MLB Player News

Sale (14-9) earned the win against the Phillies on Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out seven across six innings.

Both of the runs Sale gave up were to Alec Bohm, who hit an RBI double and a solo home run in the second and fourth innings, respectively. Those were the only blemishes to Sale's line Friday, with the veteran southpaw recording an eighth consecutive quality start -- recording at least six strikeouts in each of those outings -- and his 18 quality starts this season are tied for fifth most in the majors. Sale is showing no signs of slowing down in his age-37 season, as he ranks second in the National League in ERA (2.10), third in both wins (14) and WHIP (1.01) and fourth in strikeouts (184) across 150 innings. He's lined up to face the Rays at home next week.

Montgomery came away with the save in Friday's 1-0 win over the Angels, allowing one hit while striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

Friday's contest turned out to be a pitchers' duel between Jared Jones and Ryan Johnson, with Montgomery being called in for the ninth inning to protect Pittsburgh's one-run lead. He worked around a Mike Trout single to retire the side, finishing things off by getting Travis d'Arnaud to strike out looking. Montgomery has logged a save in back-to-back outings and is up to nine on the year with a 2.91 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 58.2 innings. He has not allowed an earned run since July 26.

Jones (3-6) earned the win against the Angels on Friday, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out nine across six scoreless innings.

It was Jones' best start since July 8 against Atlanta, when he struck out eight batters while not allowing a run, hit or walk across six frames. He struck out four consecutive batters both from the second to third innings and between the fifth and sixth frames, en route to tying a season high in punchouts. His Pirates teammates put up only one run, but that turned out to be enough for Jones to come away with his first win since July 18 against the Guardians. He'll take a 4.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over 78.2 innings into his next start, lined up for next week on the road against the White Sox.

Junk (6-9) took the loss against the Cubs on Friday, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts over five innings.

Junk allowed just one run in the second inning but was outdueled by Shota Imanaga. While he's exceeded five frames only once in 10 outings (one relief appearance) since the All-Star break, the 30-year-old Junk has limited opponents to two earned runs or fewer in nine of those contests. He'll carry a 4.00 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 74:29 K:BB across 108 innings this season into a home matchup with the Mets next week.

Imanaga (9-10) earned the win against the Marlins on Friday, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts over six innings.

Imanaga cruised through six scoreless innings and was charged with a run in the seventh after departing following a leadoff single. He filled the zone with 64 strikes on 94 pitches while generating a whopping 22 whiffs, including 17 with his splitter. It's been an up-and-down campaign for the 33-year-old, but he's posted a 3.35 ERA with five quality starts in nine outings since the All-Star break. He'll take a 3.91 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 152:35 K:BB across 156.1 innings this season into a road matchup with the Brewers next week.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-1 win over the Marlins.

Busch walked and came around to score in the sixth inning before adding a solo shot in the ninth. The 28-year-old has now homered in two of his past eight contests, though he's just 4-for-34 with 10 strikeouts in that span. On the year, he's slashing .236/.345/.391 with 18 homers, 69 RBI, 64 runs scored and two steals across 629 plate appearances.

McLean (11-8) earned the win against the Giants on Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over six innings.

McLean was given an early lead and ran with it despite issuing four walks and generating only seven swinging strikes on 105 pitches. The end result was the 25-year-old's fifth straight quality start, and he's now yielded two earned runs or fewer in 11 of his past 12 outings. He owns a 3.06 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 179:65 K:BB across 161.2 innings this season and lines up for a road matchup with the Marlins next week.

Wilkinson (0-3) took the loss against the Mets on Friday, allowing seven runs (four earned) on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts over three innings.

Six of the seven runs off Wilkinson came via the long ball, and he threw just 36 of 62 pitches for strikes with only three whiffs. The southpaw logged a quality start Saturday but has managed just 8.2 innings over his other three major-league outings since debuting Aug. 19. He'll take a 6.14 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 8:4 K:BB across 14.2 innings with the Giants into a home matchup with the Cardinals next week.

Bichette went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's 10-6 win over the Giants.

Bichette walked and scored in the first inning before adding a two-run shot in the second. The 26-year-old has now hit safely in five straight games, recording four extra-base hits and scoring five runs in that span. For the year, he's slashing .266/.315/.400 with 15 homers, 68 RBI, 69 runs scored and two steals across 597 plate appearances.

Vientos went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Friday's 10-6 win over the Giants.

Vientos opened the scoring with a three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning. The 26-year-old has now homered in each of the two games he's started since returning from the injured list Monday, and he's gone 4-for-10 in four contests overall during that span. On the season, he's slashing .219/.261/.413 with 13 home runs, 39 RBI and 27 runs scored across 264 plate appearances.