MLB Player News

Munoz struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 2-1 win over the Angels.

Munoz got the job done on a tidy 12 pitches (eight strikes). After the Mariners' skid in early September, Munoz has successfully shaken off the rust by logging four scoreless innings and three saves over the last five days. That heavy workload could leave him unavailable for a save opportunity Saturday. Munoz is now 35-for-42 in save chances this season while adding a 1.57 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 75:25 K:BB over 57.1 innings as one of the steadiest relievers in the majors.

Castillo allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out five over six-plus innings in a no-decision Friday versus the Angels.

Castillo has logged consecutive quality starts after a brutal stretch from Aug. 2 to Sept. 1 during which he went winless over six starts with a 7.31 ERA across 28.1 innings. The rebound has helped the Mariners get back on track as they continue to battle for the AL West lead. Castillo is now at a 3.76 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 149:46 K:BB through 167.1 innings over 30 starts this season. The veteran right-hander is projected to make his next start at Kansas City.

Kikuchi allowed one run on four hits and a walk while striking out three over six innings in a no-decision Friday versus the Mariners.

Kikuchi did his part, throwing 63 of 98 pitches for strikes in a quality start. He had allowed 18 runs over 11.2 innings across his previous three appearances, so this was a strong bounce-back effort, though the veteran southpaw has been quite shaky throughout the second half. Overall, he has a 4.08 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 166:70 K:BB through 167.2 innings over 31 starts. Kikuchi's next outing is tentatively projected to be at Milwaukee, which is a matchup fantasy managers may want to avoid.

Butler went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

Butler led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer, and that was ultimately all the offense the Athletics needed. He's hit well lately, going 18-for-53 (.340) over his last 15 games, adding three homers and seven RBI in that span. The outfielder reached the 20-homer mark for the second year in a row and has added a .238/.310/.415 slash line, 58 RBI, 77 runs scored, 29 doubles and 17 stolen bases across 140 contests.

Lopez didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Diamondbacks, allowing two unearned runs on four hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out six.

A pair of Minnesota errors prevented the two runs from being earned, which gave Lopez his third start of the season of zero earned runs. The right-hander has gone at least five innings in 12 of his 13 outings on the campaign, and he's conceded greater than two runs on just two occasions all season. Lopez will bring an excellent 2.64 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 71:18 K:BB over 71.2 innings into his next appearance, which is tentatively scheduled to come against the division-rival Guardians.

Cortes went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs in Friday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

Cortes has three homers over his last three games, though this was his first time in the starting lineup since Aug. 31. He got the start in left field after Tyler Soderstrom (groin) was scratched from the lineup. Cortes has hit .328 with three homers, 10 RBI, nine runs scored, six doubles and one triple across 70 plate appearances in a part-time role. He could take over at least a strong-side platoon role if Soderstrom's injury sidelines him for the rest of the year.

Newcomb struck out three in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

This was Newcomb's second save of the season -- his other came against the Angels on Aug. 16. The Athletics are using a closing committee to finish off games since the trade deadline, and they've tallied just 31 saves overall this year, with 20 of those coming from Mason Miller prior to the deal that sent him to San Diego. Newcomb and Hogan Harris have the last four saves for the team between them, though volume will remain an issue. On the season, Newcomb has a 2.76 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 91:31 K:BB over 91.1 innings across 47 outings (five starts) between the Athletics and the Red Sox.

Ginn was removed from his start Friday against the Reds with a right calf cramp, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Ginn made it through 4.1 shutout innings before his calf cramped up on him, forcing him to make an early exit. The A's will likely keep an eye on the 26-year-old's calf over the next several days, but he doesn't currently seem to be at risk of missing his next start -- tentatively scheduled to come Thursday in Boston.

Clemens went 4-for-4 with three home runs, five RBI, a double and an additional run scored in a 9-8 win over Arizona on Friday.

It was the first career multi-homer game for Clemens, who also established a career high in RBI. The lefty-hitting Clemens should continue to see the bulk of the reps at first base for the Twins to wrap up the campaign, especially if he continues to perform well. While he's hitting just .236 over his last 17 outings, Clemens has six big flies, one double and 10 RBI over that stretch to improve his OPS to .740 for the season.

Sands (4-4) blew the save but came away with the win Friday against the Diamondbacks, striking one while allowing four runs on four hits in one inning.

Though Sands matched a season worst in runs allowed while taking his fourth blown save of the year, the Twins were able to mount a ninth-inning rally to bail out the hurler and get him his fourth win of the season. Justin Topa (oblique) is out for at least two weeks while on the 15-day injured list, but Sands didn't help his case Friday for future save chances. Through 65.1 frames, Sands has a 4.27 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 58:16 K:BB.