MLB Player News

Cruz will serve as the Reds' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Brewers, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

For the second time in five games, Cruz will operate as an opener for the Reds. Despite not having recorded more than six outs in any of his prior 61 appearances this season, Cruz covered three innings as an opener in Wednesday's 9-6 loss to the Athletics, striking out six while allowing one earned run on two hits and zero walks. Cruz tossed 42 pitches in that outing and will be taking the hill Saturday on just two days' rest, so he shouldn't expected to push up his innings count much, if at all, in his second start of the season.

Miller allowed three runs on two hits and a walk while retiring only a single batter in relief during Friday's 7-6 win over the Nationals.

Miller was tasked with the bottom of the ninth inning in a non-save situation with the Cubs up 7-3. However, things quickly went awry for the righty, and Chicago eventually turned to Drew Smyly and then Keegan Thompson to record the last two outs of the frame, with the latter picking up the save. Miller saw his ERA climb from 1.64 to 2.17 in the process. His previous success suggests he'll bounce back quickly from the rough outing, as this was the first time he allowed a run since late July, breaking a streak of 11 straight scoreless appearances.

Sewald allowed two runs on two hits while striking out one over 1.2 innings in Friday's 10-9 loss to the Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks didn't have all bullpen arms available -- Ryan Thompson and Justin Martinez worked the previous two days -- and manager Torey Lovullo wanted to save Kevin Ginkel and A.J. Puk in case Arizona took a lead, the manager told Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. As such, Lovullo went with Sewald in a high-leverage situation -- two on and one out in the seventh inning. Sewald retired the first batter faced before giving up a three-run home run to Will Smith. An inning later, Shohei Ohtani took Sewald deep. That second blast turned out to be the difference maker, as Arizona got within one with a four-run ninth inning. Sewald has now allowed five earned runs in his last three appearances.

Oller allowed two hits and two walks while striking out eight over six scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Giants on Friday.

Oller threw 53 of 90 pitches for strikes to earn his first quality start since Aug. 27, 2022. His strong effort went to waste when Mike Baumann allowed three runs in the eighth inning, denying Oller his second win of the year. Oller is at a 3.31 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB over 16.1 big-league innings. He's tentatively projected to make his next start at home versus the Phillies in what's likely to be a challenging matchup.

Rogers (3-4) pitched a perfect inning to earn the win Friday over the Marlins.

Rogers got three groundouts in the top of the eighth inning, and Matt Chapman's three-run double gave the Giants a lead in the bottom of the frame. Aside from a disastrous outing Aug. 23 versus the Mariners, Rogers has been sharp this month -- he hasn't allowed a run in any of his other August appearances. For the season, he has a 3.06 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 45:4 K:BB over 61.2 innings while adding a save and 29 holds. Rogers also leads the majors in appearances with 68, matching his total from each of the last two years, though he's more frequently been asked to get less than three outs in 2024.

Walker struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 3-1 win over the Marlins.

Walker has allowed just one unearned run on seven hits and two walks over his last 14.2 innings, striking out 27 in that span. He's picked up all five of his saves this year over his last eight appearances, and it doesn't look like Walker will be letting go of the closer role any time soon. He's now at a 1.92 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 92:15 K:BB through 70.1 innings this season. Walker's 67 appearances have him tied for second in the majors with Houston's Bryan Abreu and trailing only his Giants teammate Tyler Rogers (68), who earned the win Friday.

Thompson struck out the only batter he faced to earn a save over the Nationals on Friday.

Thompson struck out Dylan Crews with two runners on base to finish off the 7-6 win. It was Thompson's second save of the year and first since June 18. He's currently riding a 6.2-inning scoreless streak at the MLB level, lowering his season ERA to 3.26. Thompson took over the ninth inning after Tyson Miller and Drew Smyly each recorded one out, while Porter Hodge hasn't been called upon since a 36-pitch appearance Wednesday.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Graterol (hamstring) will throw to live hitters Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

After throwing a pair of bullpen sessions, Graterol has been cleared to face live hitters Saturday. The right-hander got up to 30 pitches in a bullpen Wednesday, and doesn't seem far off from returning. It's unclear if the Dodgers plan on restarting Graterol's rehab assignment after it was paused at the beginning of August, or if he'll come straight back to the big-league bullpen when ready.

The Rockies optioned Davis to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday.

Since coming up from Triple-A in late July, Davis has posted a 5.19 ERA and 1.90 WHIP alongside a 13:7 K:BB through 17.1 innings. He'll now head back to the minors in order to get back on track, and the Rockies will promote Seth Halvorsen from Albuquerque to fill the open bullpen spot.

Manager Derek Shelton said Friday that Bednar will be temporarily removed from the closer role and pitch in lower-leverage situations, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The decision to relieve Bednar of his duties as closer comes two days after he allowed five earned runs on three hits and two walks in just two-thirds of an inning during Wednesday's loss to the Cubs. The Pirates will now use a closer-by-committee approach, making Aroldis Chapman and Jalen Beeks likely candidates to see increased opportunities in the ninth inning.