MLB Player News

Alzolay (hamstring) threw a light bullpen session Wednesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Alzolay has continued to participate in light activities since he landed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain Saturday, and he was able to slightly increase his throwing intensity by playing long toss and doing some mound work Wednesday. Right-hander Adrian Sampson will take his place in the rotation Wednesday against the Reds, but manager David Ross is hopeful that Alzolay will be able to return after a minimum stay on the injured list.

The Cubs are expected to call up Thompson from Triple-A Iowa to start Saturday's game against the Royals, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Though he has worked out of the bullpen in all but one of his 27 appearances with the Cubs this season, Thompson has been pitching exclusively as a starter since being optioned to Iowa in late July. He built up to 62 pitches in his most recent start for Iowa on Sunday, spinning 4.1 no-hit innings while striking out seven. Expect the Cubs to cap Thompson around 70-to-80 pitches in Saturday's start, assuming he does in fact get the call back to the big leagues. So long as Thompson doesn't completely implode in that outing, he could have a spot in the Chicago rotation for the rest of the season as the rebuilding club auditions the 26-year-old for a full-time starting role in 2022.

Leone earned the save Tuesday against the Mets after striking out the only batter he faced.

Leone had the task of recording the final out of the game after Jarlin Garcia retired two batters and allowed a hit in the top of the ninth. The right-hander struck out Kevin Pillar on three pitches and earned his first save of the season as a result, though he's only gone 1-for-3 in save opportunities. He also has 10 holds while posting an excellent 1.72 ERA across 31.1 innings, so he should continue to see high-leverage work even if he's not going to have many save chances going forward.

Green struck out one in a perfect seventh inning during the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Yankees, recording his fifth save of the season.

The right-hander got the call to protect a 2-0 lead and breezed through the top of Boston's batting order on 14 pitches (nine strikes). Green has picked up saves in consecutive appearances as he works in a closer committee with Jonathan Loaisiga and others while Aroldis Chapman (elbow) is on the shelf, but he'll return to his setup role once Chapman is back, perhaps before the end of the week.

Hearn (2-4) allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out two across five innings, taking the loss against the Mariners on Tuesday.

Hearn surrendered a run apiece in the third and fifth frames, which was enough to lose the game. The 26-year-old continues to be saddled with a lack of run support; however, he has a 1.82 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in 29.2 innings since June 30. On the season, he carries a 3.97 ERA and 1.32 WHIP with 65 punchouts in 65.2 innings. He may remain a regular part of the rotation if he can keep his recent numbers up.

Sewald pitched a scoreless ninth inning during which he allowed a hit and recorded a strikeout to earn the save in the win over the Rangers on Tuesday.

Sewald entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead and secured his fifth save in his first appearance since being reinstated from the paternity list. The 31-year-old is a part of Seattle's closer-by-committee approach. He was afforded the ninth-inning opportunity while Diego Castillo, who is 1-for-3 in save chances since joining Seattle at the deadline, was called on in the eighth. For the season, Sewald now has a 2.77 ERA in 39 innings and is 5-for-7 in save opportunities.

Lopez (2-0) earned the win over Oakland on Tuesday, pitching five scoreless innings during which he allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four.

The right-hander gave up only one hit in the outing -- a Matt Chapman single in the second inning that was immediately wiped out by a double play. He was held out from going deeper into the contest because he is still building up his pitch count, but Lopez nonetheless lasted long enough to pick up his second win of the campaign. He has looked dominant since returning to the rotation to fill in for the injured Carlos Rodon (shoulder), pitching a total of eight scoreless frames in which he has given up just two hits while striking out eight. Lopez could get another start this weekend at Tampa Bay.

Brentz earned the save against the Astros on Tuesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning during which he allowed two walks and struck out two batters.

Brentz recorded his first career save Aug. 5, but despite his lack of high-leverage experience the Royals elected to bring him in to preserve a two-run, ninth-inning lead against baseball's top scoring team. He didn't make things easy for himself -- the southpaw threw only nine of 20 pitches for strikes and issued two free passes -- but he survived the wildness to notch the save. Brentz has been one of Kansas City's best relievers this season, posting a 3.21 ERA and 10.6 K/BB while collecting 12 holds despite a troublesome 5.7 BB/9. He appears to be near the top of the list for save chances among the team's closer committee.

Hader fired a scoreless ninth inning, working around a walk while striking out two to record the save in a win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Hader entered in the ninth inning with a two-run lead and allowed a one-out walk to Yadier Molina, but retired the other three batters to finish the game. The 27-year-old has a 1.70 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with an elite 15.7 K/9 in 42.1 innings. In August, he has four scoreless innings and nine punchouts in four appearances.

Strahm (0-1) allowed one run on four hits with one strikeout through 1.1 innings, taking the loss in Tuesday's 7-3 defeat to Colorado.

Strahm served as the opener for the Padres' bullpen game Tuesday and never found his groove at Coors Field. He needed 44 pitches to get four outs and worked himself into three consecutive 3-2 counts to start the game. The run he conceded came on a Charlie Blackmon groundout that scored Connor Joe. As this was just a spot start, the left-hander will likely settle back into a role in the bullpen.