MLB Player News
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Johan Oviedo SP | PIT
Pirates' Johan Oviedo: Another no-decision
Oviedo didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Cubs, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three.
The Cubs got to Oviedo early Wednesday, scoring four runs on four hits in the first inning, including a pair of homers. However, the right-hander managed to settle in and blank Chicago over his final four frames, allowing just one additional hit. The four runs mark the most given up by Oviedo through seven starts this season. His ERA sits at 3.52 with a 1.24 WHIP and 32:17 K:BB across 30.2 innings.
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Matthew Boyd SP | CHC
Cubs' Matthew Boyd: Stumbles vs. Pittsburgh
Boyd allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks across three innings in a no-decision Wednesday against the Pirates. He struck out five.
Boyd got off to a rocky start Wednesday, allowing a three-run homer to Joey Bart in the opening inning before walking in a fourth run in the second. It's the shortest outing of the year for Boyd, who's struggled a bit of late with a 6.54 ERA in his last six starts (31.2 innings). Overall, the left-hander is 13-8 with a 3.20 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 151:41 K:BB through 30 starts (174.1 innings) this season. Boyd will look to get back on track his next time out, tentatively scheduled for next week at home against the Mets. If Chicago's current rotation setup holds, it'll likely be his last start of the regular season.
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Nabil Crismatt SP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Nabil Crismatt: Moving to bullpen
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Crismatt will be moved to the bullpen while Arizona proceeds with a four-man rotation for the rest of the season, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.
Despite moving several key pieces at the trade deadline, the 77-75 Diamondbacks surprisingly find themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot with a week and a half remaining in the season. As a result, Lovullo will take a postseason-like approach with the rotation down the stretch as the Diamondbacks look to chase down the 78-73 Mets for the final wild-card spot. Since being called up from Triple-A Reno on Aug. 17, Crismatt has given the Diamondbacks quality production out of the fifth spot in the rotation, turning in a 2.70 ERA over his six outings. Crismatt's underlying numbers (10.9 K-BB%, 4.45 SIERA) are far less impressive, so he likely would have been bound to regress had he continued to make regular starts for Arizona.
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Joe Musgrove SP | SD
Padres' Joe Musgrove: Completes 'up-down' bullpen session
Musgrove (elbow) threw an "up-down" bullpen session at Citi Field on Tuesday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Musgrove essentially completed a two-inning simulated game, albeit without facing hitters. He threw approximately 15 pitches, then rested for a bit before tossing another 15 pitches. The right-hander -- who underwent Tommy John surgery Oct. 11, 2024 -- remains hopeful that he'll be able to contribute out of the San Diego bullpen in the playoffs, though he's not on pace to be ready to go for the wild-card round. With that in mind, the Padres may need to make a deep postseason run for Musgrove to achieve his goal, and even in that scenario, he may not be trusted with pitching high-leverage innings coming off a major injury. The Padres' main focus remains in ensuring that Musgrove enters spring training at full health and is able to break camp as a member of the Opening Day rotation.
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Nestor Cortes SP | SD
Padres' Nestor Cortes: Set to face hitters this weekend
Cortes (biceps) is scheduled to face live hitters Friday at the Padres' facility in Arizona, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Cortes has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since landing on the injured list Sept. 5 due to left biceps tendinitis and is now ready to take the next step in the recovery process by facing hitters. Assuming Friday's workout goes well, Cortes will likely be activated from the IL for the final week of the regular season. Cortes doesn't tentatively line up for a start next week, but with the likelihood that the Padres' playoff positioning will be solidified ahead of their final series next weekend versus the Diamondbacks, Acee speculates that Nick Pivetta won't be asked to start against Arizona. As a result, the Padres could turn to Cortes to make a 3-to-4-inning start or bulk-relief appearance at some point during the series.
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Paul Skenes SP | PIT
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Stumbles against Cubbies
Skenes (10-10) took the loss Tuesday, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks over 3.2 innings as the Pirates were downed 4-1 by the Cubs. He struck out six.
The young right-hander hurt his Cy Young case with his shortest outing of the season, one that got off to an ominous start when Michael Busch led off the game with a solo homer. Despite the stumble, Skenes still leads the NL in strikeouts (209) and ERA (2.03) and sits third in innings with 181.2, and his 0.96 WHIP is second only to the Padres' Nick Pivetta (0.95). Skenes lines up to make one more start before the end of the season, on the road in Cincinnati next week.
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Cade Horton SP | CHC
Cubs' Cade Horton: Looks sharp in 11th win
Horton (11-4) allowed just one run on three hits across five innings to earn the win in Tuesday's 4-1 victory over the Pirates. He walked one and struck out six.
Horton outdueled Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes, who allowed three runs in just 3.2 innings of work. The Chicago rookie hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last 11 starts, and he has a dazzling 0.93 ERA during that stretch. Overall, Horton has a 2.66 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 115 innings this season, which makes him a strong contender for the National League Rookie of the Year award at the end of the year. The 24-year-old lines up to take the hill again Sunday against the Reds.
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MacKenzie Gore SP | WAS
Nationals' MacKenzie Gore: Dazzles in pitchers' duel Tuesday
Gore came away with a no-decision in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against Atlanta, allowing two hits and three walks over 5.1 scoreless innings. He struck out five.
Matched up against fellow left-handed ace Chris Sale, Gore rose to the occasion, tossing 56 of 92 pitches for strikes before leaving the mound in a 0-0 tie that wasn't decided until the 10th inning. Gore hasn't seemed overly affected by the bout of shoulder inflammation that sidelined him briefly in early September, and through two outings since coming off the IL he's given up two runs in 10.1 innings with a 9:5 K:BB. He'll look for his first win since Aug. 10 in his final start of 2025, a rematch with Atlanta on the road early next week.
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Jake Irvin SP | WAS
Nationals' Jake Irvin: One bad inning Tuesday
Irvin (8-13) took the loss in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader against Atlanta, coughing up five runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.
All five runs crossed the plate in the fourth inning as the right-hander blew an early 2-0 lead, with the bad frame including homers off the bats of Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson. Irvin hasn't won a game since late July, dropping eight straight decisions while posting a horrific 9.00 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and 27:18 K:BB over his last nine starts and 42 innings. He's likely to make one more trip to the mound before mercifully putting his 2025 season to bed, lining up for a rematch against Atlanta on the road early next week.
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Chris Sale SP | ATL
Braves' Chris Sale: Dominates in no-decision
Sale came away with a no-decision in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Nationals, scattering three hits over eight scoreless innings. He struck out nine without walking a batter.
The ace southpaw racked up 32 called or swinging strikes over 106 pitches (71 total strikes) in a dominant performance, but MacKenzie Gore and the Washington bullpen matched Sale goose egg for goose egg, until Atlanta finally broke through for five runs in the 10th inning. Sale has fanned exactly nine batters in four straight starts since returning from a rib injury, posting a 1.75 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and 36:2 K:BB through 25.2 innings. He'll look to finish out the season in style with a potential two-step, beginning early next week with a home rematch against the Nats.