MLB Player News

Rodriguez (17-6) gave up one run on five hits and one walk while striking out nine through six innings to take the loss against the Yankees on Monday.

Rodriguez had 14 swinging strikes and 25 called strikes in the quality start. It's been an impressive stretch for Rodriguez, having only allowed four runs in his last 32.1 innings. The 26-year-old has a 3.73 ERA with 177 strikeouts through 30 starts this season. Rodriguez is scheduled to make his next start Sunday against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Paxton (13-6) gave up four hits and three walks while striking out seven through 6.2 scoreless innings to take the win over the Red Sox on Monday.

Paxton cruised through the Red Sox with 12 swinging strikes and 17 called strikes. The left-hander has a 2.57 ERA with a .170 BAA in his last eight starts. Paxton has a 3.96 ERA with 175 strikeouts through 26 starts this season. He is scheduled to make his next start Saturday against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Luzardo won't be available to pitch until Wednesday against the Astros, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Luzardo was officially promoted to the big leagues Monday, though Oakland won't give him an opportunity to make his major-league debut until Wednesday at the earliest, considering he tossed 5.2 innings Friday for Triple-A Las Vegas. The prospect is expected to be used out of the bullpen during his stint in the majors, though he could draw the occasional start, per Rubin.

Luzardo was officially called up as expected Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The highly-rated pitching prospect seemed to have a good chance to break camp with the Athletics, but an ill-timed shoulder injury wound up keeping him off a mound until mid-June. He recorded strong numbers in seven starts for Triple-A Las Vegas, recording a 3.19 ERA in the hitters' paradise of the Pacific Coast League while striking out 26.0 percent of opposing hitters and walking just 6.1 percent. On talent alone, he has a case as already the Athletics' best starting pitcher, but the team's rotation is pitching well at the moment, so he'll reportedly be used as a multi-inning high-leverage relief weapon for now, limiting his fantasy upside.

McCullers (elbow) threw off the mound Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The session is McCullers' first off the mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in November. He'll only throw fastballs, but it still represents a significant milestone. He won't have time to return this season, but the fact that he's throwing several months before next season's spring training bodes well for his readiness for next year.

Montgomery (shoulder) is scheduled to make a rehab start Tuesday for Double-A Trenton in Game 1 of the affiliate's Eastern League Championship Series matchup with Bowie.

With the minor-league postseason soon drawing to a close, Montgomery could be making his final start on the farm before being reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Though Montgomery built up to three innings in his previous rehab outing Sept. 4, the Yankees may not be comfortable deploying him in a starting role if he rejoins the roster later this month. Instead, Montgomery is more likely to see usage as a multi-inning reliever as the Yankees look to manage his workload carefully as he returns from June 2018 Tommy John surgery.

Manager Bob Melvin told MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that Luzardo, who is expected to be called up from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Monday's series opener in Houston, would likely work out of the Oakland bullpen initially. "The way our starters have been pitching I don't feel the need to have [Luzardo] start a game," Melvin said.

Melvin acknowledged that while Luzardo is stretched out and ready to handle a starter's workload, the strong results the team has received lately from the likes of Sean Manaea, Homer Bailey and Chris Bassitt lessens the need for Oakland to break the 21-year-old into the rotation, which already includes six pitchers. While Luzardo would probably represent an upgrade over some of the back-end rotation options, Melvin believes the flame-throwing lefty can provide plenty of value out of the bullpen down the stretch, likely as a multi-inning reliever. Oakland has yet to find any consistently reliable relief arms beyond closer Liam Hendriks, so Luzardo could immediately get a look as a high-leverage, late-inning stopper in the mold of the Brewers' Josh Hader in 2018.

Cease allowed one run on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts across 3.1 innings during a no-decision against the Angels on Sunday.

This was one of the 23-year-old's best outings of the year in terms of preventing hits, but it was a short one, so he settled for the no-decision. Part of the reason it was short was because he tied his season high with five walks, but none of them came around to score. Cease is 3-7 with a 6.53 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 68 strikeouts in 62 innings this season. He will look to build off this outing at the Mariners in his next start Saturday.

Cole (16-5) allowed one run on one hit with no walks and 15 strikeouts across eight innings while earning a victory against the Mariners on Sunday.

With the offense scoring more than 20 runs, the Astros hardly needed a stellar outing from Cole, but they got it anyway, and he could have easily gone the distance, as he threw 96 pitches to get through eight frames. This was the fifth straight game where Cole posted at least 10 strikeouts, and his third consecutive outing with 13-plus punchouts. He's also won 12 straight decisions, as Cole hasn't lost since May 22. Cole, who will next start at the Royals on Friday, owns a 2.73 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 281 strikeouts in 184.1 innings this season.

Clevinger (11-2) allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over 6.1 innings Sunday, striking out seven and earning the win over Minnesota.

Clevinger coughed up a solo homer to Mitch Garver in the fourth inning and allowed another run in the seventh before he was removed from the contest. Still, it was another strong outing for the 6-foot-4 righty. He hasn't taken a loss since June 28 and owns a stellar 2.72 ERA. Clevinger will face the Twins again -- this time at home -- on Saturday.