MLB Player News

Palencia was removed from Sunday's game against the Nationals with tightness in the posterior of his right shoulder, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

It was a disastrous day for Palencia, who was charged with the loss and a blown save while failing to retire any of the five batters he faced. However, the injury is a bigger concern for the Cubs in the closing stretch of the regular season. Palencia is headed for medical testing, so his status could be updated within the next day or two.

Rea allowed just one run on three hits across 5.1 innings but did not factor into the decision in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals. He struck out six.

Rea was the second Chicago pitcher to enter the game, following opener Drew Pomeranz, who lasted an inning. The former pitched well after having allowed nine earned runs across 8.2 innings in his previous two appearances, and he lowered his ERA to 4.20 with the improved effort. With Jameson Taillon (groin) and Michael Soroka (shoulder) both currently on the shelf, Rea figures to remain in the rotation as the Cubs' fifth starter. He lines up to take the hill again Saturday against the Rays.

Vasil pitched a clean inning with one strikeout to collect the save in Sunday's 6-4 win at Detroit.

Just when it looked like Jordan Leasure was cementing the White Sox's closer role, manager Will Venable threw a wrench into everything Sunday. Leasure pitched the eighth against the heart of the Tigers order (Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Wenceel Perez and Dillon Dingler), leaving the ninth for Vasil. The 25-year-old figures to continue garnering occasional save opportunities, as it looks like Leasure is being used in a high-leverage role. Vasil now sports a solid 2.54 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 74:46 K:BB across 92 total frames.

Phillips allowed one run on one hit and one walk over 2.2 innings while not factoring into the decision in Sunday's 5-4 victory over the Phillies. He struck out three.

The Miami right-hander opened this bullpen game for his club, firing 41 total pitches, 24 of which were strikes. The lone blemish on Phillips' line came in the second when Nick Castellanos plated a run on a triple to left. Sunday had originally been Adam Mazur's scheduled start day; however, it appears the Marlins opted to go with a bullpen game instead of leveraging Mazur. In 68.1 total innings, Phillips has now pitched to a 3.16 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 46:22 K:BB and should continue to serve in a bullpen role.

Kelly went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Nationals.

Kelly went deep for the second time in his last four games as he registered his third multi-homer performance of the season. The Chicago catcher is up to 16 long balls this year, which is two away from his career high of 18 home runs that he set back in 2019 while playing for the Diamondbacks. Kelly has been a pleasant surprise all season for the Cubs with his .800 OPS, and he should continue to start most days behind the plate moving forward.

Dreyer earned the save in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Orioles, allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Dodgers came into the day with a depleted bullpen, thus setting up Dreyer for the save chance. The 26-year-old left-hander preserved a three-run lead, picking up his third save this season, and his first since Aug 15. Dreyer has turned in five straight scoreless innings, striking out eight in that span. Overall, his ERA sits at 2.74 with a 1.06 WHIP and 65 strikeouts across 69 innings this season.

Kahnle (1-4) allowed two runs on three hits and a walk while retiring only two batters in relief to take the loss Sunday against the White Sox.

After a rough patch earlier this summer, Kahnle had seemingly righted the ship with seven straight scoreless appearances coming into Sunday, but he took a step backward with a rough performance. The veteran righty now has a 4.80 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 54.1 innings this season, which is a far cry from the 2.11 ERA and 1.15 WHIP he posted in 42.2 regular-season innings for the Yankees last year.

Bachar allowed one run on a hit and two walks and picked up the save in Sunday's 5-4 win against Philadelphia. He struck out two.

The 30-year-old righty worked around three baserunners to notch his first save since Aug. 6. Bachar conceded a run on a Kyle Schwarber single after issuing two free passes earlier in the frame. This save appears to have been an anomaly for Bachar, as usual closer Calvin Faucher was deployed in the sixth (and allowed two runs) in this bullpen game for Miami. The Marlins bullpen has been a puzzle all season, so if the team strays from Faucher as the main saves option, Bachar, with his 4.04 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 9.7 K/9 across 62.1 innings, could enter the mix.

Ohtani went 2-for-2 with a pair of solo home runs and three walks in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Orioles.

Ohtani led off the game with a 411-foot blast off Tomoyuki Sugano before extending the Dodgers' lead to 2-0 with his second long ball of the day in the top of the third. The two-way phenom had been stuck in an abbreviated slump coming into Sunday, going just 1-for-11 in his previous three games. Overall, he's slashing .279/.389/.612 with 48 home runs, 90 RBI, 127 runs scored and 17 stolen bases across 643 plate appearances this season.

Perez went 2-for-2 with a walk, two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 6-4 loss to the White Sox.

Perez is now riding an eight-game hitting streak, and this was his third multi-hit performance during the hot stretch. The 25-year-old outfielder also tallied his 38th RBI of the season Sunday, giving him a new career high in the category. Perez has already established a new career best with 12 home runs this year, and his current .816 OPS would be a new high-water mark as well, giving him plenty of momentum for the fantasy stretch run.