MLB Player News

Chirinos will likely serve as the Rays' primary pitcher Sunday against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Chirinos will be available on five days' rest after limiting the Blue Jays to one run while striking out five over seven innings in relief en route to picking up the win Monday. Ryne Stanek will likely work no more than one or two frames as the Rays' opener in the series finale before Chirinos is summoned from the bullpen.

Heaney will start Sunday's game against the White Sox, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

It wasn't expected Heaney would get a second turn through the rotation this week after lasting six innings and taking a loss Tuesday against the Rangers, but he'll return to the hill Sunday after the previously scheduled starter, Shohei Ohtani, was recommended to undergo Tommy John surgery. It's unclear if Ohtani plans to heed that advice, but with the Japanese phenom not set to pitch again this season, the Angels will likely roll with a five-man rotation rather than the six-man staff that was needed to give the rookie his desired six days' rest between starts. While he'll draw a favorable matchup versus a strikeout-prone White Sox squad, Heaney hasn't been overly reliable since the All-Star break, turning in a 4.85 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.6 K/9 over his nine second-half starts.

Lynn (9-10) allowed two earned runs on three hits and zero walks while striking out two across six innings to earn the win against the Mariners on Saturday.

Lynn was taken deep by Mike Zunino in the third inning, but he held the Mariners in check otherwise. He wasn't particularly dominant -- he generated only four swinging strikes -- but was effective nonetheless. The effort was a bounceback performance for Lynn, who had allowed 19 earned runs across his last 18.2 innings prior to Saturday's start.

Berrios (11-11) took the loss Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over six innings while striking out five as the Twins fell 4-1 to the Royals.

The right-hander delivered his first quality start in over a month, but he had no shot at a win with Jorge Lopez taking a perfect game into the ninth inning opposite him. Berrios will carry a 3.83 ERA into his next outing Friday in a road rematch with the Royals.

Boyd didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Cardinals, allowing one run on two hits and a walk over seven-plus innings while striking out 11.

The southpaw was brilliant in delivering his sixth quality start in 10 outings since the All-Star break, holding St. Louis without a hit through six innings and without a run for seven, until Paul DeJong led off the eighth with a solo shot. Boyd's 11 strikeouts were a season high for the 27-year-old, and he'll take a 4.11 ERA into his next start Friday in Cleveland.

Rodriguez (12-4) took the loss Saturday against the Red Sox, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks across 3.1 innings. He struck out four.

Rodriguez just didn't have it in this one. He needed 78 pitches to record just 10 outs while four of the six hits he allowed went for extra bases, including two solo homers. The southpaw fanned 12 batters across 5.2 innings and gave up just one run in his first start back from the disabled list last week, so he'll look to get back on track in his next start, which will come at home against the Blue Jays.

Morton (14-3) picked up the win Saturday against the Red Sox, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks across five innings. He struck out three.

Morton dealt with a good amount of traffic in this one but was able to limit the damage. It was respectable return to action for the right-hander, who hadn't started since Aug. 28 due to a shoulder injury. Morton hasn't lasted longer than five innings in any of his last four starts, struggling to a 5.03 ERA and 17:9 K:BB over that stretch (19.2 innings), though he still owns a sharp 3.15 ERA with 188 strikeouts on the season. He'll face the Diamondbacks at home next.

Springs will open Sunday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Springs will make his second appearance as an opener for the Rangers, with Ariel Jurado again set to follow. Springs tossed two scoreless innings during his first "start" Monday and overall has a 2.29 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 19.2 innings with the Rangers.

McCullers (forearm) felt good after a bullpen session Saturday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCullers did not throw any curveballs during the session. He's expected to throw another bullpen session during the Astros' series in Detroit, which runs from Monday to Wednesday, during which he'll throw all of his pitches. It's not yet clear exactly when he'll be able to return to the active roster.

Cobb (hand) had a light throwing session prior to Saturday's game against Tampa Bay, Eduardo A. Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Orioles announced Friday that Cobb would be pushed back from Sunday's scheduled start due to a blister on his right hand. The 30-year-old currently hopes to be ready to start against the Athletics on Tuesday.