MLB Player News

Minter (3-6) earned the win Sunday against the Padres after recording the final out of the fifth inning.

Minter entered the game to face Trent Grisham and tamed him down with just two pitches -- that would be everything he'd need to claim his third win of the campaign. The left-hander hasn't pitched more than one inning in any of his last seven appearances but has looked impressive of late, and he's riding a streak of six straight scoreless outings. He owns a 3.24 ERA across 10 appearances (8.1 innings) this month.

Smith secured the save Sunday against the Padres after tossing a scoreless inning, walking three while also striking out the side.

It was far from a clean inning for the veteran reliever, who only tossed 14 of his 31 pitches for strikes, but he still found a way to limit the damage and shut the door while protecting a slim one-run lead. It wasn't easy, as Smith found himself with one out and the bases loaded, but he struck out both Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim to record his 35th save of the year. He has gone 35-for-41 on save chances this season but has nailed down his last three opportunities, and he has also given up just two earned runs across 10 appearances (10 innings) this month.

Kranick (2-3) earned the win Sunday versus Philadelphia with five shutout innings. He allowed four hits and three walks while striking out five.

The right-hander operated on thin margins, but he was able to preserve the one-run lead afforded by Cole Tucker's leadoff home run. Kranick hadn't kept runs off the board since his five perfect innings versus St. Louis on June 27. For the season, he's pitched to a 6.23 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 30:17 K:BB across 34.2 innings at the big-league level. He lines up for one more start next weekend versus Cincinnati.

Bard (7-8) allowed three earned runs on one hit and two walks while striking out two across two-thirds innings, taking the loss to the Giants on Sunday.

Bard entered the ninth inning in a tie game, but quickly surrendered the lead. He allowed two walks and a single before being relieved by Tyler Kinley. Kinley gave up a three-run homer to Brandon Crawford, which allowed the other two runners that Bard was responsible for to score. Bard broke his streak of seven straight appearances without allowing a run. He has a 5.40 ERA and 1.67 WHIP with 76 strikeouts in 61.2 innings this season.

Doval (5-1) fired a perfect eighth inning, striking out all three batters to earn the win over the Rockies on Sunday.

Doval entered the eighth inning in a tie game. He struck out the side to maintain the tie and the Giants scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to give him the win. The 23-year-old has a 3.52 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in 23 innings this season. Since rejoining the major-league club, he hasn't allowed any runs in 10.1 innings spanning 11 appearances.

Heuer (7-4) allowed two earned runs on one hit and three walks while striking out one across one inning, taking the loss to the Cardinals on Sunday.

Heuer entered the ninth inning in a tie game, and quickly gave the lead to St. Louis. Although two of the walks were intentional, it wasn't a good showing for the pitcher, who also had a wild pitch that allowed a run to score. The 24-year-old has a 3.25 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 17 punchouts in 27.2 innings with the Cubs this season.

Gallegos fired a scoreless ninth inning, walking two and striking out two to earn the save in the win over the Cubs on Sunday.

Gallegos entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead. He walked two straight batters to put the tying run on base with one out. However, he was able to retire the final two batters, ending with a strikeout by Ian Happ. The 29-year-old has 12 saves in his last 14 appearances dating back to Aug. 30. He has allowed just six runs in his past 22 innings, with four of them coming Sept. 5 against Milwaukee.

Cabrera (4-5) walked one batter while recording two outs to earn the win over the Cubs on Sunday.

Cabrera relieved Kodi Whitley with one out in the eighth inning. He walked Trayce Thompson, but then retired the other two batters. The Cardinals took the lead in the ninth inning to set up Cabrera for the win. The 24-year-old has a 3.56 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 76 strikeouts in 68.1 innings this season.

Alzolay pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three.

Keegan Thompson got the start but was limited to just three innings of work in his second game back from the injured list. That opened the middle innings up for Alzolay, and the righty looked good against a red-hot St. Louis lineup, notching his second straight scoreless appearance. Alzolay should continue to work in relief for the Cubs to close out the season, though he's an option for the rotation next year depending on what moves the organization makes in the offseason.

Thompson allowed one run across three innings and did not factor into the decision Sunday against the Cardinals. He gave up three hits and a walk while striking out seven.

A Paul Goldschmidt solo home run was the only damage against Thompson, but the Cubs still limited the righty to just 56 pitches even as he set a season high with the seven strikeouts in three innings. He threw only 40 pitches in his previous outing, which was his first start after missing a few weeks due to shoulder inflammation, so the organization is clearly just being cautious with nothing to play for. Thompson is currently slated to start the final game of the season next Sunday against the Cardinals and may see his pitch count inch upward, though he still likely won't work too deep into the contest.