MLB Player News

Bassitt will start the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Astros, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Bassitt's scheduled start Friday was postponed, but he'll start as part of a twin bill Saturday instead. Frankie Montas will take the mound for the Athletics in Game 1.

Eovaldi's (calf) scheduled start Sunday was pushed back, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Eovaldi reportedly felt better following a recent bullpen session, but he's still dealing with some calf discomfort and won't be ready to take the mound Sunday against the Nationals. Zack Godley will start in his place. It's unclear when Eovaldi could take the mound.

Bassitt's scheduled start against the Astros on Friday was postponed, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The two teams decided not to play Friday in protest of the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake. The game will be made up as a doubleheader Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. It's unclear whether Bassitt will get a start during the twin bill.

McCullers' scheduled start Friday against the Athletics was postponed, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The two teams decided not to play Friday in protest following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The contest will be made up as a doubleheader Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. McCullers didn't warm up prior to the scheduled contest Friday, and he could take the mound for the Astros on Saturday.

Sandoval was optioned to the Angels' alternate training site Friday.

Sandoval's results have declined over his past three starts, and he'll work to right the ship at the team's alternate camp. Given the Angels' lack of major-league rotation depth this season, the southpaw could return to the active roster prior to the end of the 2020 campaign. Left-hander Jose Quijada was recalled from alternate camp in a corresponding move, but it's unclear who could take Sandoval's place in the starting rotation.

Urquidy (undisclosed) is hoping to return in about 10 days, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Urquidy was able to throw 50 pitches last time he took the mound, which is an indication he is close to being stretched out. As long as all goes well in the coming days he should be activated from the injured list at some point in the first half of September.

Walker will start Saturday against the Orioles, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

He will make his Blue Jays debut in Buffalo against an Orioles team that ranks 17th in the majors with a 98 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. His second start as a Blue Jay figures to come next week in Boston.

Kikuchi (1-2) was credited with the victory in the second game of a doubleheader against the Padres on Thursday, allowing three earned runs on seven hits over five innings while recording six strikeouts.

Kikuchi finally got in the win column in 2020 just over a month after the start of the regular season, firing a relatively efficient 81 pitches over his five frames. Two of the three runs scored against the southpaw were of the small-ball variety, with the one big hit coming in the form of a first-inning solo home run off the bat of Manny Machado. The outing was Kikuchi's second-best performance of the campaign, and it came in the wake of the 29-year-old surrendering a combined eight earned runs across 9.2 innings in his prior two starts. Kikuchi will look to carry that momentum into his next start, which is slated to come at home against the Athletics on Tuesday.

Manager Dusty Baker said Friday that Verlander (forearm) "is a little further away than we would like, but he's closer to reality than it appeared like when he first went down," Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It doesn't sound like his return is imminent, which is not surprising as his most recent progression was throwing 20 pitches, but Baker sounds more optimistic that he could get his ace back before the end of the season.

Boyd won't start Friday against the Tigers as the doubleheader was rained out, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Boyd was originally set to take the mound in Game 1, but the Tigers changed their pitching plans after the contest was delayed by rain, and the twin bill was eventually postponed. One game will be made up via a doubleheader Saturday, and the veteran lefty will take the mound for Game 1. Tarik Skubal will start the nightcap for the Tigers.