MLB Player News

Doval walked one and struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the save in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Tigers.

Dominic Leone got into trouble in the eighth inning, but Doval was able to bail him out by striking out Jonathan Schoop with the bases loaded. Doval issued his walk in the ninth, then escaped the jam by getting Javier Baez to ground into a double play. This was Doval's first save since June 18, as he'd seen three straight non-save situations. The hard-throwing righty has a 2.97 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 40:13 K:BB through 33.1 innings. He's added 12 saves, two blown saves, one hold and a 3-2 record while serving as the Giants' top high-leverage arm.

Thompson (7-3) allowed four runs on eight hits across 6.1 innings to take the loss Tuesday against the Reds. He had no walks and struck out eight.

The eight strikeouts were one away from tying a season high, but Thompson was a bit too hittable and was outdueled by Cincinnati starter Luis Castillo, who tossed six scoreless innings of his own. Thompson has pitched well overall this year with a 3.34 ERA, though he's just 1-3 across his last five starts with a 6.14 ERA. The righty will look to get back on track in his next scheduled start Sunday against a surging Boston squad.

Hader struck out the side in the ninth inning of a 5-3 win Tuesday in Tampa Bay to earn the save.

Facing the bottom three spots in the order, Hader made quick work of Taylor Walls and two pinch hitters, retiring all three on swinging strikeouts. The flamethrower is now 23-for-24 in save chances this season. Through 25 outings he has fanned 41 of the 86 batters he's faced, for a remarkable 47.7 percent strikeout rate.

Rainey earned the save during Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Pirates with a scoreless ninth inning. He allowed a hit and a walk and had one strikeout.

The right-hander surrendered a one-out walk and a two-out single but kept Pittsburgh off the board with a strikeout to end the game. Rainey has now picked up saves in his past four appearances without giving up a run, and overall he has a 2.88 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 30:11 K:BB over 25 innings while going 11-for-14 in save chances.

Minter struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Tuesday to record his first save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Phillies.

With Kenley Jansen out of commission due to an irregular heartbeat, Atlanta will turn to its top two setup men in Will Smith and Minter to handle closing duties. The latter got the first crack at an opportunity, but it's not yet clear whether he will be the primary option for saves as Smith had pitched on four of the prior six days, and Minter may have simply been the fresher arm. The 28-year-old has done nothing this season to suggest he can't handle high-leverage spots, however, riding his high 90s fastball and plus cutter to a 1.64 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 44:5 K:BB through 33 innings.

Junis (hamstring) threw a bullpen session Tuesday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Junis was ruled out 4-to-6 weeks after suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain in mid-June, and he's creeping closer to embarking on a minor-league rehab assignment. However, the 29-year-old will first need to advance to facing live batters, and it's unclear when he's expected to do so.

Kinley is scheduled to undergo season-ending surgery in Dallas this week to repair the flexor tendon in his right elbow, Danielle Allentuck of the Denver Gazette reports.

The Rockies were initially fearful that Kinley's elbow injury would require the second Tommy John surgery of his career -- he previously had the operation in 2009 as a senior in high school -- but he'll instead opt for a less intensive arm procedure. According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, Kinley will still miss the remainder of the season, but because his upcoming procedure entails an 8-to-12-month recovery period, he'll have an outside shot at being available for the start of the 2023 campaign. Before the elbow injury surfaced, Kinley had been the Rockies' top reliever. He'll conclude the campaign with an 0.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB in 24 innings to go with one win and 10 holds.

Antone (elbow) was throwing at about 85 miles per hour during his most recent flat-ground sessions at the Reds' extended spring training facility in Arizona, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The 28-year-old's average fastball velocity typically sat around 95 to 97 mph in 2021, so he still has a considerable amount of ramping up to do in the months to come. After Antone underwent Tommy John surgery in late August of the last season, the Reds likely aren't counting on him pitching in the minors or majors in 2022.

Hicks (forearm) is scheduled to make one-inning rehab appearances Tuesday and Wednesday with Triple-A Memphis, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Pitching on back-to-back days likely represents the final checkpoint Hicks will need to hit in his recovery from a right forearm strain before the Cardinals bring him back from the 15-day injured list during this weekend's series in Philadelphia. Hicks had started or served as a bulk reliever in each of his first nine appearances of the season with the big club prior to landing on the shelf May 26, but he's slated to work as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen once he's activated.

Bednar is dealing with a lower-back issue and is unavailable Tuesday against the Nationals, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Manager Derek Shelton said they are hoping to avoid an injured list stint for the back issue that Bednar has been dealing with, which had gone unreported until now. Two of Bednar's three blown saves have come in his last three appearances, and he has given up three runs while striking out seven in 3.2 innings over that stretch. It's unclear who would be next up behind Bednar, but Wil Crowe and Chris Stratton seem like potential options.