MLB Player News

Cease (5-3) allowed three runs on seven walks over three hitless innings in a loss to the Reds on Sunday. He struck out five.

Cease was effectively wild through three innings, but the effectiveness vanished in the fourth. He walked the bases loaded to begin that frame before being pulled, and Ross Detwiler allowed all three inherited runners to score. Cease walked five in his previous outing, and manager Rick Renteria told Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that the team will try "to get to the bottom of what corrections need to be made." Cease is expected to make another start to attempt to get things fixed, likely Friday against the Cubs.

Means (2-3) allowed one run on three hits and no walks while striking out 12 over 5.2 innings as he earned the win Sunday against the Rays.

Means has been incredibly consistent over his last three starts, and he was rewarded with his second win of the season Sunday. The southpaw had failed to record more than five strikeouts in any of his starts in 2020, but he whiffed 12 batters in his dominant performance against the Rays. Means now has a 5.02 ERA and 33:6 K:BB over 37.1 innings this season. He'll attempt to finish the regular season on a high note on the road Saturday against the Blue Jays.

Boyd (2-7) allowed five earned runs on five hits across five innings to take the loss Sunday against Cleveland. He walked one and struck out three.

Boyd was unable to duplicate the success from his most recent start, when he tossed 5.2 scoreless innings, and instead reverted back to the poor form he's shown for much of the season. The lefty allowed a two-run home run to Jose Ramirez, and he's now given up 14 long balls in just 54.1 innings. Boyd will carry an unsightly 6.96 ERA into his next outing, which is scheduled for Saturday against the Royals.

Cole's next start has been pushed to Tuesday against Toronto, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Cole was originally on schedule to pitch Monday, but he'll get an extra day of rest as the Yankees set up their playoff rotation. He'll presumably be on the mound for New York's first game of the postseason.

Montas will start Tuesday's game against the Dodgers, John Hickey of SI.com reports.

The 27-year-old was reinstated from the paternity list Friday and will rejoin the rotation in the series opener against the Dodgers. Montas has a 5.86 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 44:20 K:BB through 43 innings and will have a tough matchup against a Los Angeles offense that leads the league in homers (100) and total runs (309).

Keuchel, returning from a back injury, said he felt rusty during his return to the rotation Saturday against the Reds, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The results were good for Keuchel, who shut out the Reds for four innings, but the left-hander said the quality of pitches weren't there and referred to the outing as "one of the luckiest starts I've had." Keuchel started for the first time in 13 days, so the rust is to be expected. He'll get one more tuneup Thursday at Cleveland before the playoffs begin.

Keuchel didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Reds, allowing four hits and three walks over four scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

While the veteran southpaw didn't last long enough to qualify for his seventh win of the year, it was otherwise a very successful return from the IL. Keuchel fired 42 of 75 pitches for strikes while lowering his ERA to 2.04, and he'll get one more turn through the rotation Thursday in Cleveland to get stretched out a little more before the playoffs.

Montas, who was reinstated from the paternity list Friday, is slated to draw his next start in the three-game series against the Dodgers that begins Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

Montas was placed on the paternity list Monday, a day after suffering his fourth loss of the season against the Rangers. The right-hander is trying to right the ship before the postseason, but in the Dodgers, he'll draw about the toughest assignment this side of the Yankees with which to attempt do that. More details on exactly which day Montas will take the hill should be available in the coming days.

Ryu (4-2) took the loss Saturday at Philadelphia after giving up two runs on six hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out six.

The veteran left-hander was charged with his first loss since July 30, as Toronto's offense managed only two hits for the game. Ryu has a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 68:15 K:BB over 60 innings and lines up for his final start of the regular season Thursday against the Yankees.

Morton (2-2) earned the win over Baltimore on Saturday, hurling five innings and allowing one run on five hits and two walks while striking out six.

For just the second time since returning from the injured list on Sept. 2, Morton was able to make it through five innings, yielding a single run to pick up his first victory since Aug. 4. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of his performance was his final pitch count of 94, which bodes well for the veteran's ability to throw without limitations in the postseason. Between a shoulder injury that cost him nearly three weeks and an uncharacteristic 4.64 ERA, the 2020 campaign has been mostly disappointing for Morton, but he could provide a significant boost to the Rays' rotation if he's able to peak heading into the playoffs. He'll have one more regular-season tuneup, currently scheduled for Friday at home versus Philadelphia.