MLB Player News

Sale's next scheduled start will come Saturday against the Blue Jays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Sale was set to take the ball Thursday against the Yankees, but he hasn't been particularly sharp in recent weeks, so he will get a couple extra days to rest before getting back up on the bump. The Red Sox have yet to name a starter for Thursday's game in place of Sale.

Bieber (elbow) is scheduled to make his first rehab start Tuesday with Double-A Akron.

Sidelined since the All-Star break with right elbow inflammation, Bieber was cleared to face hitters last week and has now graduated to the final phase of his recovery program. He's expected to toss three innings or around 55 pitches Tuesday, per Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer. Guardians manager Terry Francona has previously mentioned Sept. 20 as a loose target for Bieber's return from the 60-day injured list, so based on that timeline, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner could make two starts in the minors prior to being activated. Bieber went 5-6 with a 3.77 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 95:33 K:BB in 117 innings with Cleveland this season prior to being shut down with the injury.

Bello (12-8) earned the win Sunday against the Orioles after he allowed three runs on seven hits and no walks over five innings. He struck out four.

The right-hander held the Baltimore lineup in check outside of the second inning, when he surrendered all three runs and four hits. Bello now has a 4-1 record in his past five starts and has a 3.14 ERA and 21:8 K:BB in 28.2 frames during that stretch. The 24-year-old tentatively lines up to next take the mound this weekend in Toronto.

Wentz is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Reds at Comerica Park, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Wentz worked in relief in his last two appearances, with his most recent outing behind a 1.1-inning mop-up outing Sept. 5 against the Yankees. The young southpaw appeared set to stick in the bullpen after the Tigers called up Sawyer Gipson-Long from Triple-A Toledo to start Sunday's series finale against the White Sox, but Detroit may have room for both Gipson-Long and Wentz in the rotation if the club elects to expand to a six-man setup in the wake of Matt Manning's season-ending foot injury. Wentz will be making his 18th start of the season Tuesday and carries a 2-11 record, 6.65 ERA and 1.64 WHIP into the contest.

Gil (elbow) tossed two innings and struck out three while giving up four earned runs on three hits and two walks in his rehab start Thursday for Single-A Tampa.

Gil made his second appearance at Tampa after striking out three over another two-inning start in his first rehab outing Sept. 1. The right-hander's fastball velocity is reportedly sitting around the same levels it had prior to him undergoing Tommy John surgery last May, but like most pitchers returning from a major elbow injury, Gil's command and control have been lacking a bit thus far during his rehab assignment. He'll eventually shift his rehab assignment to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before potentially making his return from the 60-day injured list before the end of the season. The Yankees envision Gil serving as a starter over the long haul, but if he makes any appearances for the big club in 2023, he'll likely be doing so in a relief role.

Cole pitched seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against Milwaukee on Sunday, allowing three hits and striking out nine batters without issuing a walk.

Cole was dominant in the outing, racking up 17 swinging strikes and finishing with his first scoreless outing since July 28 against Baltimore. The right-hander had to settle for a no-decision rather than extend a three-game win streak, however, as opposing hurler Corbin Burnes (ankle) held New York without a hit or a run over eight innings. Though the Yankees have struggled to keep pace in the AL playoff race, Cole has turned it on over his past four starts, posting a 1.35 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 34:2 K:BB in 26.2 frames. He's among the league leaders in multiple pitching categories, including ERA (2.79 - third), WHIP (1.03 - first), opponents' average (.214 - seventh) and punchouts (204 - fifth).

Dunning is scheduled to start Monday's game in Toronto, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

For the first time since late April, Dunning worked out of the bullpen for his most recent appearance Sept. 5, covering 5.1 innings of long relief in a blowout loss to the Astros while giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits and two walks. Despite the rough showing, Dunning will step back into the rotation this week, taking the hill Monday for what would have been Andrew Heaney's turn. Heaney dazzled with six strikeouts over 3.2 scoreless innings in a relief appearance in Sunday's win over Oakland, but it's unclear if Heaney will continue to work out of the bullpen moving forward or if both he and Dunning will be included as part of a six-man rotation.

Rodriguez (5-4) allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out six over 4.1 innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Red Sox.

Rodriguez had logged five straight quality starts going into Sunday. It's unclear if the rookie right-hander was thrown off by a rain delay before the game, but he didn't have his best stuff despite throwing 63 of 89 pitches for strikes. For the season, he's at a 4.88 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 110:39 K:BB through 103.1 innings over 20 starts. Rodriguez is projected to make his next start at home versus the Rays.

Muller tossed two innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers, giving up two earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out one.

In his previous outing Sept. 3 versus the Angels, Muller started and kept the Halos off the board through the first three innings, but he melted down in the fourth, giving up three runs before being pulled. Since Muller carried a 7.62 ERA and 1.93 WHIP over 15 appearances (13 starts) on the season heading into the weekend, the Athletics opted to move him to the bullpen and gave Sean Newcomb an audition as a starter. Newcomb delivered four scoreless frames Saturday before turning the game over to Muller, though neither pitcher was ultimately stuck with the loss. In any case, with Newcomb making the most of his opportunity, look for him to get at least one more start while Muller sticks in a relief role.

Wentz made his most recent appearance out of the Tigers bullpen in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Yankees, giving up one earned run on no hits and two walks over 1.1 innings.

Wentz ended up being the pitcher of record in the game, dropping to 2-11 overall on the season. The relief appearance came on the heels of a five-inning outing as a primary pitcher out of the bullpen Aug. 30, when he struck out six while giving up four earned runs on five hits and three walks, also in a matchup with the Yankees. A spot in Detroit's rotation opened up this weekend when Matt Manning (foot) was placed on the 15-day injured list, but rather than appointing Wentz as the team's new No. 5 starter, the Tigers turned to Sawyer Gipson-Long to fill the spot. Gipson-Long picked up a win against the White Sox on Sunday while striking out five over five innings of a two-run ball, so he'll likely remain in the rotation while Wentz sticks in a relief role.