MLB Player News

Chapman gave up a run on two hits but struck out three in the ninth inning Friday to collect his first save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Yangervis Solarte touched him up for an RBI double, but otherwise Chapman was as dominant as usual. He now has five strikeouts through his first two innings of the season as he looks to rebound from a relatively disappointing 2017.

Kimbrel struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Friday to pick up his first save of the season in a 1-0 win over the Rays.

The right-hander missed most of the spring to be with his infant daughter, who needed emergency heart surgery, but Kimbrel apparently didn't require much preparation to be in mid-season form. With the Red Sox expected to compete once again for an AL East title, the 29-year-old should see more than enough late-game opportunities to record at least 30 saves for the eighth straight year.

Kittredge will serve as the Rays starting pitcher against the Red Sox on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays will feature a "bullpen game" instead of a traditional starting pitcher Saturday, with Kittredge serving as the lead man. The 28-year-old pitched more than one inning twice in 15 appearances during his rookie season and seems unlikely to see more than a couple innings of work.

Pruitt (1-0) fired two scoreless innings in Thursday's 6-4 Opening Day win over the Red Sox, allowing just a hit and a walk.

Taking over for Chris Archer after six innings, Pruitt got through a pair of frames with 26 pitches and served as an effective bridge to closer Alex Colome. The right-hander is slated to serve as a starter for approximately the next two months while Nathan Eovaldi (elbow) recovers from surgery, but as he demonstrated Thursday, he has the ability to fill a variety of roles when called upon.

Diaz hit two batters but struck out the side against the Indians on Thursday to earn his first save of the season.

He also committed a balk and allowed two stolen bases, but in the end, Diaz shut the door, as he did 34 times in 39 chances last season. The 24-year-old has really good stuff and will continue to get the ball in the ninth, but the Mariners are under a lot of pressure to win now and Diaz probably can't afford many hiccups this year.

Graveman completed five innings Thursday against the Angels, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and no walks while recording one strikeout.

Graveman wasn't fooling any Angels' hitters Thursday, as he got touched up for three home runs. In order to be successful, Graveman has to limit his walks and home runs. When he is unable to do so, he doesn't have the strikeout stuff to avoid disastrous stat-lines like the one he posted Thursday. As a result, his fantasy value is limited to the fact that he can eat innings which is only valuable in very deep mixed leagues or AL-only leagues.

Kelly allowed four runs on one hit and three walks in a third of an inning in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Rays.

Kelly came on to do what he was projected to do: caretake a lead through the eighth inning. But an old bugaboo -- command -- did him in. He ranked second among relievers last season in fastball velocity, but can't always harness that power. The bullpen meltdown is exaggerated because it was Opening Day, but Kelly will continue to get setup work.

Smith (0-1) walked the first batter faced and allowed two runs on two hits while striking out one in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Rays.

The game was in good hands over the first seven innings -- thanks to Chris Sale and Matt Barnes -- but manager Alex Cora's eighth-inning decisions blew up. Smith was brought in to squelch a dumpster fire created by Joe Kelly (three walks), but he was no fireman. Cora never once thought of using closer Craig Kimbrel as the wheels came off, nor was lefty Bobby Poyner considered to face left-handed batter Denard Span, who turned on a Smith fastball for a bases-clearing triple. Cora will not overreact to one game -- both Smith and Kelly should be in the setup mix -- but command his paramount in these situations.

Colome tossed a scoreless inning Thursday against the Red Sox to pick up his first save of the season.

A combination of low strikeout rate and trade rumors drove down Colome's value during draft season. He doesn't have the prototypical strikeout rate of a closer, (career 8.0 K/9), but that has not held him back from being an effective closer as he has successfully converted 84 of 93 opportunities spanning the last two seasons. So long as he remains on the Rays, he should continue to see save opportunities and hold fantasy value as a result.

Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth inning and struck out two batters during Thursday's 6-1 win over Toronto.

Dellin Betances allowed a run in the bottom of the eighth, so manager Aaron Boone took no chances and sent Chapman to the bump for the ninth. The lefty has a dominant arsenal and projects to have a bounce-back campaign after posting a 3.22 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and a career-low 12.3 K/9 while battling multiple injuries last season.