MLB Player News

Phillies reliever Luis Garcia earned his 16th hold of the season with a scoreless inning against the Mets on Tuesday.

Garcia struck out one and walked one. He is 3-6 with a 3.58 ERA and a 62:37 K:BB ratio in 65 1/3 innings this season.

Brewers pitcher Jorge Lopez earned the win in his first major league start Tuesday against the Padres as he allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings. He also struck out seven.

Lopez was a strikeout artist in the minors, as he struck out 137 batters in 143 1/3 innings at Double-A Biloxi this year before his call-up. He rode those strikeouts to a 2.26 ERA, and 11 swinging strikes in his first major league starts is a good sign it can translate.

He also induced seven ground balls, and just two of the eight hits he allowed were extra-base hits, a recipe for a successful debut.

Phillies closer Ken Giles picked up his 14th save in a 4-3 win over the Mets on Tuesday, surrendering a hit, two earned runs and a walk in one inning. He struck out two.

Giles made things interesting by surrendering a 378-foot shot to Lucas Duda with David Murphy on in the ninth, but was then able to whiff Travis d'Arnaud for the final out. Prior to Tuesday's contest, the 25-year-old had not surrendered an earned run since an Aug. 9 outing against the Padres, a string of 16 innings. The gopher ball was also only the second given up by Giles all season, with the only other round-tripper having come way back on May 16 against Arizona. Giles has turned in impressive work overall after replacing the departed Jonathan Papelbon as closer, and would appear to have the inside track on the job heading into 2016.

Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino recorded his eighth save in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Nationals, pitching a scoreless ninth while surrendering two hits and striking out a batter.

Vizcaino made things interesting in the ninth by surrendering consecutive singles to Jayson Werth and Clint Robinson to open the inning, but ultimately was able to strike out the red-hot Matt den Dekker to secure the victory. It was the fourth consecutive successful save opportunity for Vizcaino, and his seventh straight scoreless outing.

Pirates closer Mark Melancon (3-2) absorbed the loss Monday night, giving up three earned runs on three hits while striking out two in a 3-0 defeat to the Cardinals.

Melancon endured a rough outing in a non-save situation, giving up a two-run homer to Mark Reynolds after a Gregory Polanco fielding error allowed the game's first run to score. The right-hander's ERA jumped to 2.29 with Monday's performance, but Melancon has been otherwise spotless this season -- leading the majors with 51 saves.

Rockies starting pitcher Chris Rusin (6-9) picked up the victory Sunday, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks, while striking out three batters in a 12-5 victory over the Dodgers.

Rusin didn't need to be stellar as his team cobbled together six runs through the first four innings. However, he's now allowed at least three runs in his last seven appearances dating back to Aug. 22.

The 28-year-old has had a rough season this year, posting a 5.37 ERA and 1.62 WHIP through 125 2/3 innings.

Padres closer Craig Kimbrel struck out two batters and allowed one hit in a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 38th save in a 3-0 win over Arizona on Saturday.

It's amazing that Kimbrel has 38 saves on such a bad team, but it shows you how valuable he can be. He now ranks in the top-five of saves and strikeouts for all closers. Kimbrel has also been a bit unlucky this year, as his 14 percent home run-to-flyball rate is a career high. Not many closers are as reliable as Kimbrel and it makes him a great draft pick year after year.

Rockies hurler Miguel Castro (back) is not expected to pitch again this season, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports.

Manager Walt Weiss revealed Saturday that Castro has been nursing a back injury, which explains why the 20-year-old hasn't appeared in a game since Sept. 14. The Rockies will likely just shut Castro down for the year and hope he can go through a normal offseason routine. Castro struggled as a starter with Triple-A Buffalo before being traded to Colorado in the Troy Tulowitzki deal, but the Rockies have not publicly shut the door on returning him to a starting role in the spring.

Diamondbacks starter Rubby De La Rosa (14-8) allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks across 5 2/3 innings in a win over the Padres on Friday. He struck out just two.

What made De La Rosa so appealing early in the season were his impressive strikeout totals, but that's disappeared as of late. Since the beginning of July, De La Rosa has 49 strikeouts in 15 starts. Before that, he recorded 94 strikeouts in his first 16 starts. It's tough to see why this is the case, but results have not changed much despite the strange strikeout trends. If he can find some consistency with the strikeout form he had in the first three months, De La Rosa could become must own next season.

Braves starter Ryan Weber (0-2) was touched up for seven runs on nine hits and a walk over two innings in Friday's loss to Miami.

The nine hits Weber surrendered on Friday were just two shy of the total he had given up in his first three starts combined. Though limiting baserunners had been Weber's game coming into Friday, strikeouts continue not to be. After not registering a strikeout on Friday, Weber now possesses a 3.80 K/9 rate. He shouldn't be on your fantasy radar.