MLB Player News

Miller earned a save over the Rays on Monday, issuing one walk and striking out one batter in one scoreless inning.

Miller had a three-run lead to work with in the ninth frame and protected it with relative ease, allowing just one baserunner on a two-out walk. The right-hander has converted each of his past seven save chances, registering a 23:5 K:BB and allowing only two runs over 16 innings during that span. Miller has blossomed in his first campaign as a closer, going 19-for-21 in save opportunities overall and posting a 1.89 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 79:17 K:BB across 47.2 frames.

Schreiber earned the save in Monday's 5-3 victory over the Angels, working around a hit to pitch a shutout inning with no strikeouts.

The 30-year-old reliever saw immediate action in his first game back from a knee injury, collecting a save for the first time since May 10, which oddly, also came against the Angels. However, Schreiber likely will only serve as a backup closer going forward, as he spelled Lucas Erceg, who collected the two previous Kansas City saves, after Erceg fired 28 pitches in Sunday's contest. Overall, Schreiber now sports a 4.03 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 30:13 K:BB across 38 innings this season.

Fulmer (0-4) took the loss Monday at Kansas City, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out four.

After tossing 4.2 shutout innings for a no-decision in his Angels rotation debut July 14, the 30-year-old right-hander has now collected four losses in his last six outings. As a starting pitcher this season, Fulmer sports a 4.78 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB across 28 innings. He currently lines up to make his next start against the Blue Jays in Toronto this weekend.

Yates picked up the save in Monday's 4-3 victory over the Pirates, pitching a clean inning with two strikeouts.

After a rough weekend series against Minnesota in which Yates suffered a blown save and a loss across two appearances, the veteran righty looked sharp in this 15-pitch performance. The 37-year-old retired the 8-9-1 batters in order, as he's now made 12 straight appearances with a punchout. Over that span, Yates has been one of the league's best closers, pitching to a 2.57 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB while going 6-for-7 in save opportunities across 13 frames.

Triple-A Buffalo reinstated Danner (undisclosed) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

Danner missed two months while recovering from an undisclosed injury, but he finished up a rehab assignment with Single-A Dunedin on Aug. 10 and has pitched well in two relief appearances for Triple-A Buffalo. The right-hander has allowed one unearned run on one hit while walking two and striking out three over two innings.

Triple-A Round Rock activated Church (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Thursday. He's since made two appearances out of the bullpen for Round Rock, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and no walks over two innings.

Church was placed on the 7-day injured list April 18 due to a right shoulder strain and was transferred to the 60-day IL on May 1. He made a rehab appearance with High-A Hickory on Aug. 11 before getting the green light to rejoin the Round Rock bullpen. Church retains a spot on the Rangers' 40-man roster, but a promotion to the big leagues wouldn't seem to be imminent, given how much time he's missed this season.

Triple-A Norfolk reinstated Avila (undisclosed) from the 7-day injured list Tuesday.

The Orioles claimed Avila off waivers from the Giants on June 17, but he was immediately placed on Norfolk's IL due to an injury that dated back to his time with the San Francisco organization. He was cleared to begin a rehab assignment July 21 with High-A Aberdeen, and after making six appearances with the affiliate, Avila rejoined Norfolk last week. Avila has had a rough go in his first three outings with Norfolk, recording just four outs while allowing 10 earned runs on nine hits and three walks.

Hendriks (elbow) is expected to have his rehab assignment transferred to Double-A Portland in the coming days, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Hendriks tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen with Triple-A Worcester on Sunday and he will now shift to face Double-A competition for his next few outings. The right-hander reported that he felt good after his first appearance and he'll continue to build up towards a potential return to the major-league bullpen in early September.

Foster was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Monday.

Foster was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Friday after making a full recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he'll be sent to work in the minors after making one appearance with the big club. He tossed a scoreless frame Friday against Houston, collecting one strikeout and a hold in the process.

The Rays placed Fairbanks on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a right lat strain.

Fairbanks sustained the injury in Sunday's outing against Arizona, when he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk across 0.2 innings. The full results of his MRI on Monday haven't been announced, but a severe lat strain would likely end the 30-year-old's season. Fairbanks has gone 23-for-27 on save opportunities this year with a 3.57 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 45.1 innings. Colin Poche, Edwin Uceta and Manuel Rodriguez are nominally the favorites to see save opportunities with Fairbanks sidelined, but manager Kevin Cash's deployment of his high-leverage options has been notoriously hard to predict when the Rays haven't had a set closer. Joel Kuhnel was recalled from Triple-A Durham to add depth to Tampa Bay's bullpen.