MLB Player News

Kikuchi is the leading candidate to start Wednesday in Baltimore, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

It's Alek Manoah's turn in the rotation, but the Jays will seemingly save him for the playoffs. Kikuchi's strikeouts spiked after a move to the bullpen Aug. 17, as he has 31 strikeouts over 16.2 innings. However, he has remained ineffective at preventing runs, logging a 5.40 ERA and 1.56 WHIP while surrendering four home runs and walking nine across that stretch.

Manoah is unlikely to pitch the final game of the regular season Wednesday in Baltimore, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

While Manoah is on turn, Yusei Kikuchi is the likely starter in what would amount to a bullpen game. The Jays will likely save Manoah, who is fifth in the majors with 196.2 innings, for what they hope is a long postseason run.

Bello (2-8) took the loss Saturday, allowing four runs on 10 hits and two walks over four innings against the Blue Jays. He struck out four.

Bello allowed an RBI single and a two-run double from Danny Jansen en route to putting Boston in a 4-0 deficit through three innings. Prior to this outing, the righty had allowed three runs or fewer in seven straight starts. The 23-year-old has pitched six innings or more just twice during his rookie campaign.

Stripling (10-4) earned the win Saturday without allowing a run on four hits over six innings against Boston. He struck out three.

Stripling did not allow an extra-base hit in his quality outing against Boston. The righty recently went through a five-start stretch where he allowed six home runs with a 4.45 ERA over 28.1 innings, but he has bounced back by allowing only one run with no homers over his last two outings. The 32-year-old is outstanding at home with a 2.47 ERA over 69.1 innings compared to a 3.60 ERA over 65 innings on the road.

Castillo (4-2) earned the win Saturday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk over six innings against the Athletics. He struck out eight.

Castillo allowed an RBI single from Jordan Diaz to open the scoring in the first inning but was otherwise without blemishes. The righty has been inconsistent over his last 10 starts, allowing four runs or more three times and one run or fewer five times. The 29-year-old's 2.99 ERA during 2022 is the best of his six-year career.

Sears did not allow a run on two hits and two walks while striking out six over six innings Saturday against the Mariners.

Sears did not give up an extra-base hit after righty Adam Oller allowed three runs in the first inning during his outing as an opener. The lefty has struggled mightily during his last seven outings, recording a 6.06 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 32.2 innings. This was the third quality start of the 26-year-old rookie's career.

Bundy gave up two earned runs on five hits and no walks while striking out three over five innings in a 3-2 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision.

Bundy made his team-leading 29th start and looked good outside of a home run to Eric Haase. However, he suffered from some poor outfield defense by Matt Wallner in the first inning, which led to an earned run. The performance is a positive note on which to end the season for Bundy, who struggled immensely in September with a 7.06 ERA as the Twins fell out of playoff contention. He finishes the season with an ERA of 4.89, a WHIP of 1.28 and a Baseball-Reference WAR of -0.3.

Bubic (3-13) gave up five hits and a walk while striking out eight over five scoreless innings to earn the win in a 7-1 victory over the Guardians on Saturday.

It took Bubic 27 starts, but he finally picked up his third win of the season thanks to an impressive performance against the postseason-bound Guardians. It was his third scoreless appearance of the season and his eight strikeouts were the most that he accumulated in a single game all year. Overall, it was a tough season for the 25-year-old left-hander. He finishes the campaign with a bloated WHIP of 1.70 and 110 strikeouts over 129 innings pitched.

Ragans allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out two over five innings to take a no-decision versus the Angels on Saturday.

Ragans threw just 43 of 71 pitches for strikes, but it ended up being an effective outing nonetheless. His lone mistake was an RBI single to Kurt Suzuki in the second inning, which was the only run in the contest until both teams scored twice in the seventh. Despite the solid outing, Ragans finishes his first major-league campaign still in search of a win. He put up a 4.95 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 27:16 K:BB across 40 innings over nine starts after debuting in August.

Suarez (8-8) earned the win Saturday over the Rangers, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out six over seven innings.

Suarez flirted with perfection in this one, throwing six clean innings before he was tagged for a two-run home run by Nathaniel Lowe in the seventh. That blast briefly put the Rangers ahead, but the Angels regained the lead to allow Suarez to be rewarded with the win, leveling his record in his last start of the year. The southpaw has had some solid moments over the second half of the campaign, giving up more than three runs just once in his last 11 outings. He'll finish the season with a 3.96 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 103:33 K:BB across 109 innings over 22 appearances (20 starts). The strong second-half performance should give Suarez an inside track to a rotation spot to begin 2023.