Duran walked one batter in a scoreless eighth inning Friday to record his third hold of the season in a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

The right-hander once again got used as a fireman rather than a closer, facing the top of the Toronto order in the eighth rather than being held back for the ninth. Griffin Jax wound up giving up a run in ninth but still came away with the save. Duran has three saves and three holds in six appearances since coming off the IL on April 30, and he's been lights out in general, posting a 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP and 8:1 K:BB through six innings. His usage could hurt his fantasy value in standard 5x5 roto or points formats that count saves but not holds, but Twins manager Rocco Baldelli isn't likely to change up how he deploys Duran as long as it keeps working.

Kimbrel struck out one in a perfect seventh inning Friday to record his third hold of the season in a 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

The 35-year-old reliever didn't exactly get deployed in the highest-leverage spot, as he faced Arizona's 8-9-1 hitters, but Kimbrel got the job done on an efficient 12 pitches (eight strikes). He topped out at 94.5 mph with his fastball -- he averaged 95.9 mph last season -- and it was only the second time in Kimbrel's last seven appearances that he avoided giving up a run. Yennier Cano got the save in the ninth inning, and that figures be the arrangement for a while until Kimbrel demonstrates his struggles are behind him, although other relievers like Danny Coulombe could also be in the saves mix. Over those last seven appearances, Kimbrel has a 10.13 ERA, 3.19 WHIP and 8:9 K:BB in 5.1 innings.

Cano gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his second save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

Craig Kimbrel worked the seventh inning and faced the bottom of the Arizona order, a strong sign that at least for the moment, manager Brandon Hyde is focused on building the veteran closer's confidence back up rather than throwing him into the fire in the ninth. Due to Kimbrel's recent struggles, Cano has picked up both his 2024 saves in his last three appearances, but Jacob Webb and Danny Coulombe have also collected saves in the last couple weeks, although the former's came in the 12th inning. Even if the O's turn to a committee to protect leads at the end of games, Cano figures to see the majority of save chances until Kimbrel proves he's ready to resume his usual role.

Abreu threw a scoreless eighth inning while allowing one hit and striking out three to record a hold Friday against the Tigers.

Ryan Pressly (back) hasn't pitched since May 3, leaving Abreu as Houston's primary setup man. He blew the lead in his first opportunity in the role Sunday, but he performed well in Friday's appearance to tally his sixth hold of the season. Since allowing six earned runs across his first 5.2 innings of the campaign, Abreu has allowed only five earned runs across his last 15.2 frames.

Duffey (1-0) pitched a perfect inning and earned the win over the Angels on Friday.

The Royals saved their offense for the ninth inning in a 2-1 win, and Duffey ended up benefiting after he prevented the Halos from adding to their lead in the eighth. He's kept runs off the board in four of his six major-league appearances this season. The right-hander has a 4.05 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 8:5 K:BB over 6.2 innings while adding one hold, though he's primarily served as a low-leverage option.

Estevez (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Friday against Kansas City. He allowed two runs on three hits and no walks with one strikeout over one inning.

Estevez allowed a lead-taking, two-run homer to Adam Frazier in the ninth inning to blow his third save on the year. Remarkably, the Angels closer has yet to issue a free pass this season after posting a shaky 11.0 percent walk rate in 2023, but he has allowed three homers over 11.2 innings, leading to a 6.17 ERA. Despite the ugly ERA, Estevez's hold on the ninth-inning role seems to be fairly secure thanks in large part to a career-high 30.4 percent strikeout rate.

Schreiber picked up the save Friday against the Angels. He pitched a shutout inning, allowing one hit with no strikeouts.

Schreiber collected his first save of the season and the 10th of his career. Royals closer James McArthur had worked back-to-back nights on Tuesday and Wednesday, so manager Matt Quatraro could have been giving him extra rest Friday night. However, McArthur also blew saves Sunday and Tuesday and has seen his ERA jump from 2.87 to 4.15 in the last week, so his hold on the ninth-inning role could be slipping.

Holmes earned the save in Friday's 2-0 win over the Rays, working around a hit and two walks while striking out three in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Rays loaded the bases against Holmes in the ninth before the right-hander struck out Jonny DeLuca for the final out. Holmes has yet to allow an earned run this year, pitching to a 1.04 WHIP with 21:3 K:BB over 17.1 innings. He's up to 12 saves, tied with Kyle Finnegan and Robert Suarez for the league lead.

Leasure threw 1.1 shutout innings and earned a save against Cleveland on Friday.

Leasure fired 12 of 16 pitches for strikes to quickly finish off the 6-3 victory. He's converted two of his three save chances this season, with both conversions coming in his last six appearances. Leasure lowered his ERA to 2.20 with an 11:6 K:BB through 16.1 innings. Michael Kopech was seemingly unavailable after pitching Wednesday and Thursday.

Hader earned the save in Friday's 5-2 win over the Tigers, working around a walk while striking out two in a scoreless inning.

Hader's allowed just one earned run over his last 7.1 innings while improving to 5-for-6 in converting save chances. After a shaky start to the year, the left-hander's lowered his ERA to 5.29 with a 1.35 WHIP and 27:8 K:BB across 17 innings.