MLB Player News

Estevez blew the save Tuesday against Baltimore. He allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out one over one inning.

Since starting the season 23-for-23 in save situations, Estevez has blown three of his last nine chances. While he still ranks in the top 10 in saves with 29, he's been rather unreliable as of late, owning a 9.00 ERA in 13 innings since the beginning of August. His struggles haven't resulted in any lost opportunities, but the Angels could look to give Jose Soriano or Aaron Loup some ninth-inning looks if Estevez doesn't round back into form.

Kowar (1-0) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the win Tuesday over the White Sox.

Kowar pitched the ninth inning with the Royals down by one, but they scraped together two runs to walk it off. This was Kowar's fifth scoreless effort across eight appearances since he was recalled from Triple-A Omaha on Aug. 17. The right-hander has a 5.91 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 23:15 K:BB over 21.1 innings in the majors this season while working almost exclusively as a reliever across all levels.

Stephan (6-6) allowed five runs on three hits and two walks while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Tuesday versus the Twins.

Stephan allowed the Twins to assemble a rally in the eighth inning after he was initially brought in to keep things tied at 3-3. The right-hander has taken losses in back-to-back appearances, though Tuesday's disaster outing was the first time he'd given up multiple runs since July 16. It inflated his ERA to 3.54 with a 1.28 WHIP and 68:22 K:BB through 61 innings this season. He's picked up 25 holds and two saves, but Stephan's shakiness early in September could see him bumped aside in favor of Reynaldo Lopez, Matt Moore or Enyel De Los Santos for primary setup duties.

Kinley pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

With two saves over three appearances in September, it appears Kinley has entered his name into the closer conversation for the Rockies. He's allowed just one walk over 2.1 innings this month while striking out two. The right-hander is at a 6.75 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB over eight innings for the season after recovering from June 2022 flexor tendon surgery. In addition to Kinley, Justin Lawrence is also in the mix for closing assignments.

Wood will serve as the Giants' starting pitcher for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Wood will be making his 12th start of the season Wednesday but his first since July 21, as his last nine appearances have come as a multi-inning reliever. In his most recent outing out of the bullpen, Wood tossed three scoreless innings and 70 pitches, so he should be able to give San Francisco a decent amount of length as he steps back into a starting role. Even so, the 32-year-old southpaw could still struggle to reach the five innings he would need to qualify for a win, and the Giants could look to deploy him in tandem with Sean Manaea, who hasn't pitched since last Thursday and is capable of covering multiple innings behind Wood.

Avila (1-2) allowed two hits and six walks while striking out one over 6.2 shutout innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Phillies.

Avila was far from dominant, but the Phillies weren't able to string together enough pressure to make the right-hander pay for his shaky command. He threw 91 pitches (50 strikes) in his longest outing of the season. Avila is now at a 2.19 ERA despite a 1.35 WHIP and 38:19 K:BB through 37 innings over 10 appearances (four starts) this season. He's tentatively lined up for a challenging road start versus the Dodgers next week.

Phillips did not factor into the decision Tuesday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks over 4.2 innings against the Mariners. He struck out seven.

The 22-year-old served up a two-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez in the first inning and a three-run blast to Julio Rodriguez in the fifth. Despite exiting the game with a 5-1 deficit, Phillips was able to avoid taking a loss in his big-league debut thanks to Cincinnati's late rally. It remains to be seen whether the right-handed rookie will draw another start for the Reds while 60 percent of their starting rotation is currently on the COVID-19 injured list.

Santos (2-2) blew the save and took the loss Tuesday against the Royals. He allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning.

Santos was unable to convert on Tuesday's save opportunity, marking his third straight blown save. While only one of the two ninth-inning runs was earned, Santos still allowed three baserunners and committed a balk with the bases loaded to give Kansas City the win. Over his last six appearances (5.1 frames), Santos owns a 10.13 ERA and a 6:3 K:BB.

Jansen (3-6) blew the save and took the loss Tuesday against the Rays. He allowed three runs (two earned) on one hit and one walk without recording an out in the 11th inning.

After Boston took a one-run lead in the top of the 11th inning, Jansen issued a walk to Yandy Diaz to start the bottom of the frame before Brandon Lowe launched a walk-off homer. It's Jansen's first blown save since May 13 -- he'd converted his previous 20 save chances while pitching to a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings since the All-Star break. Overall, the 35-year-old Jansen is now 29-for-33 in save opportunities this season with a 3.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 52:16 K:BB across 44.2 innings.

Pivetta will start Wednesday's game against the Rays, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

After picking up a three-inning save in his most recent relief appearance Saturday, Pivetta is now set to make his 12th start of the season. Over his 56.2 innings as a starter this season, Pivetta has turned in a 5.88 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 17.1 K-BB%, with all of those ratios representing stark downturns from what he's provided as a reliever. Since Pivetta hasn't tossed more than 40 pitches in an outing since Aug. 20, the Red Sox could look to deploy the right-hander as more of a tandem starter in front of Brandon Walter or another member of the bullpen.