MLB Player News

Schwarber went 2-for-3 with two walks, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 8-6 win over the Royals.

Kansas City tried to pitch around Schwarber early, but with the Phillies down 4-3 in the fifth inning, the slugger tied things up by lining an Angel Zerpa slider over the right-field wall. Schwarber is up to 51 homers on the season, and with 13 games left on the regular-season schedule, he still has a shot at matching Ryan Howard's club record of 58, set in 2006.

Duran struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Saturday to record his 30th save of the season in an 8-6 win over the Royals.

The flame-throwing righty fired seven of nine pitches for strikes as he breezed through the top of the Kansas City order. Duran has converted 14 of 15 save chances since joining the Phillies, reaching 30 saves for the first time in his career. Over 15.2 innings for his new club, he's delivered a stellar 1.15 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 21:0 K:BB.

Walker (5-8) picked up the win Saturday, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk over five innings in an 8-6 victory over the Royals. He struck out three.

The right-hander's nemesis on the day was Salvador Perez, who took him deep twice in the first three innings, but Walker got enough run support to overcome another mediocre performance and record his first win since Aug. 5. He's coughed up at least four runs in four straight trips to the mound, stumbling to a 7.65 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB over 20 innings during that swoon, but with Zack Wheeler (shoulder) set to undergo season-ending surgery, Walker may have some job security in the Phillies' rotation. He lines up to make his next start on the road next weekend in Arizona.

Rea allowed three runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out five batters over 5.1 innings in a no-decision against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Rea held the Rays scoreless through four frames before giving up a run in the fifth. The right-hander then allowed the first two batters he faced in the sixth to reach base, and both ended up scoring. Rea did induce a healthy 13 whiffs and notched five punchouts, but the disappointing finish to his start kept him from completing six frames for the sixth straight outing. He's slated to take on Cincinnati in his next appearance.

Perez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 8-6 loss to the Phillies.

The future Hall of Famer helped give the Royals an early 4-2 lead by taking Taijuan Walker deep twice in the first three innings. It was Perez's fourth multi-homer performance of the year, and the second blast not only gave him 27 home runs on the season, it lifted him to 300 HR for his career, as well as 1,000 career RBI. The 35-year-old Perez has been fading overall in September, however, batting just .178 (8-for-45) through 12 games this month with a 0:9 BB:K, although six of those eight hits (two doubles and four homers) have gone for extra bases.

Bergert didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 8-6 loss to the Phillies, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out five.

It's the third straight start in which Bergert issued three free passes, and his loss of control has left him with an 8.76 ERA, 2.03 WHIP and 14:9 K:BB in 12.1 innings during the skid. The Royals could get one or more of Michael Wacha (concussion), Seth Lugo (back) and Cole Ragans (shoulder) back from the IL in the next week or two, so Bergert's hold on a rotation spot may be slipping. For the moment, he's scheduled to make his next start at home next weekend against the Blue Jays.

Johnston went 2-for-4 with a walk, two home runs and three RBI in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Tigers.

After taking Troy Melton deep for a solo shot in the sixth inning, Johnston walked it off in the 11th with a two-run homer off Rafael Montero. The 28-year-old rookie came into the game with just one long ball in his first 32 big-league contests, and the performance may have snapped a September swoon for Johnston in which he'd gone just 2-for-21 (.095) with zero RBI over his prior nine games.

Martin (6-10) took the loss against the Guardians on Saturday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three across five innings.

Martin kept the Guardians batters in check for most of his outing outside of a C.J. Kayfus two-run homer in the second, but the White Sox batters weren't able to generate enough runs for the 28-year-old right-hander to avoid the loss. Martin has yielded three earned runs or less in nine of 10 starts since the All-Star break, and over that span he has a 4.35 ERA and 1.35 WHIP in 51.2 innings. He's tentatively lined up to face the Padres on the road next weekend.

Junk didn't factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Tigers, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four.

Making his second start since being activated from a brief IL stint, the right-hander produced his sixth quality start of the season on 88 pitches (58 strikes). Junk did serve up another homer, his seventh in seven trips to the mound since the beginning of August -- a stretch in which he's stumbled to a 6.39 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 24:8 K:BB in 38 innings. He'll look for his first win since Aug. 6 in his next outing, which lines up to come on the road next weekend against the Rangers.

Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings loss to the Marlins.

The 28-year-old slugger tied the game at 2-2 when he took Janson Junk deep in the third inning. Carpenter went through a bit of a power drought in the second half of August, but over his last eight games he's left the yard three times, giving him 25 homers on the season -- the first time in his career he's reached that milestone. During that eight-game stretch, Carpenter's batting .296 (8-for-27) with nine RBI.