MLB Player News

Martin isn't starting Friday's game against the Twins but could be used as the bulk pitcher behind opener Joe Kelly, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The rookie right-hander was previously listed as the probable starter for Friday, but Kelly will instead open the contest. The White Sox haven't announced their pitching plans behind Kelly, but Martin could be utilized as the primary pitcher. The 25-year-old has started in five of his nine MLB outings this year and has a 4.62 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 28:14 K:BB across 39 innings.

Civale was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with right forearm inflammation, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Forearm issues can sometimes be a precursor to surgery, and sometimes they are just require a short shutdown period to get past. Either way, however, Civale should be considered questionable to pitch again this season. Zach Plesac also went on the injured list Friday with a fractured pitching hand, so Cody Morris (starting Friday) and Xzavion Curry are likely to step into the September rotation.

Schmidt will pick up his next start Saturday against the Rays at Tropicana Field.

He'll be making his second straight turn through the rotation as a replacement for Nestor Cortes (groin). While making his second start of the season for the Yankees in his last trip to the mound Aug. 28 in Oakland, Schmidt struck out seven over 4.1 innings, but he took the loss after surrendering four earned runs on eight hits and one walk.

Martin is slated to start Friday's game against the Twins, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

He'll be making his second straight turn through the rotation as a replacement for Michael Kopech (knee), who remains on the 15-day injured list. In his last outing Aug. 27 against the Diamondbacks, Martin was lit up for five runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks while recording two strikeouts in three innings. He'll take a 4.62 ERA and 1.31 WHIP into Friday's start, his sixth of the season with the White Sox.

Anderson remains on track to start Sunday's game against the Rockies in Cincinnati, despite being used in relief Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Cincinnati added Anderson to the roster Monday and had him start that day's series opener with the Cardinals, but he was chased midway through the second inning after allowing five earned runs while recording just five outs. The Reds likely didn't plan on having Anderson work out of the bullpen Wednesday, but with the game going into the 13th inning and the only other available reliever (Joel Kuhnel) having worked each of the previous two days, manager David Bell turned to the veteran right-hander. Anderson ended up surrendering three runs (two earned) to take his second loss in three days, but since he tossed only 36 pitches Monday and 19 on Wednesday, he shouldn't face any significant workload restrictions when he returns to the mound Sunday.

Houser struck out two and allowed one hit and no walks over two scoreless relief innings in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Pirates.

In his return from the injured list Aug. 24, Houser started and was blasted by the Dodgers for five runs on five hits and four walks en route to his ninth loss of the season. After that outing, manager Craig Counsell didn't specify what Houser's role would be moving forward, but the right-hander's usage out of the bullpen Wednesday would seemingly imply that he no longer has a hold on a rotation spot. Jason Alexander stepped in as the Brewers' new No. 5 starter Tuesday and will be rewarded with a second turn through the rotation Sunday in Arizona after he limited the Pirates to one run while allowing five baserunners over five frames in a no-decision.

Woodruff (9-4) took the loss against Arizona on Thursday, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out four batters over 5.2 innings.

Woodruff fell behind early, allowing two runs on a Christian Walker homer in the first inning. He yielded another run in the second and two more in the sixth to finish with his worst outing since early May. Woodruff has been stuck on nine wins since the end of July, though this was his first loss following five straight no-decisions. His numbers are down overall compared to last season, but he's still pitched relatively well with a 3.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 136:34 K:BB over 114.1 innings.

Kelly (12-5) earned the win over Milwaukee on Thursday, pitching seven scoreless innings during which he allowed four hits and no walks while striking out seven batters.

Kelly received some early run support and capitalized with a dominant start. He didn't allow any extra-base hits and racked up 14 swinging strikes among his 91 pitches. Kelly extended his streak of appearances without a loss to 12, dating back to the start of July. Over that stretch, he's posted a 2.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 71:18 K:BB over 80.2 innings while picking up six wins. Though the Diamondbacks are likely out of playoff contention, this season has at least seen the emergence of two potential rotation anchors in Kelly and Zac Gallen.

Strider (9-4) earned the win over Colorado on Thursday, allowing two hits and no walks while striking out 16 batters over eight scoreless innings.

Strider overpowered the Rockies in his most impressive performance as a big leaguer, racking up 22 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. The strikeout total established a new franchise record in a nine-inning game, surpassing the 15 K's recorded by John Smoltz in both 1992 and 2005 and Warren Spahn in 1960. Strider has posted five double-digit strikeout performances across 17 starts this season and ranks ninth in the league with 176 punchouts despite hurling only 114.2 innings. As icing on the cake, he appears to be getting stronger as the season winds down -- over his past four starts, the rookie right-hander has gone 3-0 while registering a 1.08 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and 36:4 K:BB over 25 frames.

Hill pitched four-plus innings in a no-decision against Texas on Thursday. He allowed four runs on five hits and four walks while striking out two batters.

Hill pitched his best game of the season his previous time out, striking out 11 batters over seven scoreless innings against Tampa Bay. He couldn't carry over that momentum, however, as he tied a season high with four walks and was lifted after allowing the first three batters he faced in the fifth frame to reach base. Hill hasn't had many big blowups this season, but he's allowed at least four runs in six of his 20 outings, leading to a mediocre 4.52 ERA for the year. He no longer strikes out batters on a consistent basis, further dampening his value in fantasy.