MLB Player News

Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said Wednesday that Early (elbow) is tentatively scheduled to make his team debut Sept. 26 against the Mets, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

Early made his first rehab appearance with Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday, allowing three runs and throwing 35 pitches in one inning. The southpaw is scheduled to throw again Sunday -- presumably at Rochester -- before making his Nationals debut on the penultimate day of the regular season. Acquired at the trade deadline from the Red Sox, Early has missed the better part of three months with left elbow inflammation.

Pecko is expected to pitch in bulk relief behind opener Miguel Ullola in Thursday's game against the Royals, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros will go back to an arrangement that yielded strong results in last Friday's 3-1 loss to the Rays. In that contest, Ullola started and tossed a scoreless inning, while Pecko entered the game in the midway through the third. The 24-year-old Pecko proceeded to deliver his best MLB performance to date, limiting the Rays to one run on one hit and two walks while striking out four over 5.2 innings.

Wrobleski is slated to start Thursday's game against the Reds in Cincinnati, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Wrobleski hasn't worked more than two innings in any of his three appearances since returning from the 15-day injured list Sept. 1, so he's expected to operate as more of an opener than a traditional starter Thursday. The Dodgers plan to recall Landon Knack from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, and he'll likely be called upon to cover multiple frames out of the bullpen once Wrobleski exits the game.

Nelson allowed a hit and two walks over 1.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to Miami.

Nelson, who was reinstated from the injured list Wednesday, entered the contest with a runner on and two outs in the fifth inning. He walked a batter before getting out of the inning. Nelson then worked around a walk and a single for a scoreless sixth. He will be used as a reliever down the stretch.

Kikuchi (1-6) allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks while striking out four over 4.1 innings to take the loss Wednesday versus the Mariners.

The five walks were a season high for Kikuchi, who has issued 12 free passes over his last 14.1 innings. He has at least kept the ball in the yard in that span, but the Mariners were able to pick him apart with singles and walks in Wednesday's game. For the season, Kikuchi is at a 5.02 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 58:28 K:BB through 57.1 innings over 12 starts. The southpaw is projected to make his next start on the road versus the Athletics.

Kirby allowed two runs on five hits and five walks while striking out five over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Wednesday.

Kirby's five walks were a season high, and it underscores his step back in the command department this season. The right-hander has issued 44 walks this year, already 15 more than in any other campaign of his career, though his 2.3 BB/9 is still pretty good in the general context of the majors. The walk rate has been creeping up lately -- he's issued 19 free passes over 49.2 frames since the start of August. Through 169.2 innings this season, Kirby has a 4.24 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 143 strikeouts. His next start is projected to be at home versus the Astros.

Kelly (9-14) allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out nine over 4.2 innings to take the loss versus the Marlins on Wednesday.

Kelly gave up a pair of runs in both of the second and third innings. He exited at 91 pitches (61 strikes) while falling short of the five-inning mark for the second start in a row. The veteran right-hander is now at a 5.00 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 111:69 K:BB through 28 starts this season. This was his 200th career start in the majors. Kelly is projected to make a start in Colorado next week, which may be his last of the campaign.

Alcantara walked one in a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

With the Marlins still technically holding onto thin playoff hopes, Alcantara stepped up just two days after his most recent start to close out this game. The Marlins are without Pete Fairbanks (hand) for the rest of the year, but Alcantara is not expected to move to the bullpen on a full-time basis. This was Alcantara's first relief appearance since he began his career with eight games out of the Cardinals' bullpen in 2017. The workhorse starter has a 3.84 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 149:58 K:BB through 206 innings over 33 games (32 starts) this year. Assuming Wednesday's appearance functioned as a between-starts bullpen session, Alcantara is lined up to pitch over the weekend in San Diego.

Gusto allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four over 4.1 innings in a no-decision versus the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Both runs against came on solo shots -- Pavin Smith had one in the second inning and Gabriel Moreno went deep in the fifth. Gusto has allowed nine runs over 15 innings across his three outings in September. The right-hander is at a 4.14 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 69:26 K:BB through 82.2 innings over 22 games (17 starts) this year. Gusto is currently projected to make one more start this season on the road against the Cubs.

Adams (0-1) allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out one over 4.1 innings to take the loss versus the Padres on Wednesday.

Adams was under the five-inning mark for the third time in five starts in the majors, and this was his worst outing yet. While he gave up just two extra-base hits, the Padres were able to pick him apart, racking up at least one run in four of the five innings Adams pitched in. Through 23 innings, he has a 5.09 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 23:12 K:BB as well as six home runs allowed. Adams is projected to make his next start at home versus the Diamondbacks.