MLB Player News

Hand gave up five runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out one over an inning in an 8-6 loss to the Brewers on Friday.

It was a rough night for the usually dominant closer, who squandered a three-run lead for the first time in a Padres uniform. Hand gave up three singles and allowed a fourth baserunner via his own error before making a mistake in location with an 0-2 fastball that Ryan Braun hit over the fence. The saving grace here is that a pitcher's own error keeps earned runs from being counted against him, so his owners' ERAs didn't take as big of a hit as they could have. Hand has built up enough goodwill over the last two seasons to have a few outings like this over the course of the year, so his closer job is safe for now.

Jansen -- who gave up Friday's only run -- reportedly saw his velocity dip to the 88-89 mph range, according to Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register.

The dominant closer became Joe Panik's latest victim when he left one of his cutters over the plate in the ninth inning. Jansen averaged 93.3 mph on his big cut fastball last season, so the media questioned whether the dip in velocity was simply mechanical, or if there were another reason, to which Jansen replied, "who cares?" One group of folks who might care are the fantasy owners who paid a hefty cost to acquire one of the game's best closers. Jansen did have a hamstring injury that delayed his start to spring training, but the ailment was never considered serious, and he was able to finish the exhibition campaign with no reported setbacks. There isn't reason to panic quite yet, as pitchers -- especially ones that didn't get a full spring in -- sometimes need a few extra appearances to fully get their velocity to peak levels. That said, how the 30-year-old responds in his next few outings will determine whether there is any cause for concern or if this was just a blip on what should be another dominant year.

Garcia threw six scoreless innings of relief Friday, giving up only one hit and two walks while striking out six, but he didn't factor into the decision in a 2-1 extra-inning win over the Cubs.

Coming on to start the 10th inning in a game that eventually went to 17 innings, Garcia threw an efficient 67 pitches (43 strikes) to help prevent the Marlins' bullpen from being completely gutted to begin the season. The team originally wanted the 25-year-old to get stretched out as a starter in the minors, so this outing at least preserved the first part of that plan. As he has options remaining and Miami will need fresh arms, don't be surprised if Garcia is returned to Double-A Jacksonville before Saturday's contest despite his impressive effort.

Boxberger tossed a scoreless ninth inning and got the save in Arizona's win over Colorado on Friday, walking one and striking out two.

Boxberger was named the Diamondbacks' closer over Archie Bradley just prior to the start of the regular season and manager Torey Lovullo did indeed turn to the 29-year-old righty for ninth-inning duty in Friday's win. Bradley's presence could make Boxberger's leash shorter than usual should he run into any struggles, but for now he's the reliever to own in the Arizona bullpen.

Pivetta came away with a no-decision Friday, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks over four innings while striking out three in the Phillies' 5-4 extra-inning victory over Atlanta.

Pivetta labored Friday, needing 73 pitches to get through four innings before his departure from the contest. The 25-year-old threw 133.0 innings as a rookie for the Phillies last year and posted a 6.02 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He's best left on waiver wires in standard mixed leagues until he shows consistent improvement on those numbers.

Nelson was moved to the 60-day DL prior to Friday's game.

This was strictly a procedural move in order to add Dan Jennings to the active roster. Nelson will likely remain on the shelf until July while working his way back from shoulder surgery he underwent this past September.

Neris surrendered a three-run home run to Nick Markakis in the bottom of the ninth inning of Thursday's Opening Day loss to Atlanta.

The Phillies' bullpen took over for Aaron Nola during the sixth inning with a five-run lead, only to let the Braves chip away and eventually tie it up in the eighth before winning it with Markakis' three-run shot off Neris in the final frame. The Phillies have hinted at the possibility of using Neris in a flexible bullpen role this season, so it will be interesting to see how things unfold when the first few save chances arise in the weeks ahead, especially since he entered Thursday's game in the bottom of the ninth inning with the game tied at 5-5 in a high-leverage, but non-save, situation.

McGrath (elbow) recorded one out in Thursday's Opening Day loss to the Brewers.

McGrath was slowed by an elbow injury late in camp, but the setback did not prevent him from taking the mound Opening Day. The left-hander figures to work situationally for the Padres out of the gate.

Blach (1-0) allowed three hits and three walks while striking out three over five scoreless innings in a win over the Dodgers on Thursday.

Called upon after Madison Bumgarner (hand) and Jeff Samardzija (pectoral) went down, Blach turned in results befitting of an Opening Day starter. He enjoyed a fair amount of success against the Dodgers last year as well, finishing with a 3.20 ERA in 25.1 innings against the Giants' division rival. The lefty lines up for two starts next week, and one of those starts will come against these same Dodgers, but the 3:3 K:BB suggests little has changed with Blach's overall profile. He had the lowest K/9 rate among qualified starters last season and a bottom-20 FIP.

Manager Bruce Bochy (elbow) said that he thinks it's realistic that Melancon can be ready to go "within a couple weeks," Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Melancon was officially placed on the 10-day DL with a right elbow flexor strain prior to Thursday's Opening Day contest against the Dodgers. Though Bochy appeared hopeful, he admitted that it will be difficult to pin down a clear timetable until the right-hander resumes throwing. In his absence, Hunter Strickland will temporarily work the ninth-inning role.