MLB Player News

Kikuchi completed 4.1 innings against Toronto on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks while striking out five. He did not factor in the decision.

The left-hander struggled with his control throughout the contest, tossing only 54 of 97 pitches for strikes and tying a season high with four walks. He managed to keep Seattle competitive, however, and the Mariners crafted a comeback in the late innings to help Kikuchi avoid his seventh loss. The 30-year-old has given up exactly three runs in three of his past five outings, though he entered Saturday's game having yielded just one earned run combined over his previous two starts. He'll carry a 3.82 ERA into his next projected appearance, which could be a tough matchup at Houston on Friday.

Ryu (11-6) was tagged with the loss Saturday versus Seattle. He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three.

Ryu faced the minimum three batters in five different frames, but he was stung by Ty France's first-inning two-run home run as well as his own bullpen, which allowed two of his runners to score after he departed from the game in the seventh. The southpaw also didn't fool many batters, inducing only five swinging strikes and notching just three punchouts. Ryu has surrendered 11 runs over his past 10 innings to push his ERA up to 3.72 on the season. He'll try to steady the ship in his next start, which is expected to come at home against Detroit next weekend.

Garcia (9-6) earned the win over the Angels on Saturday, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five over five innings.

The right-hander's night started poorly when Shohei Ohtani led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run and Jared Walsh knocked in another run two batters later. However, Garcia rebounded to keep the Angels off the scoreboard over the remainder of his five frames, and Ohtani's homer ended up being the only extra-base hit he allowed in the contest. Since posting a pair of rough starts during which he allowed a combined 10 earned runs over 9.1 innings between July 26 and Aug. 1, Garcia has bounced back with consecutive wins in which he has held opponents to two earned runs over 11 frames. He's lined up to make his next start at Kansas City next week.

Cease allowed three runs on four hits in a no-decision Saturday against the Yankees. He had six strikeouts and did not issue a walk.

Cease gave up an Aaron Judge sacrifice fly and a Joey Gallo solo homer in the first inning, but largely minimized the damage the rest of the way. Perhaps most encouraging was the fact that Cease put up a zero in the walk column for just the second time in 24 starts this season. The 25-year-old is 9-6 on the year with a 4.04 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 124.2 innings while striking out an AL-leading 165 hitters.

Taillon allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in a no-decision against the White Sox on Saturday. He struck out four.

The White Sox dinged Taillon for a run in each of the first three innings, but the right-hander put up zeroes over the next two frames and turned a 3-3 game over to the bullpen after five. Taillon has been a stabilizing force in the Yankees' rotation -- Saturday marked the first time since late June in which he's allowed more than two runs in a start -- logging 118 innings with a 3.89 ERA and 1.22 WHIP. He's tentatively lined up to make his next start at home against the Twins.

Sale (1-0) picked up the win in Saturday's 16-2 rout of the Orioles, allowing two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The veteran lefty came out of the gate firing in his belated season debut and first big-league action in almost exactly two years, tossing 60 of 89 pitches for strikes. Sale did run into a bit of trouble in the third inning, serving up back-to-back solo shots to Austin Hays and Trey Mancini, but Boston had already given its ace six runs of support by that point with plenty more on the way. With two off days coming up next week, the Red Sox will be able to give Sale more than the usual four days of rest, lining up his next start for Aug. 20 in a favorable home matchup against the Rangers.

Lyles (5-10) took the loss Saturday against Oakland, giving up five runs on eight hits over six innings. He had five strikeouts.

Oakland blasted four home runs off of Lyles, including back-to-back shots by Mitch Moreland and Matt Chapman leading off the seventh inning to chase the veteran right-hander from the game. That's now 14 home runs given up by Lyles over his last six starts, a stretch in which he's gone 0-5 with an unsightly 7.46 ERA. The wheels have especially come off in August; Lyles has allowed 17 runs in 17 innings over three outings since the start of the month.

Maeda (6-4) allowed three hits and one walk with four strikeouts through six innings of shutout ball, picking up the win in Saturday's 12-0 victory over the Rays.

Maeda was dazzling Saturday night, allowing just three singles over six spotless innings. After allowing eight runs over his last two starts, the right-hander returned to form with an ERA-shrinking quality start. His next appearance figures to come Thursday against the Yankees.

Wacha (2-4) allowed seven runs on 11 hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 12-0 defeat to the Twins.

Max Kepler greeted Wacha with a solo shot to start Saturday night that set the tone for the entire outing. The right-hander allowed three more runs in the first inning, and another three Twins came in to score in a third inning that was punctuated by a Luis Arraez two-run homer. He did settle in to retire six of the seven batters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings, but the damage was already done. Wacha has now given up an astounding 30 hits and 18 earned runs in his last 14 innings pitched.

Keller (7-12) allowed three earned runs on seven hits and two walks with eight strikeouts through 6.2 innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 9-4 defeat to the Cardinals.

Keller needed 112 pitches to gut his way through 6.2 innings Saturday night, but he kept the ball in the ballpark for the first time since July 21 and picked up a quality start. With that being said, his outing could easily have been a lot worse. Keller loaded the bases in the fifth with one out, but emerged having given up just one run. After walking five batters in his last start (which also came against St. Louis), it was good to see the 26-year-old issue just two free passes to the Cardinals this time around. His eight strikeouts represent his second-highest total of the season. He figures to pitch next against the Cubs on Friday.