MLB Player News

Kimbrel picked up the save Saturday against the Tigers. He allowed no hits and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

Kimbrel entered the ninth inning with a two-run cushion and retired the side on 20 pitches (14 strikes) to secure his first save of the campaign. The veteran right-hander has yet to allow a run across 5.1 frames since joining Kansas City. Overall, he owns a 4.15 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 35:18 K:BB across 39 innings between the Royals, Rays and Mets this season. The closer role has been a revolving door in the absence of Carlos Estevez (shoulder), and Kimbrel could see more save opportunities alongside Nate Pearson and Steven Cruz if he keeps delivering.

Waguespack will start Sunday's game against the Royals as an opener, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

It'll be the first start of the season and 15th of Waguespack's MLB career, with most of those coming in 2019 when he was working out of the rotation with Toronto. The right-hander is in the midst of his best big-league campaign with a 1.95 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 16:9 K:BB across 27.2 innings out of the bullpen, though his 4.71 xFIP indicates regression could be on the horizon.

Sommers posted two perfect innings of relief with four strikeouts in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Royals.

Sommers pitched the last two innings of the contest for the Tigers and kept his team in the game, though they weren't able to mount a rally. Despite an 0-3 record, the lefty has been good this season and particularly stingy lately, as he's only allowed one run across his last 10 appearances. He also has a whopping 23 strikeouts in 12.1 innings during that time. Sommers isn't in a fantasy-friendly role at the moment, but he is making a strong case to move up in Detroit's bullpen hierarchy.

Fedde is expected to work in bulk relief Sunday against the Mets behind left-hander Sean Newcomb who is slated to start the game for the White Sox.

The last time the fifth spot in the rotation came up Tuesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the White Sox deployed Fedde out of the bullpen while Bryan Hudson worked the first inning of the contest. Fedde followed Hudson with a strong performance, striking out five batters across 4.2 scoreless frames while scattering three hits and two walks. Newcomb has maxed out at three innings on the season and should be capable of offering a little more length than Hudson to begin the game, but Fedde remains the White Sox pitcher most likely to qualify for a win Sunday.

Newcomb will serve as the White Sox's opener for Sunday's game against the Mets, Brooke Fletcher of Chicago Sports Network reports.

The White Sox will deploy Newcomb as a starter for a second straight appearance and for the third time in his past four outings. He's made three total starts this season and hasn't covered more than three innings on any occasion, so he'll presumably be in line for another light workload Sunday. Erick Fedde is the leading candidate to pitch in bulk relief behind Newcomb.

Perkins is expected to work in bulk relief Sunday in Houston behind left-hander Brady Basso, who is slated to start the game for the Athletics.

Perkins is primed for a second straight appearance out of the bullpen, after he and Basso worked in tandem the last time the fifth spot in the rotation came up during Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Royals. Basso covered the first 2.1 innings of that game before Perkins followed with 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Perkins struck out four and yielded just one hit and one walk while tossing 53 pitches in what amounted to his lightest workload since the start of June.

Basso is listed as the Athletics' starting pitcher for Sunday's game in Houston, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Basso will make his third appearance of the season and his second in a row as a starter, but as on the other two occasions, he's likely to be deployed as more of an opener. He covered 2.1 innings and tossed 32 pitches in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Royals, and Basso should be in line for a similar workload Sunday. Jack Perkins is the expected bulk reliever once Basso exits the contest.

Dion struck out four and allowed one hit and two walks over three innings in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Marlins.

Brad Lord made his third consecutive appearance as a starter but was once again held under three innings, clearing the way for Dion to follow him in bulk relief. Dion has looked sharp in each of his three outings behind Lord, yielding no runs and giving up just two hits while posting a 12:3 K:BB in 10.1 innings during that stretch. The Nationals are likely to eventually get a potential starter in DJ Herz (elbow) back from the 60-day injured list in September, but until that happens, the Lord and Dion tandem could remain in place when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up.

Lord struck out a batter and allowed no hits and one walk over 2.2 innings in a start during Friday's 3-2 loss to the Marlins.

Though Lord has now started in three consecutive appearances, the Nationals don't seem to be looking to stretch him out. He's seen his pitch count drop in each successive start, as he threw just 31 pitches before getting pulled midway through the third inning Friday. Will Dion has worked in bulk relief in each of Lord's last three starts, and the two could continue to work in tandem when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up until the Nationals get one of DJ Herz (elbow) or Connelly Early (elbow) back from the injured list.

Miller struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Twins.

Miller retired the side on 10 pitches (eight strikes) to pick up his 32nd save of the season. This was his third perfect inning in his last three appearances, though he has pitched consecutive days and may be unavailable Sunday if a save chance arises. Miller has maintained a superb 0.83 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 99:19 K:BB through 54.1 innings this season as arguably the most reliable closer in the majors.