this season, as he has now served up 12 in 61 innings of work. The righty reliever entered Friday having yielded just one run over his previous 12.2 innings, so he'll look to move past this hiccup and get back on track as he vies for a spot on the NLDS roster.

Bard (6-4) struck out two and walked one across two scoreless innings to earn the win Friday against the Padres.

Bard entered the game with the score knotted at two in the ninth inning, and he stayed in the game to pitch a scoreless 10th frame. He's turned in 10 consecutive scoreless appearances, during which he's maintained a 12:3 K:BB while racking up six saves and three wins. Bard now has a 1.88 ERA and 0.99 WHIP for the season.