MLB Player News

Eovaldi will start Game 1 of the World Series on Friday versus the Diamondbacks, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

He'll be facing off against Zac Gallen, who was announced as Arizona's Game 1 starter Wednesday afternoon. Eovaldi has been tremendous so far this postseason, boasting a 4-0 record, 2.42 ERA and 28:4 K:BB through four starts covering 26 innings. He's worked at least six innings each time out.

Valdez took the loss in Sunday's 9-2 defeat to the Rangers in Game 6 of the ALCS, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out six.

Valdez fared better in this outing given that he could not make it out of the third inning in his last start, but it still was not enough for him to avoid his third loss in a row. The bulk of the damage came off a changeup he hung in the zone to Jonah Heim that was scraped over the wall for a two-run shot. Valdez's struggles this postseason are surprising compared to his robust 3.45 ERA across 198 innings in the regular season, although it may be that such a large workload has caused him to tire out at the finish line. On the other hand, he managed to keep his strikeouts in line with his average 6.5 per start, hinting at his upside if he can limit his mistakes. Valdez has pitched to a 9.00 ERA and 2.08 WHIP with 17 strikeouts across 12 innings this postseason.

Eovaldi allowed two runs on five hits and three walks over 6.1 innings, earning the win in Sunday's 9-2 victory over the Astros in Game 6 of the ALCS. He struck out four.

Eovaldi has been lights-out in the postseason, as he has now pitched his fourth quality start in four games, earning the win each time he has taken the mound. The right-hander appeared to be on the ropes early, allowing an RBI single to Yordan Alvarez in the first inning, but he managed to settle in and limit the damage to earn the eighth win of his postseason career. Eovaldi has pitched to an excellent 2.42 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 28 strikeouts across 26 innings in October.

Valdez will start Sunday in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Valdez was rocked for five runs -- four earned -- over just 2.2 innings in taking a loss in Game 2, so he'll be looking for better results Sunday on an extra day of rest. Nathan Eovaldi is lined up to start Game 6 for the Rangers.

Brown allowed two hits across three scoreless innings in Thursday's 10-3 victory over the Rangers in Game 3 of the ALCS. He struck out two.

Brown was tasked with covering the bulk of the innings after Jose Urquidy lasted only 2.1 innings as the starter. He faced pressure in the fifth inning with two runners on, but he managed to be rescued by his defense when Corey Seager lined out and Marcus Semien was tagged out on the basepaths to end the inning. Brown has pitched to a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with four strikeouts across five innings out of the bullpen this postseason.

Dunning took the loss in Thursday's 10-3 defeat to the Astros, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks over 2.2 innings. He struck out four.

Dunning has had a rough time in the postseason so far, contrasting with his 3.70 ERA in over 172 innings during the regular season. The right-hander had a roller coaster outing with his command, nullifying his strikeout gains by allowing too many free passes. He was replaced by Cody Bradford in the fourth inning after Dunning had loaded the bases, and Bradford promptly served up a sac fly and a home run to pin three runs onto Dunning's line. He now has a 7.71 ERA and 1.93 WHIP across 4.2 innings this postseason with five strikeouts.

Montgomery will start Game 5 of the ALCS on Friday against Houston, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Montgomery shut down the Astros in Game 1, throwing 6.1 scoreless innings while striking out six batters and walking one en route to a victory. Aside from a shaky outing against Baltimore in the ALDS, Montgomery has been solid in the postseason with an overall 2.08 ERA through 17.1 frames.

Verlander will start Game 5 of the ALCS on Friday at Texas, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

An easy call here for Astros manager Dusty Baker. Verlander took the loss in Game 1 of the ALCS on Sunday at Houston, but that was mostly due to a lack of run support. The veteran right-hander has allowed only two runs while tallying 11 strikeouts through 12.2 innings (two starts) this postseason.

Urquidy will start Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

After coming into the postseason with the expectation of working out of the bullpen, Urquidy was granted a start against the Twins in Game 4 of the ALDS and gave up two runs over 5.2 innings. He'll now take the mound for another Game 4 and look to keep quiet a Rangers offense that has slashed .202/.269/.364 through the first three games of the ALCS.

Heaney will start Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday against the Astros, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

Heaney turned in 3.2 innings of one-run ball during his first postseason appearance against Baltimore, and he's now set up to face an Astros lineup that has been relatively quiet through the first three games of the series. Heaney faced the Astros four times during the regular season, giving up six runs across 19.2 innings while striking out 16 batters and walking 11.