MLB Player News

Avila is scheduled to start Saturday's game against the Brewers at American Family Field, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The Padres will skip the struggling Rich Hill's turn through the rotation and will instead give Avila the chance to prove he's deserving of a longer look in a starting role. Avila has already previously made one spot start for the Padres on Aug. 1, when he struck out seven Rockies over four innings of a one-run ball at Coors Field. Since moving to the bullpen following that start, Avila has excelled as a multi-inning reliever, generating a 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 14:2 K:BB in 14 frames. The Padres will likely cap Avila at around 4-to-6 innings Saturday and could even deploy him in tandem with Hill. The coaching staff will likely wait and see how Avila performs against Milwaukee before determining whether he or Hill will draw the nod the next time a fifth starter is needed.

Neal is listed as the Athletics' probable starting pitcher for Friday's game against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

With Luis Medina (finger) and Freddy Tarnok (calf) both recently landing on the injured list, Neal will get a chance to stake his claim to one of the vacant rotation spots. Between two stints on Oakland's 26-man active roster this season, Neal has made all seven of his appearances out of the bullpen, logging an 8.25 ERA and 1.92 WHIP across 12 innings. He previously made nine starts with Triple-A Las Vegas this season and covered 3.1 innings in his most recent extend relief appearance for Oakland on Aug. 20, so he should be relatively stretched out compared to most pitchers transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation. Even so, Neal could struggle to reach the five innings that he would need to hit Friday in order to qualify for a win.

Ward (shoulder) will make his next rehab appearance Thursday at High-A Wilmington, and the Nationals intend to stretch him out for a possible role in the rotation in September, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

Taken in this year's Rule 5 draft from the Red Sox system, Ward struggled to a 7.12 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 26:24 K:BB through his first 30.1 big-league innings, all in relief, before being sidelined in early July with shoulder inflammation. The 26-year-old right-hander is seen as a possible future rotation piece however, and with the club keeping an eye on the workloads of young starters MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, there could be an opening for Ward over the final weeks. He's hoping to build up to four innings in Thursday's game after tossing five total innings across two appearances for the Nats' FCL affiliate last week.

Rainey (elbow) threw 19 pitches in a rehab appearance for Double-A Harrisburg on Tuesday as he closes in on his return from Tommy John surgery, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The right-hander will pitch in another rehab game later this week, but Nationals manager Dave Martinez indicated Rainey will need to show he can work back-to-back games before he'll be activated from the 60-day IL, which could push his return to early September. He did record 12 saves in 2022 before undergoing surgery that August, but Rainey will likely slot into a lower-leverage role behind Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey once he's activated.

Pivetta improved to 9-6 while retiring two of the batters he faced via strikeout and walking the other in Boston's 7-5 win over Houston in 10 innings.

Pivetta had covered no more than four innings in any of his last six outings while serving as either a starter or a bulk reliever, but he ended up pitching in a high-leverage spot Wednesday after closer Kenley Jansen exited a 4-4 game in the bottom of the ninth with a hamstring injury. Pivetta came on to replace Jansen and recorded the final two outs of the frame to send the game to extras, with the right-hander picking up the win after Boston scored three runs in the top of the 10th. With the Red Sox returning Tanner Houck from the 15-day injured list Tuesday and inserting him into the rotation, Pivetta's run as a starting pitcher looks like it could be over for the time being.

Kelley was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Kelley holds a 4.05 ERA and 8:4 K:BB over 13.1 innings during his time with the Rays this season. Tampa Bay is going with a bullpen game Thursday versus the Rockies and might need Kelley for multiple frames.

Lopez was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lopez was terrific during his short stint with the Rays, allowing just one run over seven relief innings. He was needed for three frames in Wednesday's win, though, so Tampa Bay is swapping him out for a fresh arm.

Kimbrel (7-4) took the loss Wednesday against the Giants. He allowed three runs (two earned) on a hit and a walk while striking out one over one inning.

After the Phillies scored three runs off Camilo Doval in the ninth inning to tie the game 5-5, Kimbrel surrendered three runs in the 10th in an eventual 8-6 loss. It was a rare hiccup for the veteran closer, who'd allowed just two earned runs in his previous 11 innings. Kimbrel now sports a 3.33 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 73:20 K:BB across 54 innings this season while going 19-for-21 in save chances.

Fairbanks (2-4) picked up the win in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning victory over the Rockies, striking out two in a perfect 10th inning.

The Rays erased a two-run deficit in the ninth, and after Fairbanks shut down the Rox in the top of the 10th, he got rewarded when Brandon Lowe walked it off with an RBI single. Both of Fairbanks' wins on the season have come in his last two outings, and he hasn't blown a save chance since mid-May -- delivering a 2.78 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 31:11 K:BB over 22.2 innings while converting 12 straight opportunities.

Lawrence gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning Wednesday, blowing his sixth save chance of the season in an eventual 6-5 loss to the Rays. He struck out one.

The 28-year-old righty didn't get stuck with the losing decision -- that honor went to Brent Suter, who got tagged for an unearned run in the 10th -- but Lawrence was the architect of this defeat, loading the bases with one out before giving up a two-run single to Yandy Diaz. Lawrence has blown five of his last eight save opportunities, stumbling to a 10.80 ERA and 2.10 WHIP over his last 10 innings, and it's not clear how much longer manager Bud Black will stick with him as closer.