MLB Player News

Skenes (11-3) pitched five shutout innings to pick up the win Sunday against Cincinnati, allowing two hits and zero walks while striking out nine.

Skenes was flawless outside of a pair of singles, racking up 25 called-plus-swinging strikes en route to nine strikeouts. Skenes threw a season-low 73 pitches Sunday after throwing 98 or more in each of his previous three starts. The 22-year-old is tentatively scheduled to start next weekend against the Yankees, but the Pirates are sure to be very cautious with their prized rookie in his final start of a lost season. If this is it, Skenes would finish a historic rookie season with a sparkling 1.99 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 167:32 K:BB in 131 innings (22 starts).

Payamps (forearm) made relief appearances Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, covering a scoreless inning in each outing while racking up six strikeouts and allowing one hit and one walk.

Payamps exited a relief appearance Sept. 15 against the Diamondbacks due to right forearm tightness, but he quickly dispelled any concern about his health by playing catch a day later. He's since gone on to deliver three dominant appearances in a row and has yet to allow an earned run in any of his last nine outings out of the Milwaukee bullpen. Payamps will be locked into a key setup role in front of closer Devin Williams heading into the postseason.

Hall made appearances out of the bullpen in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Diamondbacks and in Sunday's 10-9 win in the series finale with Arizona, giving up four earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four in 3.1 innings between the two outings.

Hall made a spot start last Sunday -- also against the Diamondbacks -- but shifted back to the bullpen while the Brewers scaled back to a five-man rotation. The southpaw could be a candidate to make another spot start during the final week of the regular season if the Brewers' postseason seeding is solidified and the team wants to prioritize ordering its rotation for the playoffs.

Manager Craig Counsell said after Sunday's 5-0 win over the Nationals that Happ was scratched from the lineup due to lower back tightness, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Happ was set to start in left field and bat in the leadoff spot, but his back issue forced him to sit for Sunday's series finale, and the 30-year-old outfielder is considered day-to-day with the injury. Since Sept. 1, Happ has slashed .284/.333/.395 with two home runs and nine RBI over 87 plate appearances.

Manager Torey Lovullo said after Sunday's 10-9 loss to the Brewers that Moreno (side) is considered day-to-day and will have an MRI on Monday, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.

Moreno returned from the 10-day injured list Sept. 15 after missing nearly five weeks due to a left adductor strain, which he aggravated during Sunday's loss. Lovullo downplayed the seriousness of the issue and sounded hopeful that the 24-year-old catcher would be available off the bench for Monday's series opener against the Giants. If Moreno were to miss extended time, then Adrian Del Castillo could be brought up from Triple-A Reno to provide catching depth. Moreno went 0-for-1 with one walk before being replaced by Jose Herrera in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Swanson went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and one run scored in Sunday's 5-0 win over the Nationals.

Swanson was also caught stealing once, putting him at 18-for-21 on the basepaths this season. The shortstop has had a challenging year at times, but he's ending on a high note -- he's batting .313 (26-for-83) in September over 20 contests. Swanson's late surge has him up to a .241/.311/.386 slash line with 16 home runs, 64 RBI, 79 runs scored, 23 doubles and two triples across 145 games this year.

Tauchman went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Sunday's 5-0 win over the Nationals.

Tauchman picked up just his third start over the last month, and he made the most of it with a homer to lead off the bottom of the first inning. It was his first long ball since Aug. 4. The veteran outfielder is up to seven homers, six stolen bases, 27 RBI, 50 runs scored and a .249/.355/.370 slash line across 338 plate appearances this season. Tauchman could pick up some extra playing time over the final week if Ian Happ (undisclosed) remains out of action after getting scratched Sunday.

Amaya went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a double in Sunday's 5-0 win over the Nationals.

Amaya hit the Cubs' third homer off Washington starter Jake Irvin when he went deep in the fourth inning. That blast snapped a nearly month-long power drought for Amaya, who went 14-for-58 (.241) over 21 contests between homers. The catcher is up to a .229/.287/.360 slash line with eighth homers, 45 RBI, 30 runs scored, 13 doubles and two triples across 347 plate appearances this season. He appears set to close out the year as the No. 1 catcher ahead of Christian Bethancourt.

Busch went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sundays' 5-0 win over the Nationals.

Busch entered Sunday 0-for-11 over his last four games. He snapped the slump with a pair of extra-base hits, including a fourth-inning solo shot that gave the Cubs a 3-0 lead. He's been a bit streaky this year, but Busch has been able to put up decent power numbers with 21 homers, 65 RBI and a .448 slugging percentage. He's added 28 doubles, two stolen bases, 72 runs scored and a .252 batting average over 147 contests, mostly in a strong-side platoon role.

Imanaga (15-3) allowed six hits and struck out four without walking a batter over seven shutout innings to earn the win over the Nationals on Sunday.

Imanaga is up to 15 wins, and he's secured a victory in each of his last six starts, all of which have been quality. In that span, he's allowed just 10 runs over 40 innings (2.25 ERA) despite yielding seven home runs. Imanaga lowered his ERA to 2.91 with a 1.02 WHIP and 174:28 K:BB through 173.1 innings over 29 starts this season. The 31-year-old southpaw is tentatively projected to conclude his first major-league season with a home start versus the Reds.