MLB Player News

Rodon (8-4) allowed four runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts through four innings, taking the loss in a 6-1 defeat to the Brewers on Saturday.

Saturday night was a battle for Rodon from start to finish. After allowing home runs to Kolten Wong and Tyrone Taylor in the first two innings, he took a comebacker off the inside of his right wrist and walked in a run with the bases loaded in the fourth. After needing 79 pitches to scrape through four innings, Tony La Russa had seen enough. This clunker from Rodon comes on the back of one of his best starts of the season, in which he pitched seven innings of shutout ball and struck out 10 against the Astros. While the southpaw had shown no signs of slowing down prior to Saturday night, it might be time for the White Sox to take measures with his workload. After throwing 34.2 innings in 2019 and only 7.2 innings in 2020, Rodon is approaching the 100-inning mark already in 2021.

Dunning will not pitch Sunday against Houston as originally projected, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Dunning would have made the start on regular rest, but the Rangers are opting to put Taylor Hearn on the mound instead. The team has been careful with Dunning's workload during his starts, as he has completed more than five innings only twice. Even so, Dunning has already thrown 83.2 innings on the campaign, and he has not topped 100 frames in a season since 2017.

Berrios (7-5) allowed two unearned runs on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts over seven innings but took the loss in a 2-1 defeat to the Angels on Saturday night.

Berrios deserved a better fate against the Halos, but with Patrick Sandoval coming within two outs of a no-hitter on the other side, the Puerto Rican didn't get the run support to complement his stellar outing. After allowing three hits in the first two innings, Berrios would retire 15 straight Angels before beaning Max Stassi in the seventh. While four strikeouts is definitely on the low end, the fact that both of the runs Berrios allowed came unearned should soften the blow. Moving forward, keep an eye out for the 27-year-old's name in trade talks, as the Twins should be in sell mode and Berrios is arguably their greatest asset.

Sandoval (3-4) came within inches of a no-hitter Saturday night, allowing one earned run on one hit and and one walk with 13 strikeouts over 8.2 innings in a 2-1 win over the Twins.

Sandoval took a no-hitter into the ninth and recorded the first out of the inning before Brent Rooker preserved the Twins' dignity with a double. Sandoval got one more out before Joe Maddon denied him the opportunity to go for a complete game. The only run charged to the Californian came when Rooker scored on a Josh Donaldson double yielded by Raisel Iglesias. Although Sandoval may not have made history, this was still an incredible pitching performance by the left-hander. After striking out just nine batters in his first three starts this season, the 24-year-old has struck out 28 in his last three trips to the bump, including a career-high 13 on Saturday night.

Eovaldi allowed two earned runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out eight across 7.2 innings Saturday against the Yankees. He did not factor into the decision.

Eovaldi held the Yankees scoreless through seven innings. He ran into trouble in the eighth, allowing a leadoff double prior to a run-scoring single. When he exited the contest, he had 3-1 lead, though the bullpen blew his lead and the game by allowing three additional runs to cross the plate in the frame. Despite losing the opportunity for a win, Eovaldi was excellent and racked up 22 called strikes and 14 swinging strikes on 100 total pitches. In his last 10 starts, Eovaldi has allowed two earned runs or fewer on seven occasions -- six of which he allowed one or no earned runs. For the season, he's maintained a 3.49 ERA with 114 strikeouts across 116 innings.

Sale (elbow) is expected to throw four or five innings in his rehab outing with Double-A Portland on Sunday, Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports.

The outing will mark Sale's third rehab appearance. In his last start, he threw 3.2 innings and built his pitch count up to 49, and he should have the chance to build on that number Sunday. Sale will still likely need at least one or two additional rehab outings prior to being activated by the Red Sox, though his return from Tommy John surgery remains on track.

Manoah (back) won't return from the injured list early next week, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

Manoah had initially hoped that he'd be able to return to the Blue Jays in time to start Monday's series opener in Boston, but he'll instead make a simulated start in Florida on Monday. It's not yet clear when the right-hander will be able to return from the injured list.

Cortes allowed three runs on three hits across two innings Friday versus Boston. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk.

The left-handed hurler was activated from the COVID-19 injured list earlier in the day and got into the division clash with Boston leading by two runs in the sixth inning. Cortes got through his first frame unscathed, but Rafael Devers tagged him for a three-run homer in the seventh that broke the game open for the Red Sox. The blast accounted for as many earned runs against Cortes (three) as he had allowed through 25.2 innings prior to Friday. He still carries an impressive 1.95 ERA on the season.

Manager Alex Cora said that Rodriguez (illness) felt better Saturday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Rodriguez was removed from Friday's game against the Yankees after one inning due to migraine issues, and the team told him to report late to the ballpark Saturday. The Red Sox haven't yet announced whether the southpaw will be able to make his next start, but he appears to be trending in the right direction. If he's cleared to pitch, Rodriguez tentatively lines up to make his next start at home against the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Kikuchi allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out 12 over six innings Friday against the Athletics. He did not factor into the decision.

Kikuchi delivered an excellent bounce-back game after he was roughed up in his last two starts. He compiled 12 of his 17 whiffs with his changeup and his 12 strikeouts were a career-high mark. The 30-year-old southpaw was hurt by the long ball in this one, surrendering solo homers to Matt Chapman and Matt Olson before the A's tacked on another run in the fifth on an RBI double from Mark Canha. Kikuchi owns a 3.95 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 117:36 K:BB over 109.1 innings. He'll be in search of his first win since July 1 next week when he takes on the Astros.