MLB Player News

Baker struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his third save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Nationals.

Pete Fairbanks threw 22 pitches the night before and was presumably unavailable, but Griffin Jax handled the eighth inning after Mason Englert gave up Washington's only run, while Baker took care of the ninth. It was Baker's first save since being acquired by the Rays in early July, and after some initial struggles with his new team, he's posted a 1.50 ERA, 0.42 WHIP and 15:1 K:BB over 12 August innings.

Osuna isn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup against the Athletics.

The lefty-hitting Osuna had been in the lineup for each of Texas' previous two games against a right-handed starter, but he's beginning on the bench Saturday despite the A's sending righty Mason Barnett to the mound. The Rangers' starting outfield Saturday consists of Wyatt Langford, Michael Helman and Adolis Garcia from left to right.

Pepiot (10-10) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one hit and three walks over five scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory over the Nationals. He struck out six.

The Rays staked Pepiot to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and he never looked back, racking up 15 swinging strikes among his 93 pitches (53 total strikes). The right-hander has won four of his last five starts, lasting at least five innings in each and posting a 3.25 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 27:10 K:BB over 27.2 innings. Pepiot lines up to make his next outing at home next week against the Guardians.

Straw went 3-for-3 with a double in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Brewers.

Getting a start in center field with Daulton Varsho (hand) sidelined, Straw not only had a perfect day at the plate, he make an impact on defense as well, robbing a home run from Jackson Chourio in the first inning in a game that was tied 1-1 until the ninth inning. Straw has been used mainly as a late-inning defensive replacement of late, but he's come through when called upon, batting .333 (14-for-42) in August with two doubles, two homers, three steals, seven RBI and 10 runs in 23 games.

Hoffman (8-6) took the loss Saturday, coughing up three runs on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning as the Blue Jays were downed 4-1 by the Brewers.

Called in for the top of the ninth inning in a 1-1 tie, Hoffman instead served up back-to-back homers to Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich before Isaac Collins added an RBI double. The long ball remains Hoffman's bugaboo this season -- he's been taken deep 14 times in 56.1 innings, leaving him with a 5.11 ERA, and he's given up two homers twice in his last three appearances.

Gausman didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Brewers, allowing one run on four hits over seven innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.

The veteran righty rose to the challenge of facing the team with the best record in the league, firing 66 strikes among his 96 pitches in his 13th quality start of the season, but the Blue Jays couldn't give him much run support in a game that got decided in the ninth inning. Over eight outings since the All-Star break, Gausman has produced a 2.82 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 53:9 K:BB in 51 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next weekend in Yankee Stadium.

Suarez (shoulder) could be activated from the 60-day injured list Monday, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Suarez has been on the IL since late March with a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder, but he's on the cusp of rejoining the big club. The 35-year-old right-hander began a rehab assignment Aug. 12 and has since given up five earned runs over 12.2 innings while striking out five batters and walking six over five appearances between Double-A Chesapeake and Triple-A Norfolk. He had built up to five innings by his third rehab outing but has been limited to less than two frames in both of his last two appearances, which indicates that the Orioles plan to use him out of the bullpen once he's activated.

Harris isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rangers.

Harris will miss a second consecutive start since going 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored during Wednesday's game against Detroit. Darell Hernaiz will get the nod at third base instead and bat eighth.

Kurtz (oblique) isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Texas.

Oblique soreness forced Kurtz to make an early exit from Friday's game, and the issue is apparently severe enough to keep him from playing Saturday as well. While the 22-year-old rookie takes a day to recover, Tyler Soderstrom will shift to first base with Carlos Cortes patrolling left field.

Baez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Kansas City.

After collecting a base hit and scoring a run during Friday's win, Baez will retreat to the dugout Saturday with Riley Greene, Wenceel Perez and Kerry Carpenter in the outfield for the Tigers.