MLB Player News

The Pirates recalled Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

The Pirates needed a rested arm after they had a bullpen game Wednesday against the Cardinals. Sisk has pitched well in 39 relief outings with the big club, logging a 3.16 ERA and 48:23 K:BB over 42.2 innings.

The Pirates optioned Curtis to the Florida Complex League on Thursday.

Curtis logged 3.2 innings in Wednesday's loss to the Cardinals, yielding a pair of runs. He required 71 pitches to cover his 3.2 frames, so Curtis is being replaced in the Pirates' bullpen by a fresh arm.

Hjerpe is expected to work as a piggyback pitcher behind starter Kyle Leahy in Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Since being called up from Triple-A Memphis on Sept. 6, Hjerpe has made all three of his appearances to date as part of a piggyback tandem with Leahy, whose workload the Cardinals are deliberately looking to keep in check as the season winds down. The rookie left-hander has had mixed results thus far, going 1-0 with a 12:6 K:BB while yielding six earned runs and giving up four hits across nine innings.

Cantillo is slated to pitch in bulk relief behind opener Daniel Espino in Thursday's game at Boston, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

For a third straight appearance, Cantillo will work in relief of Espino, who is likely to be limited to 1-to-2 innings. Cantillo has looked sharp out of the bullpen, posting a 13:2 K:BB while giving up just three hits over 10 shutout frames.

The Royals recalled Bivens from the Arizona Complex League on Thursday.

Bivens will give the Royals another bullpen option while Steven Cruz (paternity) is away. The 32-year-old Bivens has been touched up for 10 runs (eight earned) over five innings covering his four outings in the big leagues this season.

Gibson (2-3) picked up the win in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against Toronto, allowing three hits and two walks over 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

In his first big-league start since June 30, Gibson took advantage of a demoralized Blue Jays squad that had been eliminated from playoff contention in the first half of the twin bill. The result was the best start of the 24-year-old righty's brief career, as he fired 65 of 92 pitches for strikes in his first quality start. He's struggled to find much consistency in 2026, either in the majors or at Triple-A, but with Trevor Rogers and Chris Bassitt both set to reach free agency this offseason, there could be a spot in the 2027 rotation for Gibson.

The Royals placed Cruz on the paternity leave list Thursday.

By rule, Cruz will miss the next 1-to-3 games while welcoming a new baby, so he should be back for Sunday's season finale, at minimum. Cruz has registered three of the past four saves for the Royals, which includes his eighth save of the season in Wednesday's win over the White Sox. While Cruz is away, the Royals could turn to Nate Pearson for save chances.

Garcia is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the White Sox.

The Royals have given Garcia one day off per series since he returned from the injured list last week. After reaching base seven times in the first two games of the three-game set, he'll grab a seat during Thursday's matinee. Nick Loftin will play third base in Garcia's stead.

Caglianone is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the White Sox.

Caglianone had started the last four contests, going 7-for-15 at the plate. He'll get a breather during Thursday's afternoon tilt. John Rave will patrol right field and will occupy the No. 7 slot in the Royals' batting order.

Alonso went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of the Blue Jays.

The first baseman took future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer deep in the fifth inning, Alonso's ninth homer in September and his 41st of the season. His first year with Baltimore has gone as well as the team could have hoped -- in addition to an .871 OPS that's tied for the second-best mark of his career, he's reached the 40-homer mark for the fourth time and the 100-RBI plateau for the fifth time. Alonso also needs to cross the plate just four more times to record his second season with 100-plus runs.