MLB Player News

Bello (11-5) earned the win over Baltimore on Saturday, allowing one run on two hits and three walks while striking out six batters over six innings.

Bello tossed five scoreless frames before serving up a game-tying solo homer to Gunnar Henderson in the sixth inning. That was the hurler's final frame, but Boston scored in the top of the seventh to move him in line for the victory. Bello has shown considerable improvement since the All-Star break, notching five quality starts across seven outings and posting a 3.57 ERA across 40.1 innings. The improvement in ERA is particularly promising after the right-hander recorded a 5.40 ERA over 83.1 frames during the first half of the season.

Blanco went 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and seven RBI in Saturday's 13-1 rout of the Reds.

Blanco was probably the last KC starter anyone would have expected to notch a multi-homer game, as he entered Saturday with just one long ball over 105 plate appearances on the season. However, the 31-year-old hit two long balls in the span of two innings, smacking a two-run homer in the second frame and adding a grand slam in the third. For good measure, Blanco notched an RBI single in the fourth inning for his seventh RBI of the game -- two more than he had accumulated over those 105 plate appearances coming into the contest.

Wacha (10-6) earned the win over Cincinnati on Saturday, allowing four hits and issuing one walk while striking out nine batters over six scoreless innings.

The Royals built a 10-run lead through three frames, so Wacha didn't face much pressure in the contest. Still, he didn't let down his guard, yielding just four hits -- all of which were singles -- while tossing six scoreless frames for his fourth consecutive quality start. Wacha's nine punchouts were a season high, and he reached the double-digit win mark for the fifth time in his 12-year career.

The Orioles will option Povich to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Povich was brought up to the big-league club to start Saturday's game against the Red Sox and give the other members of the Orioles' rotation an additional day of rest. The 24-year-old was dealt the loss but pitched well, completed 6.1 innings and striking out six batters while allowing two runs on six hits and no walks. He'll head back to Norfolk for the time being but should be first in line to join the rotation if a spot opens up at some point down the road. After Saturday's loss, Povich has a 1-6 record to go along with a 5.77 ERA and 31:23 K:BB across 43.2 innings in the big leagues.

Brown went 3-for-3 with one RBI in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Giants.

Brown plated the Athletics' second run with an RBI single in the sixth inning, which was his third hit of the game. A stint on the paternity list explains part of Brown's limited playing time in August -- he's gone 9-for-29 (.310) over eight contests this month. He remains in a strong-side platoon role at first base, sharing the position primarily with Tyler Nevin. Brown is slashing .224/.280/.376 with 10 home runs, 29 RBI, 22 runs scored and four stolen bases over 275 plate appearances this season.

Otanez allowed a hit and a walk while striking out three over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Giants.

Mason Miller and Tyler Ferguson were presumably unavailable after heavy workloads in the Athletics' last game Thursday. Otanez was a little fresher, and while it took him 26 pitches (17 strikes) to get the job done, he was able to secure his first major-league save in just his 18th appearance. Otanez has allowed two runs with a 13:1 K:BB over eight innings in August, and he's now at a 3.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 29:10 K:BB through 18 innings overall. He's added just one hold this year, so it's unlikely that he'll feature regularly in high-leverage situations.

Bido (4-3) allowed a hit and two walks while striking out six over six shutout innings to earn the win Saturday over the Giants.

Bido has turned in consecutive starts of six scoreless innings. The right-hander has posted a quality start in all three of his outings in August, allowing just three runs (two earned) over 18 innings while adding a 17:6 K:BB. For the season, Bido has a 3.40 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 45:21 K:BB through 45 innings over 12 appearances (six starts). He's emerged as a reliable starter for Oakland, and he's projected to make his next start at home versus the Rays.

Bassitt (9-12) took the loss against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings.

Bassitt surrendered a leadoff homer to Ian Happ in the first inning and then yielded two more runs in the fifth. He battled through two rain delays but failed to record a win or quality start for the fifth time in six chances since the All-Star break. On the year, the veteran owns a 4.34 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 134:54 K:BB across 139 innings and lines up for a home matchup with the Angels next week.

Benintendi went 0-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base and one run scored in Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Astros.

Benintendi walked in his first two plate appearances and scored the White Sox's lone run of the game in the first inning on a Gavin Sheets RBI single. The steal was Benintendi's first since May 24, and he had just one attempt over 54 games between thefts. For the year, the outfielder is at a .216/.269/.367 slash line with 13 home runs, three steals, 41 RBI and 35 runs scored over 101 contests.

Flexen (2-12) allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out one over four innings to take the loss Saturday versus the Astros.

Flexen was decent over the first two innings, but a three-run third took this start off the rails. It was his 18th start in a row without a win, and it's the third straight outing in which he's failed to complete five innings. The 30-year-old right-hander is now at a 5.46 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 85:51 K:BB through 122 innings over 26 appearances (24 starts). Flexen's next outing is projected to be at home versus the Tigers.