MLB Player News

Crochet (6-12) took the loss Friday, allowing one run on three hits and no walks over four innings against Oakland. He struck out four.

The southpaw was saddled with his third straight loss despite this solid 56-pitch performance, as the White Sox continue to limit his workload as the season winds down. Crochet has not reached the fifth inning in 12 straight starts, and his 138 innings in 2024 has already more than doubled his prior career high of 54.1 frames, set back in 2021. Things haven't been pretty over those dozen outings, either. The 25-year-old has gone 0-6 with a 5.89 ERA and 1.53 WHIP across 36.2 innings over that span. He is currently projected to make his next short start against the Angels on the road next week.

Driscoll went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Friday's 3-1 win at Cleveland.

The 26-year-old rookie opened the game's scoring when he slugged a 393-foot homer off Tanner Bibee in the third inning for his first career long ball. Driscoll is currently the reserve backstop in Tampa Bay behind Ben Rortvedt, and he's hitting .235 (4-for-14) over his first six MLB games. He did flash a solid bat at Triple-A Durham before his promotion, slashing .292/.367/.473 with seven homers across 293 plate appearances, so it's possible the Rays give him more playing time down the stretch.

Littell (7-9) earned the win Friday against the Guardians, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing two hits and no walks. He struck out five.

The 28-year-old was stellar in this 89-pitch performance, as he generated an impressive 18 whiffs -- including 10 alone on his slider -- despite the relatively low number of punchouts. Littell has picked up consecutive wins while pitching 11 scoreless innings over his last two starts, and he appears to be fully recovered from his August shoulder trouble. He has pitched to a 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 127:31 K:BB across 144.2 innings this season. He is currently slated to make his next outing against the Blue Jays at home.

Uceta picked up the save in Friday's 3-1 victory over Cleveland, pitching 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts.

Activated in advance of Friday's contest after serving a two-game suspension for intentionally throwing at the Phillies' Nick Castellanos on Tuesday, Uceta immediately stepped back into a high-leverage spot for Tampa Bay. He relieved Mason Montgomery with one out in the eighth after the latter allowed two hits to his three batters faced. Uceta efficiently retired five straight batters on only 18 pitches to lock down the win for Tampa Bay. He has now pitched to a 1.42 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 53:6 K:BB with three saves across 38 innings this season. The 26-year-old has been an elite reliever and is in the fluid mix for Tampa Bay save opportunities while Pete Fairbanks (lat) remains on the injured list.

Schmidt allowed two runs on five hits and a walk over 5.2 innings during a no-decision Friday. He struck out five in the win over Boston.

Schmidt rolled through five shutout frames before serving up a two-run homer to Masataka Yoshida that ended his night just shy of a quality start. Those are the only two runs Schmidt has allowed over 10.1 innings since returning from a lengthy stint on the injured list. He forced 13 swinging strikes Friday, including six via the sweeper. He's sporting a 2.41 ERA with a 74:22 K:BB over 70.1 innings this season. Schmidt is projected to start in Seattle next week.

The Red Sox will option Kelly to Triple-A Worcester on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

The decision to send Kelly down to the minors comes shortly after he allowed three earned runs on a hit and two walks without recording an out in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Yankees. The 29-year-old righty owns a 3.97 ERA through 56.2 big-league innings on the year and could still return to Boston to help the Sox get through the final weeks of the regular season.

Bibee (11-8) took the loss Friday against the Rays, allowing three runs on eight hits and no walks over six innings. He struck out nine.

With this 91-pitch effort, Bibee collected his 10th quality start while notching his first game with more than eight strikeouts since June 19 against Seattle. He also managed to post his first walk-free start since Aug. 11. However, all three runs the Cleveland right-hander allowed came via a pair of home runs, and he's yielded a team-worst 22 long balls on the season. Overall, Bibee has pitched to a 3.60 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 175:41 K:BB across 160 innings. He is projected to make his next outing against the Twins at home next week.

Judge went 2-for-3 with a grand slam and a walk in Friday's win over the Yankees.

Judge was stuck in the longest power slump of his career, going 16 straight games since his last homer Aug. 25. He finally broke out of it with a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning. It was his 52nd home run of the year and 18th since the All-Star break. Despite the recent slump, Judge is slashing .321/.455/.688 with 130 RBI and 86 extra-base hits through 146 games.

Story went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Yankees.

Story's two-run blast in the seventh inning was his first home run in nearly a calendar year. It was also his first extra-base hit since returning from the injured list Sept. 7. He's slashing .226/.281/.340 with four extra-base hits and seven RBI through 14 games this season.

The Twins will option Keirsey to Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Keirsey appeared in four games during his first career stint in the majors, during which he went 1-for-10 with a strikeout and an HBP. He'll be sent back to the minors to clear space for Carlos Correa (heel), who is due to return from the injured list Saturday.