MLB Player News

Perkins (2-9) took the loss Wednesday, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits and a walk over five innings as the A's fell 8-4 to the Rays. He struck out two.

A four-run fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run blast from Liam Hicks, put the game out of reach for the A's. Parkins has been tagged for five or more earned runs in three straight starts, and since the beginning of July he's been saddled with a horrific 9.39 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 32:15 K:BB in 30.2 innings while serving up 10 long balls. With the A's out of the playoff hunt, however, there's little incentive to replace the 26-year-old righty in the rotation, and instead he'll likely be allowed to try and work things out at the big-league level. Perkins is scheduled to make his next start on the road early next week in Kansas City.

Smith struck out three and allowed two hits over 1.1 innings to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Tigers.

Smith allowed Kevin McGonigle to score on a wild pitch in the eighth and then had runners on first and second with one out in the ninth before Brayan Rocchio made an excellent play at short to end the game. This comes a week after Smith's fifth blown save of the year against the Mets. The All-Star notched his first multi-inning save since June 18.

Gomez walked one and gave up a solo home run in the ninth inning Wednesday but still recorded his 17th save of the season in a 7-5 win over the Orioles.

Leody Taveras launched a first-pitch fastball into the right-field seats to open the top of the ninth, but Gomez was able to escape the frame with no further damage. The homer was the first the right-hander had served up since June 29, and since joining the Twins in early May, Gomez has delivered a 2.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 37:18 K:BB through 36 innings while converting all 16 of his save chances.

Varland retired both batters he faced in the ninth inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Red Sox.

Varland was summoned with two runners in scoring position and one out after Michael Waldron struggled to open the ninth inning, and the closer quickly slammed the door on just five pitches. Since blowing his first save of the season Thursday, the 28-year-old Varland has picked up a win and two saves over his past three appearances. On the season, he's now converted 26 of 27 save chances while posting a 1.30 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 76:17 K across 62.1 innings.

Whitlock was unavailable for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays due to elbow inflammation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Interim manager Chad Tracy said after the game that Whitlock has been dealing with a nagging elbow issue for a while. The 30-year-old right-hander is scheduled to undergo further evaluation Thursday, at which point the team may know whether he has to spend time on the injured list.

Hader turned in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Giants.

Hader has been nearly untouchable of late, turning in nine straight hitless appearances (9.2 innings), issuing just two walks while striking out nine in that span. Hader improved to a perfect 17-for-17 in save chances this season while lowering his ERA to 0.96 with a 0.71 WHIP and 38:10 K:BB across 28 innings.

Romano earned the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks, issuing one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

Romano has now converted six of his last seven save chances, allowing just one run over seven innings in that span. Since joining Colorado, Romano has posted a 3.09 ERA across 11.2 innings with a 1.54 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB.

The Dodgers recalled Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

The move corresponds with the Dodgers sending right-hander Seth Halvorsen down to Triple-A. Knack opened the 2026 season on the injured list while recovering from an intercostal strain but was reinstated right before the All-Star break. He's been deployed out of the Dodgers' bullpen in each of his two major-league outings and figures to operate in a long-relief role.

The Dodgers optioned Halvorsen to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Halvorsen was traded by the Rockies to the Dodgers on July 20 and made his debut with his new team Tuesday against the Royals, when he was credited with the win after issuing one walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He'll head down to Triple-A, but Halvorsen could see more big-league action over the next couple of weeks should the Dodgers require more right-handed depth out of the bullpen. Landon Knack was recalled by the Dodgers from Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

The Marlins have tentatively scheduled Bender (shin) to face hitters Friday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

After completing a 15-pitch bullpen session Friday, Bender took the mound again Tuesday and threw 25 pitches, per MLB.com. Assuming he feels fine physically coming out of the latter side session, Bender will take the next step forward by throwing against live hitters. The right-hander has been on the shelf since June 30 due to a right shin stress reaction and will likely need to complete a rehab assignment prior to being activated.