MLB Player News
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Kenley Jansen RP | DET
Red Sox's Kenley Jansen: Notches 27th save
Jansen picked up the save Sunday against the Tigers, working around a hit in a scoreless ninth inning.
Jansen has now gone 29 appearances without blowing a save -- he's recorded 17 saves while working to a 2.36 ERA in that span (26.2 innings). The 35-year-old right-hander is now 27-for-30 in save opportunities with a 2.97 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 47:15 K:BB across 39.1 innings this season.
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Nick Vespi RP | PHI
Orioles' Nick Vespi: Snags first win
Vespi (1-0) retired the only batter he faced to earn the extra-inning win over the Mariners on Sunday.
Vespi kept the game tied at 3-3 after Mike Baumann allowed a tying home run to Dominic Canzone. The Orioles gained the lead in the top of the 10th inning, and Shintaro Fujinami logged a save to earn Vespi his first win of the season. Over 10.2 innings across seven appearances this year, Vespi has a 2.53 ERA, 1.03 WHIP And 7:2 K:BB. He'll likely continue to feature as a low-leverage left-hander for as long as he's in the major-league bullpen.
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Shintaro Fujinami RP | SEA
Orioles' Shintaro Fujinami: Collects first save
Fujinami struck out one without putting a runner on base in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-3 extra-inning win over the Mariners.
Fujinami uncorked a wild pitch in the outing, but it was his lone mistake. The right-hander has showed some talent since he was traded from Oakland, but he's also allowed seven runs (six earned) with a 12:8 K:BB over 10.1 innings across his 10 appearances in that span. Overall, he's posted a 7.99 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 63:38 K:BB with a save, four holds and a 5-8 record over 59.2 innings across 44 outings (seven starts) this year. Until he can display better command, Fujinami is likely to see only sporadic late-inning assignments in a bullpen as strong as Baltimore's.
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Andres Munoz RP | SEA
Mariners' Andres Munoz: Takes fifth loss Saturday
Munoz (2-5) took the extra-inning loss against the Orioles on Saturday, allowing an unearned run on one hit over one inning. He struck out one.
Munoz got the call following nine masterful innings from starter George Kirby, but matters got challenging immediately when inning-opening runner Cedric Mullins swiped third and Ryan Mountcastle subsequently singled him home to lead off the 10th frame. Munoz retired Baltimore in order after that point, but the Mariners went down 1-2-3 on swinging strikes in the home half of the inning against the dominant Felix Bautista. The end result was Munoz's fourth straight losing decision dating back to July 8, but his first stumble in a month of August during which he's already compiled four saves while pitching to a 1.80 ERA and 9:2 K:BB across five innings over five appearances.
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Lucas Erceg RP | KC
Athletics' Lucas Erceg: Saddled with loss Saturday
Erceg (2-3) took the loss against the Nationals on Saturday, allowing a walk-off solo home run to the only batter he faced.
Although Trevor May was available after last having pitched Wednesday, manager Mark Kotsay decided to entrust Erceg with preserving a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth. That decision quickly became regrettable, as Keibert Ruiz took the first pitch he saw from Erceg to lead off the inning and sent it 391 feet into the right-field stands for a game-winning home run. It was the second straight night the Nationals had gotten to Erceg, as he'd yielded a pair of earned runs over two-thirds of an inning Friday. It's been a rough August for the right-hander overall, as he's now given up nine runs (eight earned) over four innings across six appearances while posting a 3:4 K:BB.
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Phil Maton RP | CHC
Astros' Phil Maton: No structural damage in elbow
Maton said Sunday that extra tests revealed no structural damage in his right elbow, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Maton landed on the injured list Saturday after taking a comebacker off his elbow during Friday's game against the Angels. The plan is for him to resume throwing during Houston's upcoming series in Miami and potentially return to the bullpen after a minimum 15-day stay on the IL, putting his return date at Aug. 27.
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Kenny Rosenberg RP | LAA
Angels' Kenny Rosenberg: Optioned to Triple-A
The Angels optioned Rosenberg to Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday.
Rosenberg made his first MLB appearance of the season Friday, surrendering four runs over five innings while walking five and striking out four. He'll head back to Salt Lake to make room for Griffin Canning's (calf) activation from the injured list. The 28-year-old southpaw holds a 4.93 ERA and 1.49 WHIP through 95 innings across 19 starts in the minors.
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Josh Fleming RP | TOR
Rays' Josh Fleming: Optioned to Durham
The Rays optioned Fleming to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.
Fleming came off the 60-day injured list Saturday and surrendered two runs on five hits over three innings during his return. He'll now head back to the minors to clear a spot for Osleivis Basabe's promotion. Fleming holds a 4.70 ERA and 1.45 WHIP through 51.2 innings this season and could return to the Rays' bullpen down the line.
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Alex Lange RP | KC
Tigers' Alex Lange: Bypassed in save opportunity
Lange was not used in a save opportunity during Saturday's win over the Red Sox, with the save instead going to Jason Foley.
The Tigers led 6-1 in the eighth inning, but when that dropped to 6-2 and Boston put two runners on, Detroit turned to Jason Foley to record five outs. Lange hasn't pitched since Monday and his last save came back on July 23. Since then, the righty has walked 10 batters in just 4.1 innings, and those control issues could be costing him his grip on the closer role.
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Joely Rodriguez RP | BOS
Red Sox's Joely Rodriguez: Shut down from throwing
Rodriguez has been shut down from throwing due to recurring pain in his right hip, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
Rodriguez has been on the injured list since the end of July, and manager Alex Cora said there's a chance Rodriguez's setback could keep him sidelined for the rest of the season. A clearer return timeline should emerge as Rodriguez recovers, but he will not be pitching in games anytime soon.