MLB Player News

Ober (2-3) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks with three strikeouts through four innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 6-2 defeat to the Blue Jays.

Ober couldn't contain a hot Blue Jays lineup Saturday, allowing a solo shot to Marcus Semien and a three-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez before being yanked after four innings. Minnesota's deployment of Ober has been interesting, as it has used the rookie as more of an extended opener rather than a true starter this season. The 26-year-old has thrown over 85 pitches just once in 19 starts and has never gone beyond the sixth inning. If the Twins take the training wheels off Ober next season and allow him to pitch deeper into games, the 6-foot-9 right-hander's ability to rack up strikeouts could make him a fantasy sleeper.

Kaprielian will start Saturday's game against the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manager Bob Melvin announced earlier in the week that Kaprielian was shifting to a bullpen role, but his replacement in the rotation, Daulton Jefferies, landed on the injured list Saturday with an elbow injury. Kaprielian will end up making his previously scheduled turn through the rotation, though he may need a strong performance to receive additional starts given that he has an 8.10 ERA across his past four outings.

Bielak was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Bielak would likely have been unavailable for a few days after he was called upon to throw 2.2 innings in a spot start Friday. The Astros elected to swap him out for a fresh arm, calling up Peter Solomon to take his place.

Bieber (shoulder) will make a rehab start for Double-A Akron on Sunday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Bieber has been out with a shoulder strain since mid-June. He threw 2.2 innings in a rehab start Tuesday and is expected to throw four in his second rehab appearance. If that's the final rehab start he needs, he could return on a reduced pitch count near the end of next week. It doesn't look as though he'll have time to make more than two major-league starts before the end of the season.

Bundy (shoulder) had a recent simulated game in Chicago cut short and, per manager Joe Maddon, is unlikely to pitch again this season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Bundy recently stated that he intended to return to the big club before the end of the campaign, but he couldn't complete a scheduled three-inning simulated game due to discomfort and is now almost certain to be shut down for the remainder of the season. After breaking out with a career-best campaign in 2020, the right-hander has suffered through a miserable 2021 season, posting his worst ERA (6.06) as a big leaguer while registering a 2-9 record. Bundy will be a free agent in the offseason, and his struggles this year -- along with the shoulder injury -- have likely lowered his attractiveness to big-league clubs considerably.

Irvin (10-13) picked up the win in a victory over the Angels on Friday, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out three.

Irvin got his 18 outs on an efficient 89 pitches and lowered his ERA back under 4.00 -- to 3.94 -- in the process. The left-hander did stumble in a tough matchup versus the Blue Jays three starts ago on the road, but he has otherwise allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight other trips to the mound dating back to July 31.

Flexen (12-6) secured the victory in a win over the Royals on Friday, allowing an earned run on six hits and two walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out three in the game.

The right-hander bounced back nicely after a rough outing versus the Diamondbacks his last time out, coaxing his ERA back down to 3.66. Flexen also encouragingly stayed away from the long ball after allowing his 15th and 16th home runs of the season in his previous two starts, and all six hits he surrendered were singles. The 27-year-old will look to extend what has been a strong stretch of pitching since early August -- save for the aforementioned stumble against Arizona -- when he takes the mound next week.

Bielak pitched 2.2 scoreless innings against Arizona on Friday, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six. He did not factor in the decision.

The right-handed reliever was called into action for a spot start after Framber Valdez (finger) was scratched Thursday. Bielak performed well enough in his first start of the campaign, keeping the Diamondbacks off the scoreboard while racking up six punchouts in just 2.2 frames. He wasn't very efficient -- Bielak needed 55 pitches to retire eight batters -- but none of the hits against him went for extra bases, and he was able to escape a bases-loaded situation in the first inning. He'll likely return to the bullpen but will almost certainly be down a few days given his larger-than-normal workload Friday.

Cease (12-7) allowed four hits and two walks over five scoreless innings Friday, striking out 10 and earning a win over Texas.

Cease put runners in scoring position multiple times but never faced much danger in Friday's dominant win. He's reached double-digit strikeouts in eight of his 30 starts this season, going 7-1 during those appearances. The 25-year-old had just one double-digit strikeout game in his 26 career starts before the 2021 campaign. Cease lowered his ERA to 4.09 with a 212:66 K:BB through 156.1 innings. He's projected to take the mound in Cleveland next week.

Ryu (13-9) allowed five runs on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts in two-plus innings Friday, taking the loss versus Minnesota.

The southpaw ran into trouble in the third inning, and he exited after allowing back-to-back home runs to Jorge Polanco and Josh Donaldson. Ryu has allowed 12 runs in his last 4.1 innings across two starts. He left a Sept. 6 start versus the Yankees with forearm soreness, but he's been able to take his regular turn through the rotation despite the recent ineffectiveness. After the game, Ryu said he felt "physically fine" but added that he hasn't had the best control, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports. Ryu takes a 4.34 ERA and 1.21 WHIP into next week's projected start in Tampa Bay.