MLB Player News

The Nationals optioned Crowe to their alternate training site Wednesday.

Washington brought Crowe up from the alternate site to serve as its 29th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Phillies, but he wasn't needed out of the bullpen in either game. Unless the Nationals place another player on the injured list before their season finale Sunday, Crowe won't return to the big club and will finish the 2020 campaign with an 11.88 ERA and 2.64 WHIP over 8.1 innings.

Crochet struck out one over a scoreless eighth inning in Tuesday's 5-3 extra-inning loss to Cleveland.

The White Sox pre-planned Crochet's appearance in the eighth inning, suggesting the rookie will be part of the postseason roster. Facing the top of Cleveland's order, the left-hander threw 18 four-seam fastballs among his 19 pitches, 11 of which topped 100 mph. He's yet to allow a run or a walk in three innings.

Coonrod earned the save against Colorado on Tuesday, pitching a perfect ninth inning and striking out two.

Coonrod was called upon to protect a three-run lead and succeeded with ease, throwing 10 of his 12 pitches for strikes and punching out a pair. The right-hander has now struck out nine batters over his last six innings and appears to be a trusted ninth-inning option for a team without an established closer. His three saves this season rank second on the squad to the four collected by the injured Trevor Gott (elbow).

Rogers (2-4) earned the win Tuesday against the Tigers. He allowed one unearned run on two hits while fanning one across just one inning.

Rogers pitched the top of the 10th for the Twins and allowed the second-base runner to cross home plate on back-to-back one-out hits, but he bounced back to close the inning rather quickly. The offense backed him up with two runs in the bottom of the 10th, though, so Rogers ended as the winning pitcher in this extra-inning contest. Rogers has nine saves this season and should remain as Minnesota's primary closer heading into the playoffs.

Pivetta (1-0) earned the win Tuesday against the Orioles. He allowed one run on four hits and three walks while fanning eight across five innings.

Pivetta was recalled ahead of Tuesday's start and impressed in his debut with the Red Sox, fanning eight and looking dominant on the mound most of the time. The Red Sox want to check what they have in Pivetta, so he figures to be in line to pitch in the team's season finale Sunday against Atlanta.

Barnes picked up the save Tuesday against the Orioles after recording the final out of the game.

Dylan Covey got the ball in the ninth and held a five-run lead, but manager Ron Roenicke had to turn to Barnes after Covey loaded the bases with two outs. Barnes needed just three pitches to close the game out -- he induced a pop out in foul territory from Pedro Severino -- and that qualified as his ninth save of the campaign. Barnes should hold down the closer role in the final games of the 2020 regular season.

Akin (1-2) was tagged with the loss Tuesday against the Red Sox. He allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits while fanning six across four innings.

Akin has averaged 7.25 strikeouts per outing across his last four starts, something quite impressive considering he hasn't pitched more than 5.1 innings in any of those games. The ability to miss bats is clearly there and he is also getting results, as he has allowed more than three earned runs just once all year long.

Mayers earned the save against San Diego on Tuesday, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in which he gave up one hit and one walk while striking out two.

Mayers was brought in to protect a two-run lead with the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning and retired two of the three batters he faced to keep the Padres off the scoreboard. He then allowed a leadoff single in the ninth before inducing a double-play groundout and a strikeout to close out the win. It was the second straight multi-inning save for Mayers, who had been used primarily in a setup role prior to this week. He has not allowed a run in nearly a month and has posted a minuscule 0.35 ERA over his last 24 appearances covering 26 innings.

Lamet will start one of the games during Friday's doubleheader against the Giants, Bernie Wilson of The Associated Press reports.

The 28-year-old previously lined up to start Saturday's contest, but he'll be pushed up a day and make his final start of the regular season during the twin bill. The move better situates Lamet to start early in the playoffs for the Padres.

Alzolay allowed one run in four innings out of the bullpen in Tuesday's loss to the Pirates. He gave up two hits and two walks while striking out seven.

Jose Quintana (lat) returned from the injured list and pitched for the first time since Aug. 30, so the Cubs limited him to just two innings in his start, which opened up the middle innings for Alzolay. The 25-year-old looked good and set a new season high in strikeouts while lowering his ERA to 3.31 in the process. The Cubs don't seem to have an open rotation spot as they head into the postseason, but Alzolay could potentially have some value in a long-relief role.