MLB Player News

Darvish (8-9) took the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out seven.

The veteran right-hander didn't pitch poorly, but San Diego's hitters couldn't get anything going in an eventual 8-1 loss as Arizona used a bullpen day. Darvish remains winless in August, but his 3.60 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 21:4 K:BB through 25 innings on the month have been solid. He'll look for a better result in his next outing, likely to come next weekend in Milwaukee.

Waldron (0-2) took the loss in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Diamondbacks, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five.

Making his second career start in the majors, Waldron had trouble putting Arizona batters away when it mattered and got tagged for runs in the first, third and fifth innings, with the big blow being a two-run shot from Tommy Pham in the right-hander's final frame. Waldron's usage of a knuckleball makes him a bit of a novelty in the modern game, and he has yet to allow a hit on the pitch, but through his first 9.2 big-league innings he's surrendered a .923 SLG on his mediocre low-90s fastball.

Singer (8-9) took the loss Saturday, allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks over 3.2 innings against the Cubs. He struck out three.

Singer didn't have his best stuff Saturday, allowing runs in each of the first four innings before being relieved by Tucker Davidson. The 27-year-old right-hander lasted just 3.2 innings, marking his shortest outing since May 22, while he also failed to record at least four strikeouts for the first time in his last seven starts. Singer had logged three quality starts in a row prior to Saturday's loss, which marked his third time allowing multiple home runs in a game this season.

Kelly (10-5) picked up the win in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Padres, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out three.

The right-hander was far from sharp, serving up a pair of solo shots in the first inning to Ha-Seong Kim and Manny Machado and tossing only 56 strikes among his 102 pitches before exiting, but Kelly got enough run support to collect his first win since June 19. Ironically, this was his worst outing of the second half -- since returning from a calf injury in late July, he's posted a 2.88 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 36:12 K:BB through 34.1 innings. Kelly will look to keep rolling in his next start, likely to come at home next weekend against the Reds.

Williamson (4-3) took the loss Saturday, allowing four runs on nine hits and one walk over 5.2 innings against Toronto. He struck out six.

Williamson allowed nine hits to Toronto, eight of which were singles, including a string of three consecutive run-scoring base knocks in the fourth inning. The one extra-base hit surrendered by the 25-year-old was a fifth-inning solo homer by Davis Schneider, which gave the Blue Jays a 4-3 lead and proved to be the difference. After a challenging start to his rookie campaign, Williamson has pitched well since the start of July, posting a 3.38 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 47:15 K:BB across 48 innings. He lines up to face Arizona on the road next week.

Bassitt (12-6) earned the win Saturday, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk over six innings in a 4-3 victory over the Reds. He struck out six.

Bassitt threw 56 of his 79 pitches for strikes and kept Cincinnati guessing for the majority of his outing. The 34-year-old retired the first nine batters of the game, including a string of five consecutive strikeouts, before giving up a solo homer to TJ Friedl, followed by a walk and an Elly De La Cruz triple that turned into a Little League home run due to a throwing error. Bassitt went on to complete six frames to earn his 16th quality start and 12th win this season. In seven starts since the All-Star break, the veteran righty owns a 4-1 record with a 3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB across 42 innings. He tentatively lines up to face the Guardians at home next week.

Eovaldi (forearm) will throw to live hitters this week while the Rangers are in Arizona for a series against the Diamondbacks, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The report indicates Eovaldi has thrown three successful bullpen sessions, which includes the one he reportedly was scheduled to throw this weekend. Presumably, he experienced no issues in the third bullpen session, so the Rangers are moving him onto the next step, throwing to live batters. The Rangers will determine Eovaldi's next step once he completes his live batting practice session Monday or Tuesday.

Freeland (5-13) earned the win over the White Sox on Saturday, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out six batters over five innings.

Freeland needed 95 pitches to get through five frames, but he capitalized on a barrage of run support to pick up his first victory since May 14. The veteran struggled over 14 starts between victories, posting a 6.19 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 39:24 K:BB over 72.2 innings while going 0-9. Despite getting into the win column Saturday, Freeland allowed four runs for the third time in his past four outings.

Sandoval (6-10) took the loss against Tampa Bay in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing six runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out four batters over 4.2 innings.

Sandoval got through three scoreless frames before he yielded two runs on two hits in the fourth. Those were the only two earned runs he surrendered -- when the Rays put up four runs against him in the fifth, they were all unearned due to a two-out error by Jordyn Adams. Still, Sandoval can't be entirely absolved of blame since he gave up four consecutive hits (including two doubles) following Adams' miscue. This was the second straight disappointing outing for the lefty hurler, as he gave up five runs (four earned) over 2.2 frames in his previous start. Prior to the pair of poor performances, Sandoval appeared to be putting things together with a 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 27:14 :BB over 29 innings across a five-game stretch.

Eflin (13-7) earned the win in an 18-4 victory over the Angels in the second game of a twin bill Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four batters over six innings.

Neither team scored through three frames, but the Rays put six runs on the board between the fourth and fifth innings, and Eflin took advantage of the support. The right-hander allowed just one extra-base hit -- a Hunter Renfroe homer in the fifth frame -- and logged his 14th quality start of the campaign. He's won nine of those outings, helping to boost his season victory total to 13, tied for third-most in the majors. That's already a career high for Eflin, whose previous best win total was 11 with the Phillies in 2018.