MLB Player News

Crowe had his contract purchased by the Nationals and will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Marlins, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Crowe was called up Saturday after the Nationals' announced they were placing Stephen Strasburg (hand) on the 60-day injured list. Saturday's start may just be spot start for Crowe as the team has the option to send him back down to their alternate training site after his outing or they could keep him and opt to send someone else down.

Castano is slated to start the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Nationals.

Castano was scheduled to take the hill Thursday against the Mets, but that contest was postponed after two members of New York's 28-man roster tested positive for COVID-19. The Marlins kept Elieser Hernandez on turn and had him start Friday's series opener versus the Nationals, so Castano will end up being pushed back two days in the pitching schedule. Castano was sharp in his second MLB start his last time out Aug. 15, holding the Braves to one run on four hits and two walks over six innings.

Boxberger struck out one in a perfect eighth inning to record his second hold of the season in a win over the Nationals on Friday.

The veteran right-hander has emerged as a reliable bridge to closer Brandon Kintzler. Boxberger has only been scored upon once in nine appearances, posting a 2.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 9:3 K:BB over 7.2 innings, and his fastball velocity has returned -- he topped out at 94.4 mph in Friday's outing. If anything were to remove Kintzler from the saves picture, Boxberger appears to be the likely next man up in the ninth for the Marlins.

Finnegan struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Friday during a 3-2 loss to the Marlins.

The 28-year-old rookie, signed out of the Oakland system in the offseason, has been a find for the Nats. Finnegan has a 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB through nine innings to begin his career, and while he started out in a low-leverage role, he's quickly become a key part of manager Dave Martinez's bullpen, picking up his first career hold Tuesday.

Chafin will wear a splint on his left index finger for the next week, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com reports.

The plan calls for the Diamondbacks to remove the splint at the end of next week and get a better sense of how the finger is doing and what the next steps will be. The left-handed Chafin has allowed six runs on nine hits and four walks while striking out 10 over 6.2 innings.

Pagan pitched a scoreless inning and allowed just one walk to earn the save in Friday's 4-3 win over the Astros.

Pagan has been far from consistent in 2020 with four blown saves and six holds in 12 appearances. He has a 6.75 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 12 innings. The 29-year-old Pagan is in line to see the majority of the save opportunities with Kirby Yates (elbow) and Drew Pomeranz (shoulder) sidelined.

Guerra (1-0) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one walk and striking out three to earn the win Friday versus the Astros.

Starter Garrett Richards lasted only 2.1 innings Friday, but Guerra was able to come in and deliver quality pitching in the win. The right-hander had allowed eight runs over his last three appearances, so it was surprising to see him keep a scoreless line over multiple innings. Guerra still carries an 11.17 ERA and 2.38 WHIP with 14 strikeouts and two holds in 10 appearances.

Hernandez (1-0) allowed two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out six as he earned the win Friday against the Nationals.

Hernandez kept the Nationals' bats relatively quiet Friday, but he gave up home runs in the second and third innings. However, he got early run support from the Marlins' offense, and the bullpen was effective in the final four innings. As a result, Hernandez was rewarded with his first win of the season. The right-hander now carries a 2.29 ERA and 25:3 K:BB over 19.2 innings to begin the season. He'll look to remain effective on the road Wednesday against the Mets.

Cabrera (1-1) gave up three unearned runs and a walk while striking out two in one inning in a loss to the Reds on Friday.

Cabrera got two outs in the sixth inning before two errors allowed Eugenio Suarez to get to third base. A walk and a hit batter loaded the bases and ended Cabrera's outing, but Tyler Webb gave up a grand slam to Reds pinch hitter Matt Davidson. That was enough to give Cabrera the loss. With all three runs being unearned, his ERA dropped to 6.23 with eight strikeouts and three walks through 4.1 innings this year.

Hudson allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out six over 4.2 scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Reds on Friday.

Hudson had a good performance, but he threw only 74 pitches (49 strikeouts) and came up one out short of potentially being eligible for a result. The Reds' Matt Davidson made that a non-issue with a sixth-inning grand slam off Cardinals reliever Tyler Webb. Hudson has yet to pitch into the sixth inning this season. He has a 3.46 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 13 innings across three starts. The 25-year-old is expected to make his next start Wednesday versus the Royals.