MLB Player News

Seabold will start Saturday's game against the White Sox, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 25-year-old righty is one of Boston's top pitching prospects and may have debuted earlier in the year if he hadn't missed the first few months of the season with an elbow injury. He has a 3.29 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 43 strikeouts in 38.1 innings across his last seven starts at Triple-A. With Chris Sale and Nick Pivetta on the COVID-19 injured list, it's possible Seabold could stick around to make another start.

Stripling will start Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Orioles.

This will be Stripling's first big-league appearance since Aug. 10, as he missed a month with an oblique injury. He logged 1.1 innings in a rehab appearance earlier this week, so he may not be able to pitch enough innings to qualify for the win in Saturday's nightcap.

Kremer was recalled to start Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

He is up as the 29th man, so this may just be a spot start. Kremer hasn't pitched in the majors since June 24 in Toronto, where he allowed six runs and walked five batters in one-third of an inning. Since then, he has logged a 5.64 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 46 strikeouts in 44.2 innings at Triple-A.

Dunning allowed one hit and struck out one over a scoreless relief inning in Friday's 10-5 loss to Oakland.

Dunning was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list Friday and, as manager Chris Woodward told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, the plan was to have him throw an inning of relief Friday. Dunning, who should get another three or four starts before the end of the season, will gradually build up to throw 80 or 90 pitches. That aligns with the organization's season-long plan for Dunning, who has been kept on a pitch limit. The right-hander entered 2021 having thrown just 34 innings since 2018.

Greinke (COVID-19 protocols) completed a bullpen session Friday without incident and could return during next week's series against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. He did not speak with reporters following the session but will do so Saturday.

The series against the Rangers is a four-game set that begins Monday. Houston manager Dusty Baker said Greinke is "not too far off" following a 10-day absence, adding that the right-hander "knows how to stay ready."

Blackburn pitched 2.2 innings against Texas on Friday, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out three. He did not factor in the decision.

Oakland handed the right-hander a 6-1 lead after two innings, but Blackburn was unable to convert the offensive outburst into his first win since 2018. He was pulled after allowing the Rangers to get right back into the game with three runs in the third, giving up four hits in the frame. Blackburn enjoyed a strong three-start run in August during which he posted a 2.81 ERA, but he has since faltered, giving up eight runs over his past 6.1 innings. If he remains in the rotation, he'll likely face Kansas City on the road next week.

Rodon (12-5) allowed one run on three hits over five innings Friday, striking out seven and earning a win over Boston.

Rodon made his first appearance since Sept. 1 after nursing a slight shoulder injury. He threw 62 of 86 pitches for strikes and the only blemish on his outing was a solo homer by Bobby Dalbec in the fifth inning. Over his last four starts, the 28-year-old southpaw has given up just four runs over 20 innings (1.80 ERA) with a 26:4 K:BB. Rodon will carry a 2.38 ERA into his projected start against the Angels at home next week.

Houck (0-4) allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks over 3.2 innings Friday, striking out one batter and taking a loss against the White Sox.

Most of the damage against Houck came in the third inning when he served up a three-run blast to Jose Abreu. He then allowed an RBI single to Luis Robert in the fourth before exiting the contest. The right-handed rookie had allowed three or fewer runs in each of his previous four outings and watched his season ERA climb to 3.54 after Friday's start. Houck is lined up to start in Seattle next week.

Valdez (10-5) allowed four earned runs on six hits and five walks while striking out six across five innings, getting the win over the Angels on Friday.

Although Valdez received the win, he allowed 11 total baserunners for just the third time this season. In addition, he surrendered home runs to Shohei Ohtani and Jared Walsh. He broke his streak of six straight outings of six-plus innings pitched. The 27-year-old has a 3.26 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 109 strikeouts in 116 innings this season.

Wacha allowed a run on three hits and struck out six over five innings in a no-decision versus Detroit on Friday.

He only allowed a solo home run to Eric Haase in the fifth inning before Tampa Bay's bullpen made a mess of things. Wacha was initially expected to be piggybacked Friday, but changes to Tampa Bay's pitching plans allowed the right-hander to serve as a traditional starter. He threw 47 of 68 pitches for strikes in the contest. Wacha has a 5.37 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 104:26 K:BB across 105.2 innings this year. He'll likely see another traditional start next week in Toronto.