-
Sonny Gray SP | BOS
Twins' Sonny Gray: Cleared for Thursday
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli confirmed that Gray (hamstring) will start Thursday's series finale against the Yankees, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Yankee Stadium was often a house of horrors for Gray during his time with New York in 2017 and 2018, but he won't be pushed off the road start against his former team after he checked out fine following his bullpen session Tuesday. Gray departed from his most recent start last Friday against the White Sox due to a tight right hamstring, but he shouldn't face any restrictions with his pitch count when he takes the mound Thursday.
-
Johan Oviedo SP | BOS
Pirates' Johan Oviedo: Gets ball for Game 2 of twin bill
Oviedo is scheduled to start the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Mets, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.
Though he'll be making his second straight turn through the Pittsburgh rotation, Oviedo may not be in line for a traditional start. In his Pittsburgh debut Sept. 2, Oviedo was lifted after 77 pitches and three innings, despite keeping the Blue Jays off the board while recording four strikeouts. If the Pirates decide to piggyback Oviedo with another pitcher, Tyler Beede or Zach Thompson would be the most logical candidates to follow him.
-
Cole Ragans RP | KC
Rangers' Cole Ragans: Activated prior to start
Ragans (calf) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's start against the Astros.
Ragans landed on the IL in late August due to a left calf strain, but his injury wasn't considered serious, and he'll rejoin the Rangers' rotation following a relatively brief absence. Over his first four major-league starts, the 24-year-old has posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 18.1 innings.
-
Reid Detmers SP | LAA
Angels' Reid Detmers: Pushed off weekend start
Detmers is scheduled to make his next start Monday in Cleveland, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.
The Angels had previously confirmed Detmers as their starting pitcher for Sunday's series finale in Houston, but the young southpaw will be bumped back a day in the schedule as a matter of maintenance in his first full season in the big leagues. Additionally, Detmers has already faced Houston three times this season, so the Angels may have wanted to spare him from another potential blowup after he surrendered four runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings his last time out against the Astros on Sept. 2.
-
Jake Odorizzi SP | TB
Braves' Jake Odorizzi: Completes side session
Odorizzi (arm) threw a bullpen session Wednesday and is tentatively in line to start Sunday's game in Seattle, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Before Atlanta locks Odorizzi in for a start this weekend, the coaching and training staffs will likely check in him with Thursday to see how he feels physically a day after the side session. Odorizzi hasn't pitched since Aug. 28 after he was scratched in advance of his previous start last weekend against the Marlins, when he experienced some arm fatigue.
-
Kris Bubic SP | LAD
Royals' Kris Bubic: Quality start in loss
Bubic (2-11) allowed three runs on six hits, a walk and a hit batter while striking out four over 6.1 innings to take the loss versus the Guardians on Tuesday.
Bubic turned in his second straight quality start, but it wasn't enough to outduel Shane Bieber. The defeated extended Bubic's losing streak to five starts, and he's gone eight outings since his last win, posting a 5.19 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over 43.1 innings in the longer span. For the season, the southpaw has similar numbers with a 5.40 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 88:54 K:BB through 111.2 innings through 24 outings (23 starts). Bubic is lined up for a road start versus the Twins next week, assuming he remains in the rotation over Max Castillo once Zack Greinke (forearm) returns from the injured list.
-
Shane Bieber SP | TOR
Guardians' Shane Bieber: Excellent in win over Royals
Bieber (9-8) allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven over eight innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Royals.
Bieber limited the damage to a Salvador Perez solo shot in the fourth inning. This matched Bieber's second-longest outing of the season, and he's now allowed one earned run in three of his last four starts. The Guardians' ace trimmed his ERA to 2.96 with a 1.06 WHIP and 171:34 K:BB through 167 innings over 26 starts this year. He's lined up for a road start this weekend against the Twins if Cleveland takes advantage of Thursday's off day to get by with a four-man rotation this week.
-
Michael Kopech SP | LAD
White Sox's Michael Kopech: Officially activated Wednesday
Kopech (knee) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's start against the Mariners.
Kopech dealt with a knee strain over the last few weeks but threw bullpen sessions Friday and Sunday and has officially been cleared to return following a minimal stay on the injured list. Because Kopech didn't get fully ramped up while he was on the shelf, acting manager Miguel Cairo said the right-hander will likely be limited to around 75-to-80 pitches or five innings in Wednesday's start, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Over his five starts prior to his absence, Kopech posted a 5.24 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 22.1 innings.
-
Louie Varland RP | TOR
Twins' Louie Varland: Called up as 29th man
Varland's contract was selected from Triple-A St. Paul to serve as the 29th man for Wednesday's doubleheader against the Yankees.
Varland will make his major-league debut as the starter during Wednesday's matinee against the Yankees after he posted a strong 1.69 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 21.1 innings over four starts at St. Paul over the last month. If his success translates to the major-league level, it's possible the 24-year-old will be able to secure a role with the Twins over the final month of the regular season.
-
Tyler Wells RP | TB
Orioles' Tyler Wells: Officially activated from IL
The Orioles activated Wells (oblique) from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Wednesday against the Blue Jays.
Wells will be making his surprise return to the big club Wednesday, despite having made just one rehab start at High-A Aberdeen following a five-week stay on the IL. When he was healthy earlier in the season, Wells was arguably the Orioles' top starting pitcher, as he turned in a 3.90 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 94.2 innings across his 20 outings. Because he tossed only 31 pitches in his lone rehab start, Wells could be capped at around three or four innings Wednesday, with Dean Kremer potentially piggybacking him out of the bullpen. Wells should gradually get stretched out over his subsequent starts and shouldn't face many workload restrictions by the second half of September.