MLB Player News

Skubal will pitch out of the bullpen following an opener Sunday against the Royals, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Each of Skubal's first seven MLB appearances have come as a starter, though his workload looks more like that of a multi-inning relief pitcher, as he's averaged less than four innings per appearance. He'll handle a handful of innings Sunday, but it will be Jordan Zimmermann on the hill to start the game.

Springs was optioned off the Red Sox's roster Friday.

Springs has spent most of the season on the big-league roster but has generally failed to impress, posting a 7.08 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP over 20.1 innings. His 28:5 K:BB suggests he possibly deserved quite a lot better, however, as does his .423 BABIP. Deserved or not, those are presumably his final numbers of the season with the campaign ending Sunday. Andrew Triggs (neck) returned from the injured list in a corresponding move.

McCullers won't throw more than four or five innings Saturday against Texas, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

The Astros had previously indicated that McCullers' start Saturday would be skipped in preparation for the playoffs, as they're locked into the sixth seed. Instead, they decided that making a short start would be the best way for him to prepare. He'll be lined up to start Game 3 of the first round.

McCullers is listed as the starting pitcher for Saturday's game against the Rangers despite previous indications that he wouldn't be starting, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The Astros are locked into the sixth seed regardless of how their final two games play out, so there isn't much upside to wasting some of McCullers' bullets here. Previous reports indicated the team would go with a bullpen game. It's possible McCullers will make just a brief appearance as a tuneup before turning things over to the pen, though the Astros haven't been specific about their intentions.

Blackburn was called up as the Athletics' 29th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Mariners.

Blackburn will start the second game of Saturday's twin bill, so his temporary promotion to the major-league roster comes as no surprise. He'll be making his 2020 debut during the penultimate game of the regular season after posting a 10.64 ERA and 2.09 WHIP over 11 innings in 2019.

Morton allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight over five innings in Friday's win against the Phillies. He didn't factor into the decision.

Morton sputtered in the third inning Friday as he gave up three runs, and he left the game with the Rays trailing. The team went on a late run to secure the win, but the production came too late to put Morton in line for the win. The right-hander posted a 4.74 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 38 innings during the regular season and should serve as a starter during the postseason.

Schmidt will start Sunday's game against the Marlins, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Schmidt was believed to be a candidate to start Sunday's regular-season finale, and the team officially named him the starter. He'll make his first major-league start as he competes for a spot on the roster if the Yankees make a run in the playoffs. In his first two major-league appearances in 2020, Schmidt allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out three over 2.1 innings.

Carrasco allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out eight across six innings in a no-decision against the Pirates on Friday.

Carrasco had a solid performance as his one slip-up was allowing a two-run homer to Gregory Polanco in the fourth inning. The 33-year-old struck out at least eight batters for the second straight start and was able to pitch himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth to keep the Indians in the game. Carrasco has rebounded tremendously in 2020 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 82:27 K:BB across 68 innings and is a big reason the Indians are considered serious contenders to win the World Series.

McCullers is not expected to start Saturday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers was lined up to pitch Saturday, but manager Dusty Baker told McTaggart that McCullers would start only if Houston hadn't clinched a postseason berth. As it turned out, the Astros clinched when the Dodgers beat the Angels late Friday night. McCullers could still get some innings this weekend, but it's Chase De Jong who is expected to start Saturday.

Heaney took a no-decision during Friday's loss to the Dodgers, surrendering five runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while striking out three across four innings.

Heaney was largely hurt by the long ball against a volatile Dodgers lineup, giving up a pair of home runs to Justin Turner and another blast to A.J. Pollock. It was a tough outing for the 29-year-old southpaw, who had compiled a 2.70 ERA over his last five starts coming into Friday's game. Heaney closes out the regular season campaign with a 4-4 record, 4.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.