MLB Player News

Houston recalled Bielak from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Bielak has worked as a fill-in starter at times this year for the Astros, but he'll return Thursday in a long-relief role. The 27-year-old right-hander carries a 3.74 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 59:33 K:BB through 74.2 major-league innings in 2023.

Hill is no longer lined up to make his next turn through the rotation this weekend in Milwaukee, as the Padres have instead named Pedro Avila their starter for Saturday's game against the Brewers, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The Padres haven't formally announced that Hill will be removed from the rotation, but the veteran southpaw will have at least one turn skipped after going 0-3 with a 9.53 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in three starts since being acquired from the Pirates on Aug. 1. Hill should be available out of the bullpen this weekend and could even piggyback Avila on Saturday. Whether Hill will rejoin the rotation or continue working out of the bullpen next week will likely hinge on how Avila fares in Milwaukee.

Brito will serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Michael King in Thursday's game against the Nationals, Seth Rothman of YES Network reports.

King has maxed out at 3.2 innings over his 41 appearances this season and will be pitching on three days rest, so he's unlikely to work deep into the game before turning things over to Brito, who is expected to be tasked with covering multiple frames in relief. Though Brito's innings count will likely be capped more coming out of the bullpen than if he were operating as a traditional starter, he should have a better chance at factoring into the decision while he works in bulk relief.

Civale came away with a no-decision Wednesday in the Rays' 6-5 extra-inning win over the Rockies, giving up three runs on four hits over five-plus innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.

It was Civale's most dominant performance since joining Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, as he generated an eye-popping 35 called or swinging strikes on only 80 pitches. Despite that effort, he was in line for his fourth loss of the year after putting the first two batters aboard in the top of the sixth inning and watching both come around to score after he'd left the mound, but a late rally by the Rays got the right-hander off the hook. Civale has a 3.54 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 20:2 K:BB through 20.1 innings in August, and he'll look to keep rolling in his next start, which is likely to come early next week in Miami.

Woodford (shoulder) yielded just one hit while striking out six over five scoreless frames in a rehab start with Double-A Springfield on Wednesday.

The right-hander needed just 56 pitches to cruise through his five innings in what could be his final rehab appearance before rejoining the Cardinals. With the rotation needs St. Louis has right now, Woodford would seem to be a good bet to be used as a starter down the stretch. He's been out since late June with a right shoulder strain.

Gomber came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Rays, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out four.

The southpaw exited the game after 82 pitches (54 strikes) in line for his career-high 10th win of the season, but the Rockies bullpen imploded late. The quality start was Gomber's fifth in eight trips to the mound since the All-Star break, a stretch in which he's posted a 3.69 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB through 46.1 innings. He figures to be an extremely risky play in his next outing, which is likely to come at home in Coors Field early next week against Atlanta.

Whitlock allowed two hits and a walk while striking out one over two scoreless innings in Wednesday's 7-5 extra-inning win over Houston.

Whitlock had traffic on the bases in each of his two innings but was able to work around it. That included a nifty sliding catch of Alex Bregman's popup in foul territory. The play was officially ruled batter interference, because Bregman impeded catcher Connor Wong's ability to make the play. The game also featured Boston closer Kenley Jansen leaving due to a hamstring issue. Pending the severity of injury, Whitlock, a trusted setup arm, could be used for save opportunities.

Maeda did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings against the Brewers while striking out six.

Maeda struggled out of the gate, allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning while also hitting Mark Canha with a pitch. The right-hander was much more effective over the next four innings, however, allowing only a solo homer to William Contreras in the third before hurling 1-2-3 innings in both the fourth and fifth frames. Maeda has pitched well in August to the tune of a 3.43 ERA and 23:4 K:BB, and he's now recorded at least six strikeouts in eight of his last nine outings. He has, however, failed to make it through six innings in each of his last two starts after opening the month with back-to-back quality starts.

Burnes did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk over six innings in a victory over the Twins. He struck out five.

Burnes didn't have his best stuff Wednesday, allowing back-to-back singles to open the contest before going on to surrender three home runs on the day, the most he's allowed in a start since May 22. It was the right-hander's third time this season allowing at least six earned runs, and he's now given up at least five runs in two of his last three starts. Burnes holds a 4.74 ERA through four August starts after pitching to a 1.85 ERA in July and is now winless over his last six outings.

Kershaw allowed one run on one hit while striking out four batters over two innings against Cleveland on Wednesday in a game that was suspended due to rain.

Kershaw seemed to have his stuff working early, racking up eight swinging strikes on 33 pitches and getting each of his final four outs via strikeout. He allowed a solo homer to Jose Ramirez in the first inning but held a 3-1 lead after two frames before the contest was halted and then suspended due to rain. Perhaps the short outing will be positive for Kershaw in the long run, as he's dealt with multiple injuries over the past few seasons and was making just this third start Wednesday since returning from an injury absence that lasted about six weeks. The Dodgers and Guardians will resume the suspended contest Thursday, but Kershaw obviously won't pitch in that contest and thus won't factor into the decision.