MLB Player News

Diaz struck out a batter over a 1-2-3 ninth inning en route to collecting his 24th save of the season in Tuesday's 8-7 win over the Nationals, a game New York and Washington resumed Wednesday.

After blowing three consecutive saves from July 11 through 19 to put his job security into question, Diaz has righted the ship ever since. He's converted five consecutive saves with little stress, with the only runs he's allowed over the past three weeks coming in a game the Mets were already trailing 2-1 when he entered. Diaz needed only eight pitches to retire the side Wednesday.

Sandlin was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right shoulder Thursday, Tom Withers of the Associated Press reports.

Sandlin left Wednesday's game against the Athletics with what was originally called shoulder tightness. As it turns out, the issue is serious enough to sideline him for at least 10 days and potentially much more, as shoulder issues can be particularly worrisome for pitchers. Cleveland has yet to provide a timeline for his return. Alex Young was recalled in a corresponding move.

Los Angeles recalled White from Triple-A Oklahoma City ahead of his scheduled start Thursday in Philadelphia, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

White will be the first pitcher on the mound rather than follow an opener, which was previously reported as a possibility. White hasn't tossed more than four innings in the majors this season but has the capacity to pitch deeper into games, as he matched his season high with five innings in his most recent outing for Triple-A one week ago. Exactly how deep the Dodgers expect him to go in this outing is not yet clear.

Machado won't serve as an opener for first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Mets, as Sean Nolin has been announced as Washington's starting pitcher.

Washington intended to have Machado open the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Mets, but those plans were scrapped after the nightcap was postponed due to inclement weather. The two teams will conclude their series with a twin bill Thursday, but Machado looks like he'll work exclusively in a relief role. Nolin will get the starting nod for Game 1, and Erick Fedde is expected to start Game 2.

Nolin is listed as the Nationals' starting pitcher for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Mets.

Called up from Triple-A Rochester a day earlier to give Washington an extra arm out of the bullpen for the resumption of Tuesday's suspended contest, Nolin wasn't needed after Joe Ross (five innings) handled bulk-relief duties. Due to Thursday's twin bill, the Nationals will need to add a sixth starter to the mix temporarily, so Nolin will get the nod for what will mark his first MLB start since 2015. The 31-year-old lefty compiled a 3.80 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 52:15 K:BB across 47.1 innings at Rochester this season.

Hearn allowed one run on two hits, four walks and hit a batter while striking out three over four relief innings in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to Seattle.

In what was largely a positive outing for Hearn, the left-hander allowed the tying run to score in the sixth inning before finishing up with a 1-2-3 seventh. Hearn pitched in relief of starter Spencer Howard, whose innings have been capped since arriving from the Phillies at the trade deadline. Aside from walking too many batters, Hearn has pitched well in six outings since the All-Star break, posting a 1.96 ERA over 18.1 innings.

Pressly walked one and struck out two over a scoreless ninth inning in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Rockies.

Pressly, who hadn't pitched in four days, entered in a non-save situation and shut the door on Colorado. All three of his appearances since coming off the paternity list have been of the non-save variety. All three featured the combination of Ryne Stanek (seventh inning), Kendall Graveman (eighth) and Pressly (ninth). The once-beleaguered Astros bullpen has become boring of late, which is fine by manager Dusty Baker. That trio of relievers have combined to pitch 13.1 scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and 19 strikeouts since the trade deadline.

Lopez could start in place of Carlos Rodon (shoulder) the next turn through the rotation, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Lopez filled in Wednesday with Rodon placed on the injured list and expected to be sidelined beyond the 10-day minimum. If manager Tony La Russa sticks with Lopez, who pitched three scoreless innings Wednesday, the start is expected to come during the three-game series against Oakland that runs from Tuesday to Thursday next week.

Smith suffered a blown save against the Reds on Wednesday, pitching one inning and allowing two runs on one hit while striking out two.

The lefty hurler entered the game in the ninth inning with Atlanta staked to a two-run lead. He hit Nick Castellanos with a pitch with one out, and Joey Votto made him pay by subsequently launching a two-run, game-tying home run. The blown save was Smith's second in his past three outings, and over that span he has given up five earned runs over three frames while serving up a pair of long balls.

Sims (4-2) was charged with a loss and a blown save Wednesday against Atlanta.

In the top of the 11th inning, Cincinnati put up a run to take the lead. The team then turned the ball over to Sims in hope that the 27-year-old could close things out, but he instead served up a walkoff three-run homer to Ozzie Albies. The unsuccessful outing will likely hurt Sims' chances of leaping to the front of a closer committee that also includes Heath Hembree and Amir Garrett, and his 5.34 ERA and 1.38 WHIP on the season don't scream the numbers of a typical closer.