MLB Player News

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman worked an easy, perfect ninth inning on Wednesday to record his 16th save of the season. Chapman struck out one and needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in order, preserving the 2-1 victory over the Twins. 

Chapman is a perfect 16-for-16 in save chances. He has not allowed a run in nine straight outings, and owns a miniscule 1.83 ERA overall this season. 

Diamondbacks starting pitcher Rubby De La Rosa continued to a stretch of strong starts Tuesday against the Dodgers, striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings. He is 2-0 with a 1.30 ERA in his last four starts.

De La Rosa's surge has coincided with the acquisition of catcher Welington Castillo. The duo grew up playing baseball together in the Dominican Republic. De La Rosa has a 3.58 ERA in five starts with Castillo behind the plate.

"He's good behind home plate," De La Rosa said, per The Arizona Republic. "He makes me a little bit more confident. For me it's really good."

Although, Castillo doesn't want to take any credit for De La Rosa's success.

"I think my job is to help him however I can," Castillo said. "He's got really good stuff. All I'm trying to do is get him on the same page and get him believing in his stuff."

The reports were positive following Reds starting pitcher Raisel Iglesias' rehab outing with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, manager Bryan Price said. Iglesias will likely make two more rehab starts before joining the rotation after the All-Star break.

Iglesias (oblique) threw three scoreless innings Tuesday. He allowed one hit and one walk, while striking out three. He threw 27 of 43 pitches for strikes.

"Very sharp," Price said Wednesday, per MLB.com. "I think he threw 21 pitches in the first inning, worked around an error and a walk. So I guess that was 22 pitches over the next two innings, so very, very efficient. He felt great, no issues at all with the oblique.

"He'll get up to probably that neighborhood of 65-plus pitches in his next outing, but I'd say it's more likely post All-Star break that he'll be ready to re-enter the rotation."

Diamondbacks reliever David Hernandez has had a rough go of it since returning from Tommy John surgery on June 7. In particular, the right-hander has really struggled over the his last three appearances, and the hard times continued on Tuesday.

Hernandez suffered his first loss of the season in the 6-4 defeat to the Dodgers. He entered the game in the top of the 10th inning with the scored 4-4. But he allowed three runs to score in the 10th, including a go-ahead home run to Howie Kendrick. 

Hernandez has now given up five runs over his last three outings, and owns a 7.50 ERA this season.

"For just so long, you grow accustomed to pitching and feeling fine, like nothing happened," Hernandez said, per MLB.com. "But I know it's going to take time. But up here there's no time, you've got to get the outs before obviously they score any runs." 

Dodgers pitcher Kenley Jansen recorded the final three outs of the game Tuesday to earn his 12th save of the season during the 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Jansen did allow one hit and a double, which led to one run, but he also struck out two batters. He now has a 1.08 ERA on the season and he has converted 12 of his 13 save chances this season.

Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa produced a solid outing Tuesday against the Dodgers, but he received a no-decision for his effort.

De La Rosa allowed two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out seven and walked one. He now has a 4.60 ERA. The Diamondbacks lost the game 6-4 in extra innings.

Tuesday's start broke his three-game streak of pitching at least seven innings as well as receiving a quality start.

Phillies reliever Ken Giles retired the first two batters he faced against Milwaukee on Tuesday, then didn't retired anyone else. 

Giles quickly got two outs in the eighth inning, then allowed three straight hits, followed by two straight walks. He gave up two runs, the first time in 12 outings he's allowed anyone to score. 

Giles suffered his second blown save of the year and was tagged with the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the year. 

Despite striking out a season-high 10 batters during Tuesday's start against the Nationals, Braves pitcher Shelby Miller received his fourth loss of the season for his effort.

Miller allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings of work during the 6-1 loss. He also walked three batters and is now 5-4 with a 2.20 ERA. His biggest mistake came in the first inning when he gave up a two-run home run to Clint Robinson.

Miller is now winless in his last eight starts, but he has received a quality start in six of those starts.

Reds pitcher Raisel Iglesias started a minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. 

Iglesias is on the disabled list with a strained left oblique and hadn't pitched in a month. 

Iglesias threw three shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out three and threw 27 strikes in 43 pitches. He also threw a wild pitch. 

The Rockies moved pitcher John Axford to the temporary inactive list on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. 

The Rockies also placed right-handed pitcher Christian Bergman on the disabled list due to right shoulder fatigue. As a result, Colorado recalled right-handed pitcher Justin Miller and left-handed pitcher Yohan Flande.