MLB Player News

Valdez took the loss in Sunday's 9-2 defeat to the Rangers in Game 6 of the ALCS, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out six.

Valdez fared better in this outing given that he could not make it out of the third inning in his last start, but it still was not enough for him to avoid his third loss in a row. The bulk of the damage came off a changeup he hung in the zone to Jonah Heim that was scraped over the wall for a two-run shot. Valdez's struggles this postseason are surprising compared to his robust 3.45 ERA across 198 innings in the regular season, although it may be that such a large workload has caused him to tire out at the finish line. On the other hand, he managed to keep his strikeouts in line with his average 6.5 per start, hinting at his upside if he can limit his mistakes. Valdez has pitched to a 9.00 ERA and 2.08 WHIP with 17 strikeouts across 12 innings this postseason.

Eovaldi allowed two runs on five hits and three walks over 6.1 innings, earning the win in Sunday's 9-2 victory over the Astros in Game 6 of the ALCS. He struck out four.

Eovaldi has been lights-out in the postseason, as he has now pitched his fourth quality start in four games, earning the win each time he has taken the mound. The right-hander appeared to be on the ropes early, allowing an RBI single to Yordan Alvarez in the first inning, but he managed to settle in and limit the damage to earn the eighth win of his postseason career. Eovaldi has pitched to an excellent 2.42 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 28 strikeouts across 26 innings in October.

Lauer cleared waivers Friday and was sent outright to Triple-A Nashville, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Lauer struggled to get things going with the Brewers in 2023, accumulating a 6.56 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over 46.2 innings in 10 appearances. He reserves the right to elect free agency, but other teams will likely have to see signs of improvement before giving Lauer another shot in a big-league rotation.

Valdez will start Sunday in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Valdez was rocked for five runs -- four earned -- over just 2.2 innings in taking a loss in Game 2, so he'll be looking for better results Sunday on an extra day of rest. Nathan Eovaldi is lined up to start Game 6 for the Rangers.

Ashcraft (toe) was scheduled to begin physical therapy this week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Ashcraft underwent surgery in September to relieve a stress reaction in his big right toe. Physical therapy appears to be the first step in the recovery process, and he is expected to be 100 percent by the time spring training rolls around.

Brown allowed two hits across three scoreless innings in Thursday's 10-3 victory over the Rangers in Game 3 of the ALCS. He struck out two.

Brown was tasked with covering the bulk of the innings after Jose Urquidy lasted only 2.1 innings as the starter. He faced pressure in the fifth inning with two runners on, but he managed to be rescued by his defense when Corey Seager lined out and Marcus Semien was tagged out on the basepaths to end the inning. Brown has pitched to a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with four strikeouts across five innings out of the bullpen this postseason.

Dunning took the loss in Thursday's 10-3 defeat to the Astros, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks over 2.2 innings. He struck out four.

Dunning has had a rough time in the postseason so far, contrasting with his 3.70 ERA in over 172 innings during the regular season. The right-hander had a roller coaster outing with his command, nullifying his strikeout gains by allowing too many free passes. He was replaced by Cody Bradford in the fourth inning after Dunning had loaded the bases, and Bradford promptly served up a sac fly and a home run to pin three runs onto Dunning's line. He now has a 7.71 ERA and 1.93 WHIP across 4.2 innings this postseason with five strikeouts.

Pfaadt did not factor into the decision in Thursday's 2-1 victory over the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS, allowing two hits across 5.2 innings. He struck out nine.

Pfaadt put together his best start of the postseason by far, but the team's offense could not get anything going, leaving him waiting on his first win of the playoffs. The rookie right-hander's success came on the back of his fastball and sweeper, which both were racking up whiffs, allowing him to finish with 17 total swing-and-misses across 70 pitches. So far in the postseason, Pfaadt has pitched to a 2.21 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 15 strikeouts across 12.2 innings.

Suarez did not factor into the decision in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the NLCS, allowing three hits and one walk across 5.1 innings. He struck out seven.

Suarez reached a career-high strikeouts with his seven punchies as he kept his playoff success rolling Thursday. The southpaw had his command on point, as evidenced by a 39 percent called strikes+whiffs rate across all pitches, markedly higher than his 28.3 percent value he averaged across 125 regular-season innings. Suarez has allowed only one run so far this postseason, where he has pitched to a clean 0.64 ERA and 0.64 WHIP with 13 strikeouts across 14 innings.

Sanchez will start Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday against the Diamondbacks, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Taijuan Walker was the presumed starter for Game 4, but Sanchez will instead get the ball in a pivotal matchup. Sanchez pitched well during the regular season, maintaining a 3.44 ERA with a 20.2 K-BB% across 99.1 innings. He has yet to appear in a postseason contest during his career.