MLB Player News

Matthews did not factor into the decision Sunday, allowing one run on four hits over five innings against the Cardinals. He struck out seven.

Matthews put together his best performance to date, allowing a career-best one run while striking out seven, which more than doubled the six punchouts he accumulated during his first two big-league starts. He held the Cardinals scoreless through four frames, and a two-out solo homer by Victor Scott in the fifth was the only blemish against his line. The rookie left-hander has now completed exactly five innings in each of his starts and has been effective in allowing a total of five earned runs. Matthews has earned the chance to remain in the rotation, with his next start scheduled to take place at home against the Blue Jays.

Dunning was used in relief in Saturday's 13-5 loss to the Guardians, tossing one inning while allowing one earned run on two hits.

Dunning had started in both of his previous two appearances, but he looks set to operate as a reliever moving forward with the Rangers expected to call up Jack Leiter from Triple-A Round Rock during the upcoming week to serve as a temporary fifth member of the rotation until at least one of Tyler Mahle (shoulder), Jacob deGrom (elbow) or Max Scherzer (shoulder) returns from the injured list. In his last start Monday against the Pirates, Dunning averaged just 88.1 miles per hour with his fastball, and he didn't notice much of a bump in velocity Saturday despite moving to the bullpen. He maxed out at 90.3 mph and failed to generate a swinging strike from any of the four batters he faced.

Dubon (undisclosed) was forced to exit Sunday's 6-3 win over the Orioles in eighth inning, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Dubon made an impressive running catch in left field, crashing into the wall for the final out of the bottom of the seventh inning. The 30-year-old was subsequently removed from the game, but manager Joe Espada said following the contest that Dubon escaped without suffering a serious injury. The Astros will begin a three-game series on the road against the Phillies on Monday, and Dubon can be considered day-to-day for the time being.

Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a double and a two runs scored in Sunday's 9-4 win over the White Sox.

Carpenter continues to hit the ball hard since returning from the injured list due to a lumbar spine stress fracture. In 10 games following his activation, the 26-year-old is batting .270 with five extra-base hits, including four home runs. Carpenter has been a dynamic offensive player when healthy over the past two seasons, and he's now sporting a robust .836 OPS for his career across 209 games at the MLB level.

Ibanez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and three total RBI in Sunday's 9-4 win over the White Sox.

Ibanez appeared as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning, then went deep in the seventh, giving him five home runs this season. The 31-year-old utility player has a respectable .261 average and .708 OPS, but with youngsters Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith and Jace Jung now seeing regular playing time in Detroit's infield, Ibanez may see his role shrink in coming weeks. At the very least, Ibanez is an interesting bargain option in daily leagues whenever he's in the lineup.

Sammons (1-1) yielded one run on three hits and two walks over 4.1 innings in relief Sunday, striking out three and earning a win over the White Sox.

Sammons entered the game in the second inning after Beau Brieske threw one frame as the opener. The only run the White Sox scored during Sammons' outing came via Andrew Vaughn's solo shot in the third frame. Sammons has found success as a long reliever since being promoted to Detroit; he's thrown at least four innings in five of his six career MLB appearances (zero starts) while registering a 3.62 ERA over 27.1 frames. He should continue being used as a bulk-relief option down the stretch.

Keith went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, a run scored and a walk in Sunday's win over the White Sox.

Keith singled in a run during the third inning before capping off Detroit's nine-run day with his two-run double in the eighth. It was his ninth multi-hit performance of the month and his seventh over the last 12 games. During that 12-game stretch, he's 19-for-50 (.380), but only four of those hits have gone for extra bases. After some early-season struggles (.595 OPS through the end of June), Keith is now slashing .264/.316/.398 with 29 extra-base hits, seven steals and 51 RBI through 119 games.

Cannon (2-8) yielded five runs on eight hits and four walks over four-plus innings Sunday, striking out four and taking a loss against Detroit.

Cannon escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but things got worse from there. He gave up a run in each of the third and fourth innings before falling apart; he put four straight Tigers on base without recording an out in the fifth inning and was charged with three more runs. Cannon was handed his third straight loss and saw his ERA jump to 4.57 across 90.2 innings. He's 1-6 with a 4.93 ERA over his last eight outings. Cannon is projected for a home matchup against the Mets next weekend.

Vaughn went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, two RBI and a walk in Sunday's loss to Detroit.

Vaughn knocked an RBI double in the first inning before ripping a solo shot in the third. He ended a 12-game homerless drought, though he did hit .311 during that power slump. After hitting just .188 in July, Vaughn has gone 23-for-72 (.319) with 10 extra-base hits in August. For the year, he owns a .246/.300/.406 slash line with 15 home runs and 57 RBI.

Bradford (4-2) yielded two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks over six innings Sunday, striking out three and taking a loss against Cleveland.

Bradford gave up a run in each of the first two innings but settled in to deliver his third straight quality start. After a 4-0 start through seven outings, he's lost two straight starts despite giving up just four earned runs over 13 innings during that span. He's sporting a 3.31 ERA with an impressive 44:8 K:BB through 49 innings. Bradford's next outing is projected to be at home against Oakland.