MLB Player News

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Gray is still currently scheduled to start Sunday versus the Marlins, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

It's possible Gray could be pushed back, though, depending on how he looks in his between-starts bullpen session. If that happens, the Nationals would go with a bullpen game Sunday. Gray went just two innings in his last start against the Blue Jays and has posted an 8.84 ERA and 18:17 K:BB across 19.1 frames in August. He'll already be on extra rest if he starts Sunday as part of the Nats' six-man rotation, but some additional time off might be in the offing.

Mariners manager Scott Servais said Wednesday that Kirby (illness) will slot back into the rotation during this weekend's series with the Mets, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

After falling ill, Kirby was scratched ahead of his scheduled start Tuesday, prompting the Mariners to turn to Luke Weaver as their lead pitcher in their eventual 3-1 loss to Oakland. The Mariners won't skip over Kirby's turn in the rotation entirely, as he'll be back on the bump in New York, assuming he's able to move past the illness heading into the weekend. Servais hasn't specified yet which of the three games versus the Mets that Kirby will start.

Brito (5-6) earned the win over the Tigers on Tuesday, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out three batters over 3.1 scoreless innings.

Michael King started the game for the Yankees and put up four scoreless innings. Brito followed and nearly replicated King's line with 3.1 scoreless frames of his own, benefitting from King not going deep enough to qualify for the win by nabbing it for himself. Brito has worked behind King in three of his four appearances since his latest elevation from the minors, giving up just two runs and posting a 10:2 K:BB over 10.2 innings in that role. Given that the rookie right-hander struggled in his lone start during that span, yielding seven runs (six earned) over 2.1 frames against the Red Sox on Aug. 18, it wouldn't be surprising if New York opts to continue what has been an effective King-Brito 1-2 punch moving forward.

Stroman (ribs) played some long toss Wednesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The loss-tossing work marks the first time Stroman has done any throwing since he was diagnosed with a right rib cage cartilage fracture two weeks ago. It's clearly a significant step forward for the right-hander, but he's working within a tight window to return to the Cubs' rotation before the end of the season. Stroman initially went on the 15-day injured list in early August with a hip issue.

Wright (shoulder) will move his rehab assignment from High-A Rome to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Wright made his first appearance at any level since May 3 this past Thursday with Rome, kicking off his rehab assignment with three scoreless innings while striking out four and allowing just one baserunner. He tossed 26 pitches in that outing and may be looking to push closer to the 40-to-45-pitch range Wednesday. Wright will presumably need at least one or two more rehab outings following Wednesday's start to get stretched back out for a traditional starter's workload before Atlanta is comfortable bringing him back from the 60-day injured list.

The Phillies will activate Suarez (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list to start Sunday's series finale in Milwaukee, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Barring any unexpected setbacks with his hamstring heading into the weekend, Suarez will return from the IL just a few days past the minimum 15 days. Suarez won't head out on a minor-league rehab start prior to being activated, but he threw live batting practice Monday and should be stretched out enough to handle something close to a typical starter's workload in what will be his first outing with the Phillies since Aug. 13.

Quintana came away with a no-decision in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Rangers, allowing three hits and three walks over six scoreless innings. He struck out five.

In a battle of veteran southpaws, Quintana and Andrew Heaney traded goose eggs before finally turning things over to the bullpens, with all the offense coming in the seventh inning and later. It was a strong bounce-back effort for Quintana, who had reeled off five straight quality starts before stumbling in Atlanta in his last outing. Since making his season debut after the All-Star break, the 34-year-old has a 3.26 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 35:20 K:BB through 47 innings, giving him streaming appeal heading into his next start, which is likely to come on the road next week against the Nationals.

Heaney came away with a no-decision Tuesday in the Rangers' 2-1 win over the Mets, allowing five hits and a walk over 5.1 scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

The veteran lefty held the opposition off the board for the third time in six August starts, wrapping up the month with a 2.39 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 31:7 K:BB through 26.1 innings, but Heaney's had to settle for no-decisions in four straight outings and has only one quality start during that stretch, as manager Bruce Bochy is reluctant to let the oft-injured 32-year-old work more than about 80 pitches. While that usage puts a cap on his fantasy value, Heaney's still on an impressive roll heading into his next trip to the mound, which is likely to come at home early next week against the Astros.

Berrios (9-10) took the loss Tuesday as the Blue Jays fell 5-4 to the Nationals, giving up five runs on six hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out two.

The right-hander essentially made only two mistakes, but they resulted in a two-run homer by Carter Kieboom in the second inning and a three-run blast by Keibert Ruiz in the fifth. Berrios has served up multiple homers in three of his last four starts, a worrying trend as Toronto tries to claw its way back into the playoff picture, and he stumbles into the final month of the season having posted a 5.53 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 23:6 K:BB through 27.2 innings in August. Berrios will look to get back on track in his next outing, likely to come early next week in Oakland.

Gore (7-10) picked up the win Tuesday, allowing one run on six hits and two walks over five innings in a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays. He struck out two.

The young southpaw got tagged for a solo homer by Davis Schneider but otherwise held Toronto's offense in check, tossing 69 of his 106 pitches for strikes. Homers continue to be an issue for Gore, who's served up 10 of them in eight starts and 42.2 innings since the All-Star break, but he still sports a respectable 4.01 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 39:16 K:BB over that stretch. He's next set to take the mound at home early next week against the Mets.