MLB Player News

Long (1-2) walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning, earning the win Friday over the Brewers.

Long kept the deficit at three runs, and the Giants rallied for six in the bottom of the ninth to make him a winner. Through six appearances in July, the southpaw has given up six runs in nine innings, though two of those were three-run outings and the other four were scoreless. He has a 3.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 25:11 K:BB through 36 innings, working as an occasional opener and a multi-inning reliever.

Martinez (foot) picked up a hold against Arizona on Friday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning of work.

Martinez was hit on the right foot by a line drive Tuesday, but there was never any indication that he suffered a serious injury. The right-handed hurler didn't pitch Wednesday or Thursday, but he served as the bridge between Yu Darvish and Taylor Rogers and picked up a hold in the 5-3 victory over the Diamondbacks on Friday. The hold was Martinez's first of the season, and he has also notched three wins and three saves while posting a 3.63 ERA over 74.1 innings. He's made 10 starts and eight relief appearances.

Llovera was removed from Friday's game against the Brewers with an unspecified injury, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Llovera delivered 1.2 scoreless innings before leaving with the training staff during the seventh inning. The right-hander should be considered day-to-day until more information is available.

Rogers struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Rogers finally turned in a scoreless outing after giving up seven runs in his last five appearances. He needed only 11 pitches (10 strikes) to convert the save Friday. The recent run of poor pitching has the southpaw up to a 3.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 42:7 K:BB in 36.2 innings. He's gone 25-for-30 in save chances this year, and manager Bob Melvin has struck with Rogers as the Padres' primary closer despite his struggles over the last couple of weeks.

Helsley earned the save during Friday's 7-3 win against the Reds, allowing one hit while recording one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Helsely entered with two on and none out in the ninth and surrendered a leadoff single to Nick Senzel to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. He proceeded to induce two flyouts and a strikeout to end the game and extend his scoreless innings streak to 8.1 frames across six appearances. The 27-year-old concludes the first half with a 0.69 ERA and 0.67 WHIP with 57 strikeouts across 39 innings and appears to be the top option to finish games for Manager Oliver Marmol.

Pallante (3-4) earned the win during Friday's 7-3 victory over Cincinnati, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five innings.

Pallante surrendered two runs on three hits in the first inning and another run on three baserunners in the third but retired nine of 10 Reds in the other three frames. The five strikeouts matched a season best for the 23-year-old rookie, though Pallante has struggled through three July starts with 13 runs and 29 baserunners permitted through 14.1 innings. His season numbers are still solid and feature a 3.34 ERA and 1.46 WHIP with 47 strikeouts in 70 innings across 26 appearances and eight starts.

Manager Oliver Marmol said Gallegos, who earned a hold after pitching a scoreless sixth inning Friday against the Reds, will move to a lower-leverage role for at least a few games due to his recent struggles, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Gallegos entered for the sixth inning with a one-run lead, and he allowed one hit while recording three strikeouts. It wasn't exactly a low-leverage spot, though it was only the third time all season he's entered earlier than the seventh inning. Prior to Friday's appearance the right-hander had given up five runs across his past four outings and seven runs in his past eight, leading to the decision from the St. Louis skipper. It may only be a temporary measure from Marmol in an attempt to get Gallegos back on track, but it should given Ryan Helsley, who secured another save Friday, a chance to further lock down the closer role.

Graterol had an MRI on his right shoulder come back clean Friday and he's expected to return from the injured list in 2-3 weeks, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The 23-year-old landed on the 15-day IL on Thursday with right shoulder inflammation, but he's apparently not dealing with a serious injury and should make a relatively quick return to the active roster. Evan Phillips and Yency Almonte should work as the main setup options for closer Craig Kimbrel while Graterol is sidelined.

Smith was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.

The right-hander was demoted by the Rockies on June 19 but will return to the majors with fellow reliever Carlos Estevez moving to the paternity list. Smith has appeared in three games for Colorado this year and has given up seven earned runs over 3.1 innings.

Estevez was placed on the paternity list Friday, Kyle Newman of The Denver Post reports.

Estevez picked up his first save of the season with a scoreless inning Thursday against the Padres, and he'll now step away from the team in order to spend some time with his growing family. The 29-year-old should rejoin the Rockies before the start of the second half of the season next Friday.