MLB Player News

Quintana will start the tie-breaking Game 163 on Monday against the Brewers, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

The Cubs and Brewers finished the 162-game schedule tied with the record of 95-67, so they'll have an additional game Monday at Wrigley Field to decide the winner of the NL Central. Quintana had a 2.17 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in six starts against Milwaukee this season, so it's unsurprising for him to get the call in the pivotal game.

Marquez will start Monday's game against the Dodgers, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

The Dodgers are countering with Walker Buehler, setting this up to be a battle of exciting young pitchers with the division crown on the line. Marquez has pitched well against the Dodgers this season, notching a 2.57 ERA with 22 strikeouts over three starts (21.0 innings).

Buehler will start Monday's game against the Rockies, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

The Dodgers will turn to the young righty with the division on the line Monday after opting to move him off his originally scheduled start. Buehler has made five starts against the Rockies this season, notching a 2.61 ERA with 33 strikeouts over 31 innings.

Alcantara (2-3) tossed seven innings and took the loss Sunday, yielding one run on four hits and two walks while striking out 10 in the loss to the Mets.

Alcantara turned in the best outing of his career Sunday, including a career-high 10 strikeouts. Unfortunately, Noah Syndergaard completely shut down the Miami offense, throwing a complete game shutout. The rookie righty ends the 2018 season with a 3.44 ERA across 34 innings, and he'll likely begin 2019 with a spot in the Marlins' rotation.

Syndergaard (13-4) fired a complete game shutout in Sunday's win over the Marlins, striking out six and allowing five hits.

Sunday's outing was a strong finish to the season, as Syndergaard ends the 2018 campaign with a 3.03 ERA and a 155:39 K:BB in 154.1 innings. Health concerns will linger through the upcoming 2019 draft season, but he continues to pitch at a very high level when he's healthy enough to take the ball every fifth day.

Marquez won't start Sunday's game against the Nationals with manager Bud Black clearing Tyler Anderson (shoulder) to take the hill, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.

Anderson's availability for the final week of the regular season looked to be in peril after he was scratched from his scheduled start Monday against the Phillies with shoulder soreness, but the southpaw eased concerns about his health by throwing a successful bullpen session Friday. Though the Rockies have punched their postseason ticket, the team enters Sunday in a tie with the Dodgers for the NL West lead, so Marquez could be called upon in relief at some point if Black decides to go all-in on the division title. Marquez probably wouldn't be asked to cover more than an inning or two since he worked seven scoreless frames just three days earlier.

Buehler will not start Sunday's game against the Giants, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Veteran left-hander Rich Hill will instead take the mound as the Dodgers enter the final day of the regular season tied for first place with the Rockies in the NL West. The Nationals' decision to bump Max Scherzer from starting against the Rockies on Sunday appears to have caused to change from the Dodgers. Buehler is the likely option to start Monday's potential tie-breaking Game 163 or Tuesday's wild-card matchup should the Dodgers be unable to secure an outright division title Sunday.

Hill will take the mound to start Sunday's regular-season finale at San Francisco, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The Dodgers made the announcement late Saturday night as they were mulling their options between Hill and Walker Buehler and the evolving playoff picture. The veteran left-hander was originally in line to start Friday until the team bumped him from the weekend, but he will now be called upon as they enter the final day of the regular season in a tie for first place with the Rockies in the NL West. Buehler is likely to get the call for a potential tie-breaking Game 163 Monday or wild-card matchup Tuesday if the Dodgers fail to secure the division title outright.

Miley didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Tigers, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk over three innings while striking out two.

The southpaw ended the regular season with a whimper, failing to last more than five innings in any of his final four starts, but he still posted a respectable 3.52 ERA through 23 innings in September. Should the Brewers overtake the Cubs on the final day for the NL Central crown or advance past the NL Wild Card Game, look for Miley to handle a rotation spot in the playoffs.

Matz didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 1-0 extra-innings win over the Marlins, scattering three hits and a walk over six scoreless innings while striking out eight.

The southpaw caught a case of Jacob deGrom Disease in his final start of 2018, as Matz pitched well enough to earn his sixth win of the season but got no help whatsoever from Mets hitters. He'll wrap up the year with a 3.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 152:58 K:BB in 154 innings while making a career-high 30 starts, numbers that should net him a big raise as he heads into arbitration for the first time.