MLB Player News
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Paul Skenes P | PIT
Pirates' Paul Skenes: Blanks Cincy to end year
Skenes came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Reds, allowing four hits over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The young ace made his closing statement on a strong NL Cy Young Award case, racking up 18 swinging strikes among his 85 pitches (57 total strikes), and Skenes left the mound in line for his 11th win of the season before Dennis Santana blew the save in the ninth. Skenes leads the Senior Circuit in ERA (1.97) and WHIP (0.95) and is tied for the lead with Logan Webb and Jesus Luzardo in strikeouts at 216, although Webb lines up for one more outing this weekend.
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Zebby Matthews P | MIN
Twins' Zebby Matthews: Won't make another start
Matthews is not scheduled to make a start this weekend in Philadelphia.
Matthews had tentatively lined up to pitch the regular-season finale Sunday, but the Twins have Simeon Woods Richardson scheduled to take the ball that day instead. The righty bounced back from a couple rough outings to throw seven innings of one-run ball versus the Rangers on Tuesday in what turned out to be his final start of the season. Matthews will finish with a 5.56 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 88:24 K:BB over 79.1 frames covering 16 starts for Minnesota in 2025.
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Tanner Bibee SP | CLE
Guardians' Tanner Bibee: Wins third straight
Bibee (12-11) picked up the win in Wednesday's 5-1 victory over the Tigers, allowing one run on five hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out five.
The right-hander extended his win streak to three starts and his quality-start streak to four with another sharp performance, tossing 63 of 105 pitches for strikes. Bibee's produced a 1.30 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 26:5 K:BB through 27.2 September innings, helping the Guardians make history by overcoming a 15.5-game deficit and catching the Tigers in the AL Central -- they now sit one game up with four to play. Unless he's needed this weekend to help clinch a playoff spot, Bibee will put his 2025 regular season in the books with a 4.24 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 162:54 K:BB through 182.1 innings.
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Jack Flaherty SP | DET
Tigers' Jack Flaherty: Can't stem historic collapse
Flaherty (8-15) took the loss Wednesday, giving up three runs on five hits over 4.1 innings as the Tigers were downed 5-1 by the Guardians. He struck out six without walking a batter.
The veteran righty didn't pitch poorly, tossing 55 of 83 pitches for strikes before getting an early hook, but Detroit's offense stayed quiet. Since an eight-run meltdown Aug. 24, Flaherty has delivered a solid 3.33 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 23:9 K:BB over 24.1 innings in five starts, but that hasn't been enough to stop an epic collapse by the Tigers, who have squandered a 15.5-game lead in the AL Central and now sit one game back of the Guardians with four contests left on the schedule. Unless he's needed over the final weekend in an all-hands-on-deck scenario, Flaherty wraps up his 2025 campaign with a 4.64 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 188:59 K:BB though 161 innings.
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Sonny Gray SP | BOS
Cardinals' Sonny Gray: Will consider waiving NTC
Gray said Wednesday that he will "definitely" consider waiving his no-trade clause this offseason in order to facilitate a deal to a contender, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Gray declined to waive his no-trade clause when asked last offseason, but he's had a change of heart as the Cardinals continue their rebuilding phase. The right-hander is owed $35 million in 2026 and has a $5 million buyout on a $30 million club option for 2027, so it's a substantial chunk of salary for a contender to take on. However, there is sure to be plenty of interest after Gray had another strong season, posting a 4.28 ERA (3.39 FIP) and 201:38 K:BB over 180.2 innings.
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Matthew Liberatore SP | STL
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Will not make another start
Liberatore is no longer scheduled to start during this weekend's series against the Cubs, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Liberatore has logged 151.2 innings in 2025, 65.2 more than he threw in 2024, so the Cardinals will shut the lefty down now that they're officially eliminated from playoff contention. The 25-year-old slowed considerably after an excellent first two months of the season, but he had a strong September and will finish with a 4.21 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 122:40 K:BB over 29 starts in his first full season as a big-league starter. Liberatore is locked into a rotation spot in 2026 in what is looking like another rebuilding year in St. Louis.
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Matthew Boyd SP | CHC
Cubs' Matthew Boyd: Grabs 14th win
Boyd (14-8) earned the win Wednesday against the Mets, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out three over 5.1 innings.
Coming off a rough outing in which he lasted just three frames versus Pittsburgh, the left-hander bounced back strong by retiring 13 of the first 15 batters he faced. His lone blemish came in the fifth, when Francisco Alvarez connected for a two-run homer. Boyd had entered the contest struggling with a 6.54 ERA across his previous six starts, but he closed the regular season on a high note. In his first year with the Cubs, the 34-year-old was a steady rotation piece, finishing with a 3.21 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 154:42 K:BB through 179.2 innings.
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Tanner Gordon P | COL
Rockies' Tanner Gordon: Poor showing in eighth loss
Gordon (6-8) took the loss Wednesday against the Mariners, allowing seven runs (five earned) on eight hits and no walks in 3.1 innings. He struck out three.
Gordon was unable to build on his prior two outings, which were both quality starts, as it was his shortest outing since Aug. 4 against the Blue Jays. The right-hander did manage to issue zero walks for the first time Aug. 10, but that's about the extent of the positive takeaways from Wednesday. Gordon has likely made his last appearance in 2025, ending the season with a miserable 6.33 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 62:17 K:BB across 75.1 innings, though five of his last seven outings were quality starts.
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Hunter Brown SP | HOU
Astros' Hunter Brown: Takes loss Wednesday
Brown (12-9) took the loss against the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five innings.
Brown got through two scoreless innings before giving up a run in the third. He was down just 1-0 entering the fifth frame, but the A's tagged him for three runs in what proved to be his final inning of work. Wednesday marked the first time Brown has given up more than two earned runs since he yielded three against Seattle on July 20 (his first start out of the All-Star break). It remains to be seen if he'll get a chance to pitch in the postseason, as Houston currently sits one game out of the final AL wild-card spot.
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Max Scherzer SP | TOR
Blue Jays' Max Scherzer: Early trouble leads to loss
Scherzer (5-5) took the loss Wednesday against the Red Sox, surrendering four runs on 10 hits and no walks while striking out five over five innings.
The veteran was hit hard from the start, giving up five straight hits in the first inning that plated three runs before later serving up a solo homer to Masataka Yoshida in the fifth. The 10 hits marked a season high allowed for Scherzer, who has now been roughed up for 25 runs in 25 innings across his last six starts. The 41-year-old right-hander has struggled badly down the stretch and will finish the regular season with a 5.19 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 82:23 K:BB across 85 frames.