MLB Player News

Alvarado struck out two in a clean ninth inning to earn the save Saturday against the Astros.

It's worth noting that Hogan Harris, who has been the Athletics' top option for saves of late, worked a scoreless eighth inning for a hold Saturday. The A's have had a hard time settling on a steady ninth-inning arm in their beleaguered bullpen, and it wouldn't be surprising if they continue to mix and match their high-leverage options. Alvarado has a 4.29 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 51:19 K:BB over 42 innings, tallying eight holds and three saves in four opportunities.

Watson earned the save in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Rangers, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

With Ben Joyce blowing a save in his appearance Friday, the Angels turned to Watson to secure a three-run lead in the ninth inning Saturday. The 28-year-old retired the heart of the Rangers' order on just seven pitches, notching his first save in an Angels uniform. He's yet to allow an earned run with his new club, posting a strong 8:1 K:BB through 5.1 innings since making his team debut Aug. 9. On the year, Watson has tallied three holds and two saves to go along with a 4.13 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 51:20 K:BB across 61 innings with the Angels and Red Sox.

Varland gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his 29th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Yankees.

New York did all its scoring in the seventh and eighth innings, but Varland snuffed out the rally on 21 pitches (12 strikes). The right-hander has converted five straight save chances, and over 20.1 innings since the beginning of July he's produced a 1.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 18:5 K:BB.

Pearson earned the save Friday against the Tigers after pitching a scoreless ninth inning, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out one.

Pearson was handed a three-run lead in the ninth and worked around some late traffic to secure Kansas City's sixth consecutive victory. The right-hander allowed two runners to reach but stranded both, striking out Dillon Dingler to end the game and collect his third save of the season. Pearson owns a 2.56 ERA and has worked his way into high-leverage situations for the Royals. Since joining Kansas City on July 22, Pearson has posted a 0.77 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with a 10:5 K:BB across 11.2 innings, recording two holds and going 2-for-3 in save opportunities.

Taylor (5-2) walked one and struck out two over a hitless and scoreless ninth inning to earn the win in Friday's 6-4 victory over the Mets.

Taylor entered with the game tied 4-4 and worked around a leadoff walk to keep New York off the board, setting the stage for Jake Rogers' walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. The right-hander needed 15 pitches (10 strikes) to complete the frame and lowered his ERA to 2.01. Taylor remains one of Chicago's primary late-inning arms, and over his last eight outings, he has one win and three holds while going 2-for-4 in save chances and posting a 0.94 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB.

Bednar gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 30th save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Blue Jays.

The veteran closer continues to dominate in his first full season with the Yankees. Since the beginning of June, Bednar has converted 18 of 19 save chances while delivering a 0.81 ERA, 0.57 WHIP and 36:7 K:BB over 33.1 innings. He's the third AL pitcher to reach the 30-save plateau this season, behind the Rays' Bryan Baker (36) and the Guardians' Cade Smith (32).

Arrighetti (7-6) took the loss Friday, giving up three runs on three hits and two walks over 3.1 innings of relief as the Blue Jays fell 3-1 to the Yankees. He struck out four.

Mason Fluharty couldn't get through the first inning as the opener, walking two batters in two-thirds of an inning, so Arrighetti was put in a tough spot right away as the bulk reliever in his Blue Jays debut. While the former Astro was able to escape that jam by striking out George Lombard, he ran into trouble of his own in the second after a leadoff walk. Arrighetti got lifted after 61 pitches (37 strikes), a small step up in workload from his final rehab start Sunday, but even after he gets fully stretched out he'll be tough to rely upon in fantasy as he pitches through a nerve issue in his right foot. He's set to make his next outing, either as a bulk reliever or traditional starter, at home next week against the Royals.

Munoz allowed one run on one hit and struck out two without walking a batter over one inning, taking a blown save in Friday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Cubs.

Munoz served up the game-tying home run to Alex Bregman in the ninth inning. By all accounts, it's been a bumpy August for Munoz, who has given up seven runs (six earned) over nine innings this month while converting just four of seven save chances. On the year, he's 23-for-31 in save conversions while pitching to a 4.37 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 75:18 K:BB through 47.1 innings. Munoz doesn't appear to be in any obvious danger of losing the closing job yet, but it would be a positive sign if he could string a few scoreless outings together.

Joyce (0-1) blew a save and took the loss against the Rangers on Friday, allowing two unearned runs on two hits and one walk with one strikeout while recording two outs in the 10th inning.

Joyce was summoned to close out a one-run lead in the 10th inning and recorded two quick outs. It was downhill from there, though, as he yielded an RBI double before the game-winning run scored on a throwing error. Despite the end result, the 25-year-old has now gone seven straight outings without allowing an earned run since making his season debut Aug. 5. He owns three saves and one hold over that span to go along with a strong 9:2 K:BB and should remain the club's favorite for save chances down the stretch.

Garcia earned the save in Friday's 5-3 win over the Rays, striking out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning.

Garcia got the call to protect the Orioles' two-run lead in the ninth after Andrew Kittredge was deployed for the eighth frame. Garcia proceeded to strike out each of the first two batters he faced before getting Cedric Mullins to fly out to secure Baltimore's 62nd win of the season. Garcia, Kittredge, Cam Sanders and Yennier Cano have all been in the mix for saves, and that appears to be the case until either Ryan Helsley (elbow) or Felix Bautista (shoulder) returns from the injured list.