MLB Player News

Criswell is scheduled to start Wednesday's game against the Astros in Houston.

After returning from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Criswell worked in bulk relief behind opener Brennan Bernardino later that night in the Red Sox's 12-10 win over the Orioles, picking up a win despite allowing six earned runs on nine hits and four walks over 3.1 innings. The poor outing won't prevent him from settling in as the Red Sox's new No. 5 starter in place of James Paxton (calf), who was placed on the 15-day injured list Monday and is out indefinitely. Criswell lacks strikeout upside but has done a good job inducing weak contact this season (50 percent groundball rate) while accruing a 4.56 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 75 innings with Boston.

Lopez allowed six hits and three walks while striking out three over six scoreless innings in a no-decision versus the Rangers on Sunday.

Lopez wasn't dominant, but he was good enough for the first six innings. He threw 71 of 107 pitches for strikes, but his strong outing went to waste when Jorge Alcala gave up five runs in the seventh inning. This was Lopez's first scoreless outing since June 23, but he's managed to earn a quality start in five of his last six appearances. For the year, he has a 4.47 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 152:32 K:BB through 141 innings over 25 starts. Lopez is projected to make his next start at home versus the Cardinals.

Matthews is scheduled to start Monday's game against the Padres at Petco Park.

The Twins called up both Matthews and Louie Varland from Triple-A St. Paul last week to make starts, but after Varland was sent back to the minors following his outing, Matthews will stick around as the fifth member of the big-league rotation. After producing an eye-popping 114:7 K:BB in 97 innings across three stops in the minors this season prior to his call-up, Matthews continued to exhibit sharp control in his MLB debut last Tuesday, striking out five and giving up two earned runs on five hits and no walks over five innings en route to notching a win over the Royals. Matthews tentatively lines up for two starts during the upcoming week, with his second turn set to come next Sunday at home versus the Cardinals.

Blackburn pitched six innings of one-run ball in Sunday's loss to the Marlins, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four. He did not factor into the decision.

Coming off a brutal outing where he allowed six runs and took the loss against the Athletics, Blackburn fared much better Sunday, yielding just one run on a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly in the third inning. Blackburn turned in his seventh quality start of the season and now has three quality starts in four outings since being acquired by the Mets at the trade deadline. The 30-year-old owns a 3.68 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and 20:7 K:BB in 22 innings with his new club. He is currently lined up to face the Padres next weekend.

Boyle is scheduled to start Monday's game against the Rays at Oakland Coliseum.

After getting recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas last Tuesday, Boyle immediately stepped into the rotation as a replacement for Ross Stripling, who was sent to the bullpen. In his first start for Oakland since May 5, Boyle took a no-decision in a 9-4 win over the Mets, striking out six over four innings while allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks. Through eight outings overall in the big leagues this season, Boyle owns a 2-5 record and 7.39 ERA across 31.2 innings.

Mahle allowed four runs on six hits and struck out one without walking a batter over three innings in a no-decision versus the Twins on Sunday.

Mahle struggled early, giving up three runs in the first inning to his former team. Ryan Jeffers had a two-run blast in that frame and an RBI single in the third, and Mahle was done at 61 pitches (41 strikes), making this the shortest of his three starts since he returned from Tommy John surgery. He's pitched to a 4.97 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 10:4 K:BB over 12.2 innings in those appearances. He's tentatively projected for a road start in Cleveland in his next outing.

Imanaga (9-3) allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out six over five innings to take the loss Sunday versus the Blue Jays.

Imanaga was good aside from a Joey Loperfido solo home run in the second inning, but that ended up being the lone run of the game. Imanaga has allowed 14 runs (10 earned) over 23.2 innings across four starts in August, though his 26:3 K:BB in that same span paints a more encouraging picture. For the year, the southpaw has a 3.11 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 137:20 K:BB through 133.1 innings over 23 starts. He's lined up for a favorable road start in Miami his next time out.

The Angels are expected to select Cueto's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake during the upcoming week, Hector Gomez of Z101Digital.com reports.

Cueto has been pitching with Salt Lake since signing a minor-league deal with the Angels on July 20. Through four starts, he's maintained a 3.09 ERA and 1.37 WHIP while working at least five innings on each occasion. He should slot into the rotation while Jose Soriano (arm) is on the shelf. Wednesday's game in Kansas City looks to be the first chance Cueto will have to make a start in Soriano's stead.

Woodford (0-5) took the loss Sunday, allowing seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and one walk over four innings against the Mariners. He struck out four.

Woodford was tagged early when Cal Raleigh blasted a two-run homer with one out in the first inning and was never able to find his footing as he was let down both by his own performance and by poor defense. After showing well in a spot start against San Diego, Woodford was given another crack but was lit up for seven total runs by a Mariners squad that had failed to score more than three runs in any game during the five-game losing streak that they carried into the contest. While a better performance may have altered the Pirates' mindset a bit, with Jared Jones (lat) slated to make at least one more rehab start early this week, Woodford appears to be the most likely to lose his spot in the rotation once jones is ready to make his return.

Kirby (9-9) earned the win Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks over six innings against the Pirates. He struck out five.

Kirby scattered just two hits through the first five innings as the Mariners provided the righty a 7-0 cushion. A Joey Bart two-run homer in the sixth was the first and only blemish against Kirby, who contributed his 16th quality start of the season. The 26-year-old righty put a halt to the Mariners' five-game skid, rebounding from allowing career highs in runs (11) and hits (13) against Detroit in his last start to allow two runs or fewer for the 17th time over 25 starts. He'll carry a 3.40 ERA and 1.08 WHIP into a scheduled home matchup next week against the Giants.