MLB Player News

The Rays reinstated Littell (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list Sunday, and he's scheduled to start Monday against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The right-hander landed on the shelf due to shoulder soreness after his last start Aug. 14 against Houston, but he's ready to rejoin the Rays as MLB rosters expand to 28 players Sunday. Littell will look to pick up where he left off, as he has a 1.19 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB in 22.2 innings across his past four starts.

Bradford came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 3-2 win over the A's, giving up two runs on four hits over seven innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The southpaw reeled off his fourth straight quality start on 97 pitches (68 strikes), but Bradford left the mound with the score tied 2-2 before Leody Taveras walked it off with a single in the bottom of the ninth. Bradford posted an impressive 3.12 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 33:5 K:BB through 34.2 innings in August, but he had just one win to show for his efforts. The Rangers expect to get Jacob deGrom (elbow) and Tyler Mahle (shoulder) back in September, and potentially even Max Scherzer (shoulder) too, but it's hard to imagine Bradford moving back to the bullpen given his current form. He lines up to make his next start at home next weekend against the Angels.

Estes came away with a no-decision in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers, giving up two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.

The right-hander was stingy once again as he produced his seventh quality start of the year, although he left the mound with the score tied 2-2 in a game during which the A's never held the lead. Estes has allowed two runs or less in eight of his last nine starts, a stretch in which he's posted a 2.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 39:9 K:BB over 50 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which lines up to come at home next week against the Mariners.

Pivetta (5-10) took the loss Saturday, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings, as the Red Sox were downed 2-1 by the Tigers. He struck out six.

The right-hander kept Boston in the game with his eighth quality start of the season, but Pivetta was matched up against AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal and came out on the losing end. Most encouragingly, Pivetta didn't serve up a homer after being taken deep 10 times over his five prior outings, a stretch in which he'd stumbled to a 7.50 ERA. He'll look to stay on track in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home next weekend against the woeful White Sox.

Boyd (1-1) took the loss Saturday as the Guardians fell 3-0 to the Pirates, allowing one run on four hits over six innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The veteran southpaw put together his best performance in four starts since joining the Cleveland rotation, but the team's offense gave him no support. Boyd fired 59 of 90 pitches for strikes in his second straight quality start, and he'll carry a 2.38 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 20:5 K:BB through 22.2 innings into his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend against the Dodgers.

Skubal (16-4) allowed one run on four hits over eight innings to pick up the win Saturday against the Red Sox. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

Skubal was masterful once again, with his only blemish a solo home run by Tyler O'Neill in the first inning. The lefty was on cruise control from there, and he wrapped up his career-high eight innings on 98 pitches, lowering his season ERA to a sparkling 2.51. This was the seventh time this year that Skubal didn't walk anyone in a start, allowing him to trim his BB/9 to an outstanding 1.8. Detroit's ace became the first pitcher in the majors this season to reach 200 strikeouts with 201 in 168.1 innings, making him the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award heading into September. Skubal is penciled in to make his next outing Friday against the Athletics on the road, and he will look to keep building on his success in the favorable matchup.

Ragans (10-9) took the loss against Houston on Saturday, allowing five runs on four hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters over five-plus innings.

Ragans left his previous start Monday against Cleveland due to calf/hamstring cramping, but he didn't seem to be impacted at all by the issue Saturday. While the left-hander gave up five runs for the first time since late June, only one of the hits against him (a triple) went for extra bases. In fact, at one point early in the contest Ragans struck out eight straight batters, and he didn't allow his first hit until the fourth frame. Ragans' undoing was the sixth inning, when he struggled with his control -- in addition to allowing three hits, he also walked a batter, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch, and he didn't notch any outs before he was pulled. Aside from that frame, Ragans was dominant, and he notched his third double-digit strikeout performance of the season while tallying an impressive 22 whiffs.

Kikuchi (7-9) earned the win over Kansas City on Saturday, allowing one run on five hits and no walks while striking out 12 batters over seven innings.

Kikuchi racked up 20 swinging strikes on his way to a season-high 12 punchouts, falling just one K shy of his career-high mark. The southpaw kept the Royals off the board for six frames before allowing a run on a pair of singles and a fielder's choice in the seventh, but he was able to get through that frame with no additional damage to complete seven innings for the first time since July 9. The Astros' trade for Kikuchi at the deadline didn't generate much buzz, but the hurler has been excellent since joining Houston, posting a 2.57 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 47:10 K:BB over six starts covering 35 frames.

Matthews (1-2) took the loss against Toronto on Saturday, allowing nine runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out five batters over two innings.

Matthews came into the contest with an impressive 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through three big-league starts, but those numbers rose astronomically as a result of Saturday's disastrous outing. The rookie right-hander gave up seven runs in the first inning and two more in the second, and three of the 10 hits against him left the yard. Matthews was mercifully relieved when the third inning came around, and he departed having thrown a whopping 69 pitches in two frames -- more than Toronto starter Jose Berrios tossed across six scoreless innings. If there's any bright side, it's that Matthews managed 12 whiffs and five punchouts in the short start, but that's not much consolation for fantasy managers who roster Matthews and had their ratios for the week blown up as a result of his poor start.

Berrios (14-9) earned the win over Minnesota on Saturday, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out five batters over six scoreless innings.

The Blue Jays gave Berrios a seven-run lead after half an inning, and the right-hander capitalized by cruising through his outing. He needed only 63 pitches to complete six frames and would have probably gone longer under normal circumstances, but the right-hander mentioned after the game that he was dealing with a fever and said that taking the mound "was a challenge," per the Associated Press. Given his ability to pitch through the illness Saturday, there doesn't seem to be any concern about the issue affecting Berrios' next start. He'll look to extend a five-game quality-start streak in what lines up to be a matchup in Atlanta next weekend.