MLB Player News

Alexander (2-0) pitched a perfect inning and earned the win in Sunday's 5-4 victory over the Mets.

Alexander got three groundouts to set down the Mets in order in the top of the eighth inning. A Mike Yastrzemski double put the Giants ahead in the bottom of the frame. Through 10 appearances, Alexander has allowed just two runs on eight hits over 9.1 innings, good for a 1.93 ERA and 0.86 WHIP. He has neither significant strikeout stuff nor a clear high-leverage role, but he's been effective when called upon. With Taylor Rogers shaky early in the season, there's a path for Alexander to serve as a key southpaw in the late innings.

Doval struck out two batters in a perfect inning to earn a save over the Mets on Sunday.

Doval quickly mowed through three Mets with just nine pitches to finish off the 5-4 victory. It was his first save chance since his season debut April 1. Doval lowered his ERA to 3.00 with a 13:5 K:BB across nine innings this season.

Hader struck out one batter in a perfect inning and earned a save over Arizona on Sunday.

Hader needed just 10 pitches to put the Diamondbacks down Sunday. The elite closer has been his usual self in 2023, posting a 0.82 ERA with a 16:4 K:BB through 11 frames. Hader has turned in six straight scoreless outings and has now converted each of his eight save opportunities.

Jameson (2-1) allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in one inning Sunday, striking out one and taking a loss against the Padres.

Jameson needed 43 pitches to get through a disastrous first inning and didn't even get the opportunity to go back out. The Padres batted around the lineup, and most of the damage came on Matt Carpenter's two-run double. Prior to Sunday's outing, Jameson had allowed just four runs through 16 innings this season. He saw his ERA jump from 2.25 to 3.71 alongside a 16:12 K:BB. Jameson's next outing is currently scheduled to be in Colorado.

Bednar picked up the save in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Reds, striking out a pair in a scoreless ninth inning.

Bednar worked around a two-out Wil Myers single to earn his eighth save on the season and his fourth in Pittsburgh's last six games. Bednar moved past Jordan Romano to claim sole possession of the MLB lead in saves. Bednar has allowed just one run in 11 innings this season, good for a 0.82 ERA. He's 2-0 with 14:1 K:BB.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that Phillips (personal) will rejoin the team in Pittsburgh in advance of the team's three-game series with the Pirates, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Phillips was placed on the paternity list Thursday and has already spent the maximum three games away from the Dodgers. The right-hander should return to a high-leverage role and handle the bulk of the available save chances once he's formally reinstated from the paternity list.

Padres manager Bob Melvin confirmed prior to Saturday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks that Martinez will shift to the bullpen following Joe Musgrove's (toe/shoulder) return from the 15-day injured list, Bill Center of MLB.com reports. "We'll have Nick ready in the bullpen pretty quick, too. The very earliest is [Sunday]," Melvin said.

Even though Martinez lowered his ERA and WHIP to 4.01 and 1.22, respectively, after tossing seven scoreless frames and allowing just five baserunners in a win over Atlanta on Wednesday, the return of Musgrove means that the Friars won't have room in the rotation for Martinez or Ryan Weathers, who had also excelled through his first three starts of the campaign. While it's possible the Padres expand their rotation back to six men at some point and look to Martinez to fill the opening, the team will get by with a five-man setup for now with two off days on tap during the upcoming week. Martinez brought some value in a relief role in 2022 -- he accrued a 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 15.6 K-BB% while notching eight saves in 54 innings -- but most of those save chances came when the Padres' bullpen situation was more fluid and/or while Josh Hader battled command issues. Hader has righted the ship thus far in 2023 and has re-emerged as one of the game's elite closers, so Martinez doesn't look like he'll offer much more than ratio stabilization in his impending return to the bullpen.

Weathers recorded his first hold of the season after striking out one and allowing one hit over a scoreless seventh inning out of the bullpen in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

With Joe Musgrove (toe/shoulder) returning from the 15-day injured list and working five innings in his season debut, Weathers moved into a relief role despite turning in a 2.81 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over his first three starts of the campaign. Though the southpaw is just 23 years old and would be deserving of a spot in nearly any other team's rotation, Weathers will have to settle for bullpen work while the Padres have all of their key starters at full strength. Due to a pair of off days during the upcoming week, the Friars will move from a six-man rotation to a five-man setup, so Nick Martinez is also in line to join Weathers in the bullpen.

The Phillies recalled Marte from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday.

Marte will provide the Phillies with a fresh arm out of the bullpen for Sunday's series finale with the Rockies while Cristopher Sanchez returns to Lehigh Valley after making a spot start for Philadelphia in Saturday's 4-3 loss. Over 41 career appearances in the big leagues, the 28-year-old Marte owns a 6.43 ERA and 1.59 WHIP across 49 frames.

Nelson allowed one hit and struck out two over one scoreless inning in Saturday's 5-3 loss to San Diego.

Nelson was charged with a blown save, but he was presented with the challenge of getting out of starter Merrill Kelly's none-out, bases loaded jam in the sixth inning. After the first two batters he faced struck out, Ha-Seong Kim's single on a ball hit with a .170 XBA found its way to the outfield to plate two runs. Nelson has pitched well out of the bullpen and earned the high-leverage chance. Even when the left-hander was tagged with Thursday's loss, it was due to two unearned runs thanks to a Nick Ahmed error. Nelson has a 0.93 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 15 strikeouts and three walks over 9.2 innings.