MLB Player News

Jackson was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

Jackson was called up Thursday but didn't appear in the series finale against the Cardinals. He'll return to Oklahoma City after Gavin Lux was recalled Friday.

Patino will start Sunday against the Tigers rather than Saturday as previously scheduled, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Shane McClanahan (back) was scheduled to take the ball Sunday, but with him moving to the injured list, Patino's start moves back a day as Chris Archer lines up to toe the rubber Saturday. Patino will be looking to bounce back from a shaky outing against the Twins in which he allowed four runs on six hits and three walks over 2.2 innings.

Coonrod is scheduled to serve as the Phillies' opening pitcher for Friday's game against the Rockies in Philadelphia.

For the second time in less than week, Coonrod will work as an opener for the Phillies. He covered 1.1 innings in his previous "start" against the Marlins on Sept. 5, striking out three while giving up one run on one hit and one walk. He's not expected to cover more than two innings Friday before the Phillies turn the game over to the bullpen.

Alexander will start in place of Matthew Boyd for Friday's game against Tampa Bay after Boyd was scratched for an undisclosed reason, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers had planned to skip Alexander in the rotation after using him out of the bullpen Tuesday, but he'll now get the start in the series opener with Boyd apparently dealing with some sort of issue. Alexander failed to work into the fifth inning in either of his two starts prior to his Tuesday relief appearance, so he could face an uphill battle in attempting to qualify for a win Friday.

Bickford (3-2) suffered the loss against St. Louis on Thursday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out one across one inning.

The right-hander's lone mistake was a 1-0 slider that Tyler O'Neill managed to loft just over the left-field wall for a solo homer. That was enough to cost Bickford the loss in a contest with minimal offense during which the teams combined for three total runs. The loss was Bickford's first since mid-July, and he has been solid out of the bullpen for the Dodgers this season, posting a 2.93 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 54:18 K:BB across 46 innings.

Jackson was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday.

The righty allowed three runs in five appearances during his most recent big-league stint, raising his ERA to 4.58 in 17.2 total innings this season. Jackson temporarily fills the bullpen spot of Jose Quintana, who was placed on the paternity list Friday.

Nance was recalled by the Cubs on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Nance made his big-league debut at age 30 this season and has thrown 21.1 innings at the highest level. His 5.06 ERA is poor, but his 26.1 percent strikeout rate and 54.7 percent groundball rate are both encouraging numbers. He'll fill the bullpen spot that had belonged to Adam Morgan, who was placed on the bereavement list.

Leone will be the first pitcher on the mound for what's expected to be a bullpen game Friday against the Cubs, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Leone made the first start of his eight-year career Sunday as part of a similar setup. He threw just a single inning in that game and has recorded more than three outs in just one of his 44 appearances this season, so don't expect him to throw much more than one frame Friday.

Smith allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out two in the ninth inning to blow the save against the Nationals on Thursday.

Lane Thomas tripled right away against Smith to open the inning, and the Nationals cashed in after a throwing error by Ozzie Albies as Albies tried to turn two. Smith has given up four runs in his last eight appearances, but his last blown save prior to Thursday was Aug. 11, and he's 31-for-36 in save situations with a 3.79 ERA this season.

Estevez allowed a run on two hits in the ninth inning of Thursday's game against the Phillies, but he escaped with the save. He struck out one batter.

Estevez was close to giving the game back after the Rockies took the lead against Phillies closer Ian Kennedy the prior half inning. He ultimately pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out situation with the lead still intact. Estevez has now given up at least one run in each of his last three appearances, but with only one blown save in that span and saves in three of his last four appearances, he's been getting the job done more often than not since Daniel Bard was removed from the closer picture.