MLB Player News

Diekman tossed a scoreless seventh inning and struck out a batter in Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Angels in 10 innings.

Manager Jeff Banister has wasted no time working Diekman back into high-leverage duties out of the bullpen since the lefty was activated from the 60-day disabled list Friday after having been sidelined all season following three surgeries to address ulcerative colitis. Diekman has picked up holds in back-to-back contests with a pair of perfect innings, and could settle in as the primary setup man to closer Alex Claudio with Jose Leclerc and Ricardo Rodriguez having struggled in recent appearances.

Giles pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out one to earn his 28th save in the Astros' 4-1 win over the Mets in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.

Giles hasn't allowed a run over his last eight games and sports a 0.89 ERA since the All-Star break. With just three blown saves this season -- one since early June -- Giles has a firm grasp of the closer's job. The only problem has been getting to him. The bullpen leading up to Giles has been less effective over the second half, a situation exacerbated by injuries to the starting rotation, which led to shorter outings by the starting staff. This has led to fewer save opportunities for Giles. However, the staff is in better shape entering September. Dallas Keuchel is healthy and Houston welcomes Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers (back) to the rotation this week. Those improvements and the return of reliever Will Harris sets the stage for Giles to garner more save opportunities.

Kittredge was called back up from Triple-A Durham on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Kittredge had been sent down on Aug. 23 and the Rays had to let a mandatory 10-day period pass before bringing him back up to the big-league club. The 27-year-old will serve as another bullpen option for manager Kevin Cash during the final month of the season.

Diaz (3-5) allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning against the A's on Saturday to earn his third win of the season.

The right-hander has turned in back-to-back scoreless frames in the first two games the series, easing concerns about his recent back issue. He earned the save Friday and is now 19-for-20 in save chances since the beginning of July.

Treinen (1-2) was charged with the loss Saturday after allowing the winning run to score on a wild pitch.

Catcher Bruce Maxwell took the heat upon himself following the game, telling Jane Lee of MLB.com, "I just didn't get my glove down in time." Treinen is prone to occasional fits of wildness, but he pitched very well in August (2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, six saves) and seems secure in his role as closer.

Hart was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday.

He has a 3.03 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 25 strikeouts in 35.2 innings in the majors this season, but there is reason to expect him to experience negative regression going forward. Look for him to be used in low-leverage spots over the final month.

Pomeranz (14-5) allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out five batters through 5.1 innings during Saturday's loss to the Yankees.

The lefty allowed a solo home run to Chase Headley and a three-run shot to Matt Holliday, as the only runs New York scored were via the long ball. This was the first time Pomeranz allowed multiple home runs in a start since May 9, though, so it's likely best to view Saturday's underwhelming outing as a blip on the radar. After all, Pomeranz sports a rock-solid 3.36 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 for the campaign. He lines up to face the Rays at Fenway Park in his next start.

Norris will move to the bullpen for the rest of the season, although the Tigers still view him as a starter long term, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The Tigers are going to turn to youngsters Artie Lewicki and Chad Bell out of the No. 5 and No. 6 starter spots, although if one of them flops, they could move to a five-man rotation. It's not hard to see why the Tigers want to switch something up in an effort to get Norris right. He has a 5.29 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 79:39 K:BB in 85 innings this season. He could be nasty as a multi-inning reliever, but should still compete for a rotation spot in spring training next year.

Kimbrel struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Friday to collect his 32nd save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Yankees.

It's been a month since his last blown save, as Kimbrel continues to put together one of the most dominant seasons of his already impressive career. While most of the focus naturally goes towards his 16.4 K/9, it's actually been his control that's set this campaign apart for the 29-year-old -- after stumbling to a 5.1 BB/9 last year, he's dialed up a career-best 1.7 mark in 2017.

Diaz (back) notched his 31st save with a clean ninth inning in Friday's 3-2 win over the Athletics, recording one strikeout.

Diaz had been bothered by back spasms in recent days according to manager Scott Servais, but he appeared to be at full strength while disposing of Ryon Healy, Bruce Maxwell and Matt Chapman on 15 pitches. The 23-year-old has put together four straight scoreless appearances -- which have all resulted in saves -- after allowing three earned runs over 1.2 innings across two outings in mid-August.