MLB Player News

The Red Sox selected Fitts' contract from Triple-A Worcester, and he's scheduled to start Sunday against the White Sox, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old was acquired from the Yankees in the Alex Verdugo trade over the winter and is now making his MLB debut. Fitts has a 4.17 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 111:37 K:BB across 116.2 innings this season, and he couldn't ask for a softer introduction to the big leagues while going up against the 32-111 White Sox.

Walker picked up the save over the Padres on Saturday, allowing one hit over a scoreless ninth inning.

Walker took the mound with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth and surrendered a leadoff double to Fernando Tatis on the first pitch before retiring the next three batters in order to end the game and secure his sixth save of the campaign. The right-handed reliever has converted each of his six save opportunities this season and still hasn't allowed an earned run since July 27 against Colorado. Since the start of August, he's gone 2-0 with six saves while posting a 29:3 K:BB over 16 innings.

The Rays recalled Alexander from Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

The left-hander was optioned to Durham on Thursday but will quickly return to the big leagues with Jeffrey Springs (elbow) headed to the injured list. Alexander has a 5.66 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 19 appearances (seven starts) for the Rays this season, and he could work as a starter or bulk reliever down the stretch in place of Springs.

Junis came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 4-0 loss to the Mets, allowing one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out five.

The veteran right-hander was locked in a pitchers' duel with Jose Quintana, but the Reds bullpen fell apart as soon as Junis exited the game. His 73 pitches and five innings both represented high marks this season, and Junis has been exceptional in his swingman role lately, posting a 1.23 ERA, 0.50 WHIP and 17:1 K:BB in 22 innings over his last nine appearances (two starts) since Aug. 7. Junis will look for his first win since July 28 in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come on the road next week in St. Louis.

Santos (biceps) started his rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma against Albuquerque on Friday, firing a scoreless eighth inning during which he allowed a hit and a walk.

Santos got some good work in during his first game action since July 31, throwing 15 pitches during his one frame. The right-hander may need only a couple more setback-free outings before being deemed ready for activation and potentially assisting the Mariners' bullpen down the final stretch of the regular season.

McFarland (2-2) took the loss and a blown save against the Tigers on Saturday, allowing two unearned runs on a hit and a walk over one-third of an inning.

McFarland authored a messy start to a seventh-inning stint that started with the Athletics up 1-0, allowing a single and a walk to two of the first three batters he faced. Both would eventually come around to score, although McFarland was on the mound only for the first run, and a throwing error by Zack Gelof on the leadoff hit also kept both runs unearned. McFarland had last qualified for a decision -- a victory in that instance -- back on Aug. 7, and he still holds a 1.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over the 14 innings he's pitched in the second half of the season.

Yates earned a save against the Angels on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.

Yates had little trouble closing the door in the ninth frame, preserving a two-run lead with a 1-2-3 inning on just 12 pitches. The right-hander picked up his third save over the past four days and is now an outstanding 28-for-29 in save conversions on the season. Yates has been dominant in his first campaign as Texas' closer, posting a 1.32 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 79:24 K:BB over 54.2 innings.

Jansen (lat) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.

Jansen was dealing with a lat injury that made him unavailable to pitch Friday, two days after a four-run meltdown versus the Mets. He wasn't heavily tested in Saturday's contest, as he required just seven pitches (six strikes) to retire the side for his 26th save in 30 chances this season. Jansen is at a 3.62 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:18 K:BB through 49.2 innings, though he had allowed seven runs over 4.2 innings across his previous six appearances before his clean outing Saturday.

Bivens will start Sunday's game against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bivens will be making his second MLB start, with each of his last 13 appearances with San Francisco coming out of the bullpen after he tossed five innings and allowed one run in a no-decision during his start against the Dodgers on June 30. Despite being deployed in relief lately, Bivens should be relatively stretched out after he tossed four innings and 54 pitches in his most recent appearance in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. Landen Roupp and Tristan Beck are candidates to piggyback or work multiple innings behind Bivens if the right-hander isn't able to offer the Giants as much length in a starting role as expected.

Chapman (5-5) took the loss and blew the save against the Nationals in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two batters over two-thirds of an inning.

Chapman entered in the ninth frame after Pittsburgh scored twice to take a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. The veteran fireballer retired two of the first three batters he faced but then allowed back-to-back singles followed by back-to-back doubles as Washington plated four runs. Before Saturday, Chapman had converted both of his save opportunities since David Bednar was moved out of the closer role, but Saturday's blow-up may allow Dennis Santana -- who picked up a save Monday and has fired 12 straight scoreless outings -- to get additional ninth-inning looks.