MLB Player News

Houser (7-6) allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts through five innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 6-4 defeat to the Twins.

This was a perplexing outing for Houser. Through three innings, the right-hander was working on a no-hitter. In the fourth, the Twins sent 10 men to the plate and scored four times, as Houser gave up three hits, three walks and hit a batter. The 28-year-old followed that clunker of an inning up with a three-pitch frame in the fifth, retiring Jorge Polanco, Josh Donaldson and Max Kepler on back-to-back-to-back offerings. Regardless of the oddities associated with this start, the five runs are a letdown, as Houser entered play having allowed just one earned run in his last 16.2 innings.

Valdez (9-4) earned the win Saturday against Texas, yielding two runs on three hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out seven.

It was the fourth consecutive quality start for Valdez, who limited the Rangers to a Nick Solak RBI groundout in the fourth inning and an Adolis Garcia solo home run in the sixth. The Garcia blast was the first long ball allowed by Valdez since July 18, ending a string of six straight outings in which he was able to keep the ball in the park. Valdez will take a 2.94 ERA and 1.27 WHIP into his next start, tentatively scheduled for next week at San Diego.

Small (finger) was activated off the 7-day injured list and started for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday, Sounds broadcaster Jeff Hem reports.

Small delivered two scoreless frames in his first start since July 6 after being on the injured list with a strained tendon in his left middle finger. The 24-year-old made one rehab appearance with the rookie-level affiliate Tuesday and is now back with Nashville to close out the Triple-A season. He has a 1.77 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 73:30 K:BB over 56 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this year.

Anderson (6-9) took the loss to the Royals on Saturday after allowing three runs on eight hits across seven innings, fanning six. He did not issue a walk.

Anderson might have been tagged with the loss in this one, but he extended his streak of strong appearances. He has given up three or fewer runs in each of his last 11 outings and has posted five quality starts during that span. The southpaw owns a 4.06 ERA on the season, but that figure drops to 3.38 since the All-Star break.

Lynch didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Mariners after allowing one run on seven hits and three walks while striking out four across 4.2 innings.

Lynch pitched on normal rest despite the fact that his start was moved up to Saturday, and he continued his series of strong performances of late. He has gone 4-1 with a 2.24 ERA across his last seven starts.

Montas (10-9) earned the win Saturday against the Yankees after tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while fanning six.

Montas secured his 10th win of the season in style, hurling seven scoreless frames against one of the best offenses in the American League -- and one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. While he's been inconsistent at times and went through a rough patch in June, where he posted a 5.28 ERA across five starts, he has turned things around of late and he's now given up one or fewer runs in three of his last four appearances, including tossing two straight scoreless outings. He has also fanned at least six in each of his last nine starts.

Cortes (2-2) was tagged with the loss Saturday against the Athletics after allowing three runs on four hits and three walks while fanning four across 5.1 innings.

Cortes was coming off two straight quality starts but was unable to extend the streak here, as the Athletics chased him out of the game with two outs left in the sixth after a single from Mark Canha. The left-hander has struggled to pitch deep into games, but he has been doing a good job so far and has given up three or fewer runs in six of his last seven appearances.

Quantrill didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Red Sox after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks while fanning six across seven innings.

Quantrill posted a second straight quality start, and the right-hander has been pitching extremely well of late. He has given up two or fewer earned runs in eight of his last nine outings while posting a 52:18 K:BB through 55 innings in that stretch.

Whitlock (6-2) earned the win Saturday against Cleveland after pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Whitlock was tasked with pitching the ninth in a tie game. He was efficient, needing just 14 pitches (10 strikes) to get the job done and earn his sixth win of the season. The right-hander has had some less-than-impressive efforts in two bullpen games this month, but he's been excellent most of the time and owns a stellar 1.57 ERA on the season. Plus, he has allowed just five earned runs across 25 innings (16 appearances) since the start of July.

Eovaldi didn't factor into the decision Saturday against Cleveland after tossing 5.1 innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits while fanning seven.

Eovaldi ended just two outs away from recording a quality start, but he limited the damage to just two second-inning runs -- including a solo shot from Franmil Reyes -- while fanning seven for the second straight outing. The veteran has struck out at least six while allowing two or fewer runs in each of his last four starts. He owns a 3.71 ERA through 150.1 innings on the year.