MLB Player News

Montgomery (2-3) took the loss Thursday as the Yankees were downed 4-1 by the Blue Jays, allowing three runs on six hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The southpaw threw 88 pitches (60 strikes) in a solid outing, but he simply got outpitched by Hyun-Jin Ryu. Montgomery finished the regular season on something of a roll, posting a 4.02 ERA and impressive 24:3 K:BB over his final three starts and 15.2 innings, but it remains to be seen how he'll be deployed in the postseason.

Luzardo tossed three innings in relief during Thursday's loss to the Dodgers, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks. He did not record a strikeout.

Rather than making one more start this weekend against the Mariners, the A's opted to use Luzardo in relief Thursday. Manager Bob Melvin said after the game that the decision to use him out of the bullpen was made in order to keep the southpaw as an option for the first round of the playoffs, according to John Hickey of SI.com. Luzardo would now line up to pitch Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday on four days' rest, though fellow lefty Sean Manaea may be the more likely option to open Oakland's playoff slate.

Keuchel allowed one run on four hits and two walks while striking out three over six innings in a no-decision against Cleveland on Thursday.

The Chicago bullpen let him down, but Keuchel did his part with six innings of one-run ball, bringing his ERA for the season under 2.00. It's been a resurgent year for the 2015 AL Cy Young winner after a down season with Atlanta. Keuchel makes up for his lack of swing-and-miss stuff with groundballs galore -- he gave up a mere two homers in 63.1 innings this season. Look for Keuchel to start the second postseason game for the White Sox after Lucas Giolito starts Game 1.

Bubic did not factor into the decision during Thursday's win against Detroit, surrendering four runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out three across 4.2 innings.

Bubic was mainly hurt by the long ball, giving up a two-run home run to Willi Castro in the third inning, then a two-run blast to Miguel Cabrera in the fifth. The southpaw left the game with the score knotted, 4-4, and fortunately the Royals soon surged ahead for good. Bubic wraps up the regular season with a 1-6 record, 4.32 ERA and 1.48 WHIP across 10 starts.

Javier (5-2) picked up the win Thursday after holding the Rangers to three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six across 5.2 innings.

Javier blanked the Rangers until the sixth inning when Willie Calhoun swatted a two-run home run. Following a wild pitch, the 23-year-old allowed a third run to score on a sacrifice fly to Rougned Odor, who would be Javier's final batter of the night. Despite spending the majority of his rookie season as a starter, Javier is expected to move into the bullpen for the Wild Card Series. The right-hander finishes out the regular season with a 3.48 ERA and 0.99 WHIP across 12 appearances (10 starts).

Lynn (6-3) was charged with the loss against Houston on Thursday, surrendering 10 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits and two walks while striking out five across 5.2 innings.

To say Lynn got obliterated by the Astros would be an understatement. The 33-year-old was rocked for a season-worst 10 runs, including homers by George Springer, Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve, bringing Lynn's season home-run total to 13. With the tough outing, the right-hander's ERA rose from 2.53 to 3.32. The only positive note to take away is that he continued his streak of 37 consecutive starts with 100-plus pitches. Overall, Lynn compiled an impressive 2020 campaign, but the surface numbers looked a lot better a day ago.

Kaprielian was recalled from the alternate training site Thursday.

Kaprielian is set to rejoin the major-league roster after J.B. Wendelken was placed on the injured list due to an undisclosed issue. The right-handed Kaprielian has appeared in one game for Oakland this year, allowing one run across two innings against the Giants on Aug. 16. He figures to assume a long-relief role in the Athletics' bullpen.

Kremer was optioned to the Orioles' alternate training site Thursday.

He was not scheduled to make another start this season, so the Orioles will summon some bullpen depth in David Hess. Kremer gave up more runs (seven) in his last start than he did in his first three combined (three), finishing with a 4.82 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 22:12 K:BB in 18.2 innings. He walked three batters in each of his four starts.

Schmidt will likely be called up to start Sunday's game against the Marlins, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

This would essentially be an audition for Schmidt to make the roster for the AL Division Series, as he would not be available for the initial best-of-three series. He has not been used as a traditional starter in his two big-league appearances thus far this season, but Schmidt still has a very high ceiling and floor long term and could emerge as an unlikely weapon for the Yankees this October.

Rodon (shoulder) was reinstated from the 45-day injured list prior to Thursday's game against Cleveland.

He last pitched Aug. 3 -- one of only two appearances for the southpaw this season. It's encouraging that Rodon's shoulder is healthy enough for him to be activated, but it is unclear exactly what his role will be down the stretch and into the postseason. He could get a brief audition as a long reliever over the final four games, and could make the postseason roster in that capacity.