MLB Player News

Giles pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one in the Astros' 5-2 win over the Angels on Thursday.

With Houston leading 4-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, manager A.J. Hinch called for his closer because the Angels had the top of the order due up, including Mike Trout. Hinch has been receptive to using Giles in situations other than than the ninth inning, particularly when the stakes are high. Giles could have stayed in the game to pick up the save in the ninth, but Hinch didn't want to waste those bullets on a two-inning save, preferring to have the closer at full availability entering the weekend.

Belisle allowed a solo home run to blow his fourth save of the season Thursday against Toronto.

The Twins ended up winning in extra innings to bail out their closer. Belisle has converted seven of nine save opportunities with a 3.29 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 through 13.2 innings since taking over the closer job. With the Twins fighting for a playoff berth, Belisle should have a few more chances to pad the saves column over the final weeks of the season.

Maurer (2-2) failed to get an out while being tagged with the loss Thursday after allowing a run on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the 10th inning vs. the Indians.

Maurer became the 22nd straight victim of the Indians' historic winning streak with a terrible effort Thursday. Since being acquired from the Padres in July, the former closer has been nothing short of terrible. In 23 appearances for Kansas City, Maurer owns an 8.34 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP through 18.1 innings.

Junis pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk while striking out one in a no-decision Thursday against Cleveland.

Junis turned over a 2-1 lead to the bullpen that was squandered with two outs in the ninth inning. Facing a team that entered Thursday on a record-breaking 21-game winning streak, Junis delivered a strong performance that dropped his ERA to 4.15, its lowest point since May 21. The 24-year-old righty continues to turn in solid efforts, and is now 5-0 with a 2.99 ERA over his last nine games dating back to June 29. Junis will look to continue the positive trend when he takes the hill for his next start Wednesday in Toronto.

Castro could possibly take the mound as a starter for the Orioles before the end of the 2017 season, according to manager Buck Showalter, Rich Dubroff of PressBoxOnline.com reports.

Castro has only appeared out of the bullpen for the big-league club this season, posting a 2.83 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 57.1 innings. It appears likely that if the Orioles wind up out of the wild-card hunt within the near future, Showalter will give Castro a start to show off his stuff.

Pomeranz (16-5) held Oakland to one run on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings to grab the win Thursday.

Pomeranz came in with a 42.5 percent groundball rate, but failed to generate a single out on the ground until the sixth inning after getting leadoff man Marcus Semien in that fashion to begin the game. He benefited from a pair of Andrew Benintendi outfield assists, both of which ended innings in which Oakland had a runner in scoring position. The patient Athletics lineup made the lefty work hard for his outs, pushing him to 111 pitches despite mustering only one extra-base hit. Pomeranz will look to add to his career-high win total Tuesday in Baltimore.

Harvey, making his return from Tommy John surgery, posted a 0.96 ERA and 30:6 K:BB over 18.2 minor-league innings in 2017.

The sample size was small, and the competition was substandard, but it was still encouraging to see the top pitching prospect return to good health. Harvey logged a 0.91 WHIP and limited opponents to a .167 BAA in eight total starts across three levels. The 22-year-old will skip the fall league and aim to begin 2018 at Double-A Bowie.

Coulombe pitched one-third of an inning in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Red Sox, allowing no runs or hits but issuing a walk.

The southpaw has put together an extended stretch of solid performances since late August. Coulombe has a 3.60 ERA, .176 BAA and .269 wOBA allowed in the five innings spanning his last nine appearances, a stretch during which he's also compiled a pair of holds.

Green (5-0) earned his fifth win Wednesday, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts against Tampa Bay.

Green has a great strikeout rate for the season, and he's been especially good at missing bats lately, fanning 20 without a walk in his last five appearance. It's tough to deploy long relievers in mixed leagues this time of year, but Green is more than a ratios play -- he's more appealing than a lot of streaming starting-pitching options.

Belisle (2-2) pitched 1.2 scoreless innings without allowing a baserunner and was credited with the victory in Wednesday's win over San Diego.

Dating back to securing his first save of the season Aug. 6, Belisle has been a valuable fantasy asset with two wins, seven saves, a 2.84 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 11.4 K/9. Those are strong numbers in all settings, and it helps his value that the Twins are making a strong push for a playoff berth.