MLB Player News

Duarte is up as the Reds' 27th man for Sunday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

He has a 4.08 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in 17.2 innings in the majors this season. Duarte will likely return to Triple-A Louisville after Sunday's twin bill.

Marte was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Marte pitched 2.2 innings over the past three days, so the Phillies will send him down in favor of a fresh arm for the bullpen. He gave up three earned runs while striking out five in five innings over four August appearances. Luis Ortiz was recalled in a corresponding move.

Merryweather (4-0) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win Saturday against the Blue Jays. He walked one and struck out two.

Through his first five appearances of the season, Merryweather had an unsightly 12.71 ERA. Since then, the righty has managed a 2.31 ERA across 46 appearances (46.2 innings). The strong, consistent play has made Merryweather a reliable relief option who typically pitches in front of closer Adbert Alzolay.

Ortiz was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to Sunday's game against the Twins.

The 27-year-old reliever has a 3.94 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 16 innings in the big leagues this season. He has operated as a high-leverage reliever at Triple-A, but Ortiz should be limited to lower-leverage opportunities while up with the big club.

Alzolay picked up the save Saturday against the Blue Jays, striking out one over a perfect inning.

Alzolay entered the contest in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead and got Brandon Belt to go down on strikes in the opening at-bat. The right-handed reliever then made short work of the next two batters to complete a perfect inning and log his 16th save of the season. Alzolay has now converted each of his last 12 save attempts, with his only blown save coming back on July 4 against the Brewers. He's also issued just one walk over his last 11 appearances (spanning 11.2 innings).

Sewald earned a save over San Diego on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over one inning.

Sewald was acquired by Arizona at the trade deadline to take over as the closer, but he had garnered only one save opportunity prior to Saturday, as the Diamondbacks had stumbled to nine straight losses since he reported to the team. The right-hander got the chance to help end that slide against the Padres, and he came through with a scoreless frame to pick up the save. Sewald tossed 11 of 12 pitches for strikes in the outing and allowed just a harmless single to Juan Soto. He's locked into the ninth-inning role, but his save opportunities could be limited if the Diamondbacks aren't able to reverse their recent rough stretch.

Williams earned a save over the White Sox on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out three batters in a scoreless inning of work.

Williams was summoned to protect a one-run lead in the ninth frame and looked to be in some trouble when he yielded an inning-opening single. However, the All-Star closer bounced back to strike out the following three batters and wrap up the contest. It was the second save in as many days for Williams, and he's struck out the side in each outing. He's posted a 13.6 K/9 on the campaign while compiling 28 saves, a 1.36 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.

Lambert (2-4) allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four over six innings, taking the loss Saturday versus the Dodgers.

Given the quality of the opponent and the fact he gave up all three runs over the first two innings, Lambert was lucky to emerge with a quality start, his second of the season. The right-hander has compiled a 5.46 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 51:23 K:BB through 59.1 innings over 20 appearances (six starts). He was shaky in his first two outings of August and remains a risky option in fantasy given his home park, where he's expected to make his next start versus the lowly White Sox.

Phillips pitched a perfect inning with three strikeouts to earn the save in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Rockies.

Phillips needed just 13 pitches (nine strikes) to retire the top of the Rockies' lineup in the ninth inning. This was his second clean outing in a row after he opened August with three runs allowed over 2.1 innings. The closer is at a 2.60 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 50:10 K:BB with 17 saves and six holds through 45 innings this season.

Romero picked up the save in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Royals. He allowed one run on three hits over 1.2 innings.

Romero took over in the eighth after Giovanny Gallegos allowed three hits and a run while only recording one out. Romero managed to get the Cardinals out of the jam in that frame and held on for the save despite allowing three hits and a run in the ninth. Though closing duties are up for grabs with Ryan Helsley (forearm) shelved, Romero owns a 4.05 ERA in 15 appearances since Helsley was shifted to the 60-day IL and has recently split ninth-inning work with Gallegos, who's been much more effective lately.