MLB Player News

Chapman (4-2) picked up the win Friday, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning in a 2-1 victory over the Marlins.

The veteran closer needed 11 pitches (nine strikes) to dispatch the bottom of Miami's order in the top of the ninth inning, setting him up for the win when Trevor Story walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. Chapman hasn't been charged with a run since July 23, and since the beginning of June he sports a dominant 0.38 ERA, 0.46 WHIP and 35:5 K:BB over 23.2 innings while collecting one win, three holds and 13 saves in 14 chances.

Dingler went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Friday's 7-0 win over the Twins.

Dingler chipped in as part of a 10-hit Detroit attack that led to the easy win. The catcher has slowed down a bit in August with a .205 batting average and .680 OPS, though he has at least mustered two home runs and seven RBI in 13 games. Overall, Dingler is batting .272 with a .746 OPS, and he remains the team's clear top backstop ahead of Jake Rogers.

Giolito didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 2-1 win over the Marlins, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk over 6.1 innings. He struck out five.

After issuing a season-worst six free passes in his last outing Aug. 9, Giolito regained his control and tossed 63 of 92 pitches for strikes en route to his 12th quality start of the season, and his third in his last four trips to the mound. The right-hander has turned his season around after a rough beginning to his Boston tenure -- he held a 6.42 ERA on June 4, but in 12 starts since then he's delivered a 2.34 ERA, 1.07 WHIPP and 60:23 K:BB over 73 innings while going 7-1. Giolito will look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Yankee Stadium.

McCullers (finger) allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McCullers threw 80 pitches while averaging 91.9 mph with his fastball. Prior to the outing, general manager Dana Brown said the Astros would have to decide whether McCullers needed an additional rehab start before being activated. While no official decision has been made, McCullers looks to have checked a lot of boxes with his outing Friday night.

Maton (2-5) blew the save and took the loss Friday as the Rangers fell 6-5 to the Blue Jays, giving up one run on one hit and two walks in one inning of relief. He struck out two.

The closer role in Texas seems to be up for grabs. Robert Garcia entered the game in the seventh inning to protect a 3-0 lead and got only one out while serving up a two-run homer to Alejandro Kirk. Maton's performance was just as bad -- after Danny Coulombe gave up three straight singles to begin the bottom of the eighth in a 5-2 game, Maton walked in two runs before Kirk got to him as well for a game-winning, two-run single. Maton has taken losses and blown saves in back-to-back appearances, and over 7.1 innings in August since being traded to the Rangers he's managed a 7.36 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB. Garcia, meanwhile, has begun the month with a 12.60 ERA in five innings. Shawn Armstrong, who has a 0.75 ERA, 0.58 WHIP and 15:2 K:BB in 12 innings since the All-Star break, and Cole Winn, who hasn't allowed a run since rejoining the big-league roster July 21, may find themselves getting ninth-inning auditions.

Kirk went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 6-5 win over the Rangers.

With the Blue Jays down 3-0 in the seventh inning, Kirk got hold of a Robert Garcia changeup and drove it the other way for a two-run homer. After Texas struck back for two more runs in the top of the eighth, the backstop completed the comeback in the bottom of the frame with a two-run single off Phil Maton. The long ball was Kirk's eighth of the season and his first since June 19, snapping a 36-game drought, while the multi-RBI performance was his first since July 11. Despite those dry spells, he's still slashing .296/.355/.403 through 98 contests on the season with 52 RBI, 11 short of the career high he set in 2022. Friday's steal was also the first of his career.

Hoffman (8-4) was credited with the win Friday in a 6-5 victory over the Rangers, striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning.

The Blue Jays rallied for four runs in the bottom of the eighth to take their first lead of the game, but the official scorer elected to give Hoffman the win instead of the save after he cruised through the top of the ninth on 11 pitches (nine strikes). After a brutal five-walk performance against the Dodgers on Aug. 10 that came after a week-long layoff, Hoffman has been absolutely dominant, recording eight of his last nine outs via strikeout and allowing only one hit in three scoreless frames.

Bassitt didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 6-5 win over the Rangers, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings. He struck out four.

The veteran righty got only 57 of his 100 pitches over the plate as he tied his season high in free passes and walked multiple batters for the third straight start. Bassitt's control and command have slipped since the All-Star break, and he's stumbled to a 5.68 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 23:10 K:BB in 25.1 innings over his last five outings while serving up eight homers, including a Kyle Higashioka blast in the second inning Friday. He'll look to tighten things up in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in Pittsburgh.

Semien went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

Facing the club with which he produced a career-high 45 homers and 102 RBI back in 2021, Semien flashed his old Rogers Centre power by launching a Louis Varland slider over the left-center field wall in the eighth inning. The blast ended a 20-game homerless drought for the 34-year-old Semien, who won't come close to matching those numbers in 2025 -- over 122 contests, he's on pace for the lowest OPS of his career at .652, and he has just 14 homers and 59 RBI.

DeGrom came away with a no-decision in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays, scattering two hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The veteran right-hander didn't allow a runner to get past second base in a dominant effort, as he fired 59 of 84 pitches for strikes and left the mound with a 3-0 lead. It was a strong return to form for deGrom, who had been tagged for 13 runs in 17 innings over his prior three outings. He'll take a 2.76 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 148:30 K:BB through 140.1 innings on the season into his next start, which lines up to come on the road next week in Kansas City.