MLB Player News

Rodon (13-5) allowed one hit and two walks while striking out four over five scoreless innings to earn the win over the Reds on Wednesday.

Rodon was making his first start since Sept. 20, when he threw just three innings and 69 pitches before departing with shoulder discomfort. Though his results Wednesday were solid enough, the lefty's velocity was down noticeably, making it difficult to feel optimistic about his prospects heading into the postseason. Moreover, Rodon hasn't pitched more than five innings over his last eight outings, so the White Sox are unlikely to count on him to be a workhorse in the playoffs.

Garcia (11-8) suffered the loss against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, allowing six runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out six across five innings.

Garcia wasn't helped by his defense, as a two-out error during the second inning led to three unearned runs. However, the right-hander wasn't blame-free in contributing to his own demise, as he gave up a pair of long balls and four total extra-base hits. Garcia did manage to extend his streak of lasting five innings or more to 10 starts, and he has yielded a strong 2.96 ERA and 1.24 WHIP over that stretch. He finishes the campaign with a 3.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 173:52 K:BB across 160.1 innings.

Rasmussen (4-1) earned the win over Houston on Wednesday, hurling five scoreless innings during which he allowed one hit and no walks while striking out two.

In perhaps the most impressive outing of his young career, Rasmussen held the Astros without a baserunner for 4.1 frames before Yuli Gurriel broke through with a single. Rasmussen completed the inning without surrendering any damage on the scoreboard, allowing him to notch his third win in his past four starts. Each of those victories has come in five-inning efforts, and the Rays were unwilling to let the right-hander go any deeper Wednesday despite his dominance and the fact that he threw only 54 pitches. The 26-year-old may have worked his way into Tampa Bay's playoff rotation with his strong campaign. He finishes 2021 with a 2.84 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 73:25 K:BB across 76 innings.

Junk allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks with five strikeouts through 4.1 innings, taking a no-decision in Wednesday's 7-2 win over the Rangers.

Junk entered play with as many strikeouts as home runs allowed (five of each) on the season. He flipped that ratio in his favor Wednesday night, striking out a career-high five batters while keeping the ball in the ballpark for all 4.1 of his innings. While he has had trouble with the homer in his three previous starts, his K:BB of 10:2 is pretty solid for a young pitcher. He'll take what he can from this cup of coffee in the majors and vie for a roster spot next season.

Eovaldi (11-9) pitched six shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out seven to earn the win Wednesday over Baltimore.

The right-hander bounced back from a nightmarish start against the Yankees last Friday, keeping runs off the board for the fifth time in 32 starts this year. Eovaldi's strong performance bolsters Boston's hopes of a wild-card spot. He's pitched to a 3.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 195:35 K:BB in 182.1 innings overall. Eovaldi is not expected to make another start in the regular season, but he could be a starting option if Boston is forced to play a tiebreaking Game 163.

Mize (7-9) took the loss Wednesday against Minnesota, giving up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts over four innings.

Things got off to a rough start for Mize, who gave up singles to Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton, a three-run homer to Jorge Polanco, and another single to Josh Donaldson before registering an out. Mize allowed just one hit over the rest of his outing but was lifted after completing four frames. The 24-year-old right-hander finished his first MLB season with a 3.71 ERA and 118:41 K:BB across 150.1 innings.

Whitlock (pectoral) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

If Whitlock checks out fine following the bullpen session, he could be activated from the 10-day injured list as soon as Saturday, provided the Red Sox are still in the mix for one of the American League's two wild-card spots. The 25-year-old rookie right-hander has been Boston's most valuable reliever in terms of WAR (1.5) this season, posting a 1.99 ERA and 1.12 WHIP while collecting 15 holds, eight wins and two saves over 72.1 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Taillon will undergo further testing on his right ankle when the club returns to New York this weekend before a timeline for the pitcher's recovery established, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

While Boone noted that Taillon was feeling "better than expected" after aggravating a right ankle tendon injury in Tuesday's start against the Blue Jays, the skipper was unwilling to speculate whether the right-hander would pitch again in 2021. Considering Taillon missed just under three weeks the first time he succumbed to the injury, he would seem to be at major risk of missing the entire ALDS, should the Yankees clinch a wild-card spot and win in the wild-card game. Taillon had been lined up to start Sunday's regular-season finale against the Rays, but the Yankees' plans for that contest are now unclear.

The Yankees optioned Heaney to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Wednesday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

After being moved out of the rotation in late August, Heaney didn't notice dramatically better results while working out of the bullpen. In seven relief appearances spanning 9.2 innings, Heaney served up 11 runs on 18 hits and one walk while striking out 10. He had gone unused since Sept. 18 and wasn't expected to factor back into the bullpen mix the rest of the way while the Yankees look to secure a wild-card berth.

The Royals placed Singer on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with right upper arm inflammation, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Kansas City has little on the line with five games left in the season, so it makes sense for the club to shut down Singer, who exited his outing Tuesday against Cleveland with the injury. Follow-up scans cleared Singer of any structural damage to his arm, so he'll seemingly be in store for a normal offseason once the soreness and discomfort subsides. He'll conclude his second big-league campaign with a 5-10 record, 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 131:53 K:BB in 128.1 innings over 27 starts.