MLB Player News

The Rangers list Arihara as their scheduled starter for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

After being activated from the 60-day injured list Sept. 1, Arihara was immediately thrust into the Texas rotation. The 29-year-old looked good in his first outing with Texas in nearly four months, tossing 3.1 innings (47 pitches) while striking out three and allowing one run on one hit (a solo home run) and no walks. Given his light workload his last time out, Arihara likely won't be asked to cover more than 4-to-5 frames Wednesday, which will hurt his chances of factoring into any decision.

Lyles is expected to piggyback starting pitcher Spencer Howard (COVID-19 injured list) in Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Texas will formally reinstate Howard from the COVID-19 IL later Tuesday and likely cap him at around 2-to-3 innings after he covered two frames (36 pitches) in a rehab start Sept. 2 with Triple-A Round Rock. Even before Howard landed on the COVID-19 IL, the Rangers had been regularly limiting his workloads in starts, so it's possible the tandem arrangement with the 25-year-old and Lyles continues beyond Tuesday. That setup won't do too much to improve Lyles' fantasy outlook, which had been especially bleak while he worked in a traditional starting role for much of the campaign. The 30-year-old right-hander has served up an MLB-high 36 home runs in 2021 while submitting a 5.63 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 7.3 K/9 across 148.2 innings.

Dunning plans to return from the COVID-19 injured list Friday to pitch an inning in the Rangers' series opener in Oakland, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Dunning has been on the COVID-19 IL since Aug. 25, with his two-plus-week layoff suggesting that he most likely tested positive for the virus. The right-hander is in the process of regaining conditioning, and he appears to be feeling good after he tossed 23 pitches in a simulated game Monday. The Rangers' plans for Dunning over the rest of the season aren't entirely clear, but if he does in fact return Friday, he'll likely be limited to a bullpen role or working as an opener in front of Glenn Otto. Since Texas isn't sending Dunning out on a minor-league rehab assignment in which he would be able to build up his pitch count, he may not fill a traditional starting role for the remaining three weeks of September.

Kikuchi (7-8) allowed six runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks and didn't strike anybody out over just 1.2 innings as he took the loss Monday against the Astros.

Monday's was certainly a performance to forget for Kikuchi. He issued a walk in the first but didn't face any real trouble. He then walked three straight batters to begin the second frame and the bases eventually cleared after Jake Meyers hit a three-run homer to make it 5-0. The Astros continued to pile on with two more doubles to make it 6-0 before Kikuchi's night was finally over. The southpaw managed to throw just 19 of his 42 pitches for strikes and looked completely lost after blanking the Astros last week. It's hard to predict how Kikuchi's starts will go because he's really hit or miss at times. He now has a 4.32 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 149:57 K:BB over 146 innings and is tentatively in line for a weekend start against the Diamondbacks.

McCullers (11-4) allowed two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out seven over six innings to earn the win over the Mariners on Monday.

McCullers was handed an early cushion after the Astros went up 6-0 by the end of the second inning. The Mariners got to him in the third for a two-run double, but otherwise, McCullers was able to work around some walks and hold them in check. The 27-year-old has had his way with the M's this season, as he's beaten them three times in four games and has a 3.13 WHIP and 26:11 K:BB over 23 innings. For the year, McCullers sports a 3.19 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 161:67 K:BB over 138.1 innings. He lines up for a favorable matchup against the Angels over the weekend.

Bielak pitched three scoreless innings Monday against the Mariners to pick up the save. He allowed just one hit and walked four while striking out three batters.

The Astros won this game by nine runs, but because Bielak threw the final three innings, he gets the save. He struggled with his command and had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth after walking back-to-back batters, but got Cal Raleigh to ground into a 3-6-3 double play to end the game. Bielak owns a 4.79 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 36:15 K:BB over 41.1 innings and likely won't figure to see any more save chances the rest of the way.

Whitlock (7-3) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out two over 1.1 innings to pick up a blown save and a loss against the Rays on Monday.

Whitlock was called on to close out the game with Boston up, 9-8, in the top of the ninth, but Austin Meadows' inside-the-park home run forced extra frames. It was a tough-luck situation for Whitlock, who watched the entire outfield misplay Meadows' smash off the wall. Another error in the 10th inning led to a run and earned him the loss. Whitlock has been good for Boston and should continue to work high-leverage spots along with Adam Ottavino, while the team gets a handle on its COVID-19 outbreak. Matt Barnes, the team's nominal closer who was also caught up in the outbreak, slipped dramatically before landing on the COVID-19 list, posting a 15.88 ERA over 10 August outings.

Ober allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four in four innings versus Cleveland on Monday. He did not factor in the decision.

As planned, Ober and Michael Pineda combined to cover seven innings in the contest. Minnesota led wire-to-wire, but Ober didn't work deep enough into the contest to earn the win. He's been solid in his last five starts, yielding seven runs (six earned) in 26.1 innings while adding a 25:2 K:BB in that span. The 26-year-old has a 4.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB across 78.2 innings, but he'll likely have his workload limited as he completes his first major-league season. Ober projects for a home start versus Kansas City this weekend.

Sale allowed five runs (one earned) on 10 hits and a walk over 3.2 innings in Monday's loss to the Rays. He struck out six and did not factor in the decision.

Sale escaped the first inning after allowing just one run despite giving up four hits. He then kept the Rays off the board until an ugly fourth inning. Four unearned runs came around to score after a fielding error by Alex Verdugo and a throwing error by Taylor Motter. It was his shortest outing of the year but he managed to lower his ERA to 2.52 through 25 innings. Sale has given up two or fewer earned runs in each of his five starts. He's lined up to face the White Sox on the road this weekend.

Skubal allowed two runs on four hits over three innings in Monday's loss to Pittsburgh. He struck out four and did not factor in the decision.

Skubal served up a two-run shot to Kevin Newman in the first inning before recording an out but he settled in after that. He retired the final eight batters he faced and threw 36-of-50 pitches for strikes. The 24-year-old southpaw has given up two or fewer runs in five of his last six outings, lowering his season ERA to 4.30. Skubal is projected to face Milwaukee at home next week.