MLB Player News

Kikuchi (6-11) gave up two runs on six hits and no walks while striking out four through six innings to take the loss against the Astros on Wednesday.

Kikuchi allowed three hits and two runs in the first inning, but he settled down to fire five consecutive scoreless frames. It was a nice finish to an otherwise ugly stretch for the 28-year-old, as he had a 6.10 ERA in his previous 14 starts. Kikuchi finishes the season with a 5.46 ERA and 116 strikeouts through 161.2 innings.

Greinke (18-5) gave up two hits and one walk while striking out nine through 8.1 scoreless innings to record the win over the Mariners on Wednesday.

Greinke took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before allowing two singles to end his electric performance. Greinke was dominant in all areas, registering 20 swinging strikes without allowing a three-ball count until the fifth inning. Greinke finishes the regular season with a 2.93 ERA and 187 strikeouts in 208.2 innings.

German's period of administrative leave was extended through the end of the World Series by MLB and the MLBPA on Wednesday.

German had already been ruled out through the postseason by the Yankees, so Wednesday's announcement merely makes his restriction official. His status for 2020 remains up in the air as the league investigates the incident that led to German's alleged violation of the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy.

Whitley, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning of his 2019 Arizona Fall League debut, attributed a lot of his woes this season to trying to make some necessary mechanical adjustments that he hopes will ease the stress on his shoulder going forward, Jim Callis of MLB.com reports. "I'm getting a lot more comfortable with the newer delivery, throwing a lot more strikes as of late, bullpen [sessions] have been really solid lately," Whitley said.

He missed seven weeks with shoulder fatigue this year, which is what led to the mechanical tweaks that he says resulted in some growing pains that will be worth it in the long run. Whitley is working on maintaining a better posture in is upper body, and it is understandably not an overnight fix when adjusting a delivery that he has been using for the past seven years. He struck out six while allowing one hit and two walks in 4.2 innings for Peoria over the weekend. Whitley is simply too talented to struggle for much longer if his health cooperates. He won't make the big-league rotation out of spring training, but if his mechanical adjustments pay off, he could spend a good chunk of 2020 in the majors.

Dunn tossed two scoreless frames as Seattle's opening pitcher and didn't factor into the decision in Tuesday's 3-0 loss to the Astros. He gave up a base hit and struck out one in the 27-pitch outing.

After a rough big-league debut Sept. 12 in which he walked five batters and failed to escape the first inning, Dunn has now kept the opposition off the board in back-to-back turns as opener. The rookie is scheduled to make his final appearance as an opener Sunday against Oakland, likely working in front of primary pitcher Tommy Milone in the contest.

Luzardo fired a scoreless sixth inning in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday, allowing one hit and recording two strikeouts.

The southpaw got a fairly hefty workload in for just one frame, as he ultimately fired 20 pitches. Manager Bob Melvin has now deployed Luzardo for back-to-back one-inning appearances despite some earlier talk the Athletics would continue stretching the 21-year-old out. However, with the team fighting for a playoff berth, it appears Oakland's skipper is engaged in the delicate balancing act of affording the rookie fairly consistent work while also utilizing the rest of his bullpen in a manner that gives the team the highest chances of success.

Milone (4-10) allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks across 4.1 innings to take the loss against the Astros on Tuesday. He struck out three.

Milone acted in the primary pitcher role once again behind rookie Justin Dunn, who opened the game with two strong innings. The veteran left-hander has allowed a respectable 11 hits across 18 frames in four September multi-inning outings, but he's given up nine runs (eight earned) due to some timely knocks against him. Milone is scheduled to make his final bulk-relief appearance of the season in Sunday's game against the Athletics, according to Greg Johns of MLB.com.

Clevinger (13-3) picked up the win in Tuesday's 11-0 rout of the White Sox, giving up five hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out 10.

The right-hander has pitched like an ace in the second half as Cleveland tries to chase down a playoff spot, striking out double-digit batters in four of his last eight trips to the mound and posting an 11-1 record with a 1.88 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 125:25 K:BB through 96 innings since the All-Star break. Clevinger will get one more chance to pad his numbers, and potentially pitch his team into October, on the road Sunday against the Nationals.

Rodriguez (19-6) picked up the win in Tuesday's 12-10 victory over the Rangers, coughing up seven runs on 11 hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out six.

The southpaw needed 113 pitches (67 strikes) to record the minimum 15 outs required to quality for the win, but fortunately for Rodriguez, the Red Sox piled on all 12 of their runs in those first five frames. He'll take his shot at win No. 20 in the season finale, at home against the Orioles on Sunday.

Cole (19-5) picked up the win against the Mariners on Tuesday, giving up just two hits over seven scoreless innings, striking out 14 and walking none in the Astros' 3-0 victory.

Making his first start since reaching the 300-strikeout plateau, Cole racked up 14 more punchouts against an overmatched Mariners lineup to set the Astros' single-season franchise record for strikeouts in a season. Not much needs to be said about Cole's otherworldly dominance at this point, but the 29-year-old has been nothing short of phenomenal for Houston this season, posting a 2.52 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and a ridiculous 316:46 K:BB across 207.1 innings.