MLB Player News

Ashcraft (elbow) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.

Ashcraft opened a rehab assignment and is scheduled to pitch at least two more games for the Bats on Friday and Sunday, per MLB.com. The right-hander has been out of action since May 29, when he suffered a right UCL strain.

Alvarado allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Twins.

Alvarado has earned a save in three straight outings, including each of the past two days. Hogan Harris had looked to be pulling away with the closer job earlier in the month, and he'll likely remain in the mix for high-leverage work despite not being utilized Wednesday. However, Alvarado has the momentum, especially since he's given up just two runs over 11 innings in August. Alvarado is at a 4.09 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 53:20 K:BB through 44 innings this season, and he's added five saves, eight holds and one blown save.

Cannon allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings to earn the save in Wednesday's 10-4 win over the Rangers.

Cannon's second major-league save was of the three-inning variety in a game where the White Sox saw three pitchers each take three frames. Cannon was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday to replenish the team's bullpen after Huascar Brazoban (lat) landed on the injured list. Considering Cannon threw 66 pitches (44 strikes), he's likely to be down for a few days and may be optioned out for a fresh arm ahead of a three-game series in Minnesota, which begins Friday.

Kittredge allowed a hit and a walk with no strikeouts in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 8-7 win over the Cardinals.

The Orioles took the lead in the top of the ninth inning, and Kittredge was able to make it stick. He continues to work in a general high-leverage role, collecting three saves and three holds, as well as one blown save, over 9.1 innings in August. The veteran reliever has a 3.35 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 33:11 K:BB across 40.1 innings this season, notching seven saves, nine holds and four blown saves along the way.

Varland earned the save in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Royals, allowing two hits and no walks with one strikeout in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Varland worked through traffic in both of the innings he pitched, as he entered and escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the eighth and then allowed two hits in the ninth before securing the save. The 28-year-old righty has now converted 30 of his 31 save opportunities and hasn't surrendered an earned run in his past eight appearances.

Scott (1-5) took the loss Wednesday against Atlanta, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.

Scott entered the ninth inning of a tie game and retired the first two batters before Lane Thomas doubled to put the winning run in scoring position. Los Angeles elected to intentionally walk Austin Riley before Ha-Seong Kim ended the game with a walk-off RBI single. It marked Scott's second consecutive loss after he also surrendered the winning run Tuesday. Outside of those two appearances, he has allowed just two runs across 13.2 innings in the second half. Scott owns a 2.50 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 65:12 K:BB across 54 innings this season while recording 19 saves and 12 holds

Gordon (1-4) earned the win Wednesday, striking out five batters and allowing one earned run on six hits and no walks across seven innings against the Nationals.

Making his second straight turn through the rotation after a nearly month-long stint in the bullpen, Gordon delivered his best performance of the season for his first win. The 28-year-old fired a season-high seven frames after he was promoted back to being a starter last week after Colorado released Michael Lorenzen. Gordon now has a 2.68 ERA over 40.1 innings away from Coors Field this year, though his next start lines up to come at home versus Baltimore.

Fairbanks received injections to alleviate nerve irritation in his right hand after visiting a specialist Tuesday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Fairbanks will head to the Marlins' facility in Jupiter, Fla. to conduct his rehab after he landed on the injured list Tuesday for the second time this season due to nerve-related issues. He'll wait a few days for the injections to take effect before being re-evaluated, at which point he could be cleared to start throwing again. While Fairbanks is on the shelf, the Marlins will likely take a committee approach to the ninth inning, with Michael Petersen and Calvin Faucher representing two potential candidates to receive save chances.

Pagan gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his 17th save of the season in a 10-9 win over the Giants.

It looked like the veteran right-hander would get the afternoon off as the Reds headed into the ninth down 9-3, but a shocking seven-run rally created a save situation for Pagan, which he breezed through on 16 pitches (11 strikes). Pagan has been scored upon just once in his last 14 appearances, posting a 1.29 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 15:1 K:BB in 14 innings over that stretch while converting all 10 of his save opportunities and picking up three wins along the way.

Cruz was diagnosed with a partial tear in his right UCL on Wednesday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Cruz will seek out a second opinion following his initial diagnosis, but manager Aaron Boone noted that Tommy John surgery is on the table. Even if the right-hander manages to avoid going under the knife, he would likely still miss the remainder of the regular season. Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn are likely candidates to see an uptick in setup opportunities while Cruz is out.