MLB Player News

Ramirez recorded his first save of the season in Friday's 2-1 win over the Yankees, giving up one unearned run on one hit in the 11th inning. He struck out two.

The journeyman right-hander is already on his third team of 2024, but with Evan Phillips having thrown 31 pitches the night before and both Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen having been deployed earlier in Friday's contest, Ramirez got the call in a high-leverage spot and delivered. He allowed the phantom runner to score on a one-out single by Aaron Judge, but Ramirez then struck out Giancarlo Stanton before Anthony Rizzo popped out to end the game. In nine innings for the Dodgers, the 29-year-old Ramirez has a 3.00 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 5:2 K:BB, but he's unlikely to become a regular part of the late-inning mix.

Romero (3-1) struck out one and hit one batter in a scoreless inning to earn the win over the Rockies on Friday.

After his Monday meltdown versus the Astros, Romero has bounced back with a pair of scoreless outings. There's been little reason to worry about the southpaw this year, as he's pitched to a 1.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 32:4 K:BB over 32 innings. He's added 19 holds and two blown saves while operating in a setup role ahead of closer Ryan Helsley. Romero's impressive numbers have been fueled by his slider, which he's thrown 33.5 percent of the time. Opponents are batting just .048 off the pitch, and it's generated a 44.4 percent whiff rate on this year, per Statcast.

Helsley picked up the save in Friday's 8-5 victory over Colorado. He pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Helsley handily retired all three batters faced in his third consecutive scoreless outing to gather his league-leading 21st save. The Cardinals closer has been stellar, suffering just one blown save in his 28 total appearances. Overall, the 29-year-old flamethrower sports a 2.25 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 31:6 K:BB in 28 innings this season.

Doval struck out one batter in a perfect inning to earn a save over the Rangers on Friday.

Doval fired 10 of 15 pitches to quickly retire the Ragners' 3-4-5 hitters in order and finish off the 5-2 win. It was his first appearance since coughing up four runs against the Yankees on June 2. Doval has now converted 10 of his 12 save chances and Friday was his first successful attempt since May 24. Doval lowered his season ERA to 4.07 through 24.1 innings.

Scott (5-4) struck out two batters over 1.2 perfect frames and earned a win over the Guardians on Friday.

Scott entered a tie game in the eighth inning and forced a double play to escape the first-and-third jam he inherited. He then struck out two in the ninth inning before Miami walked it off in the bottom of the frame. After some early season struggles, Scott has now gone 18 straight innings without allowing an earned run. His season ERA has fallen to 1.40 with a 27:19 K:BB through 25.2 innings.

Finnegan earned the save Friday in a 2-1 win over Atlanta, striking out a pair in a scoreless ninth inning.

Finnegan is now 17-for-19 in save chances this year, tied for fourth-most in the majors. The right-hander's allowed just two earned runs in his last 23 appearances (23.1 innings), lowering his ERA to 1.80 with a 0.92 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB across 25 innings this season.

Robertson (elbow) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

It will be Robertson's first bullpen since landing on the injured list May 26 due to right elbow inflammation. Before the injury, he had appeared in eight games for the Cardinals, registering a 4.38 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 12.1 innings out of the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks optioned Jacques to Triple-A Reno on Friday.

One day after coming up from the minors, Jacques will return to Triple-A following the arrival of Thyago Vieira, who was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Thursday. Jacques has allowed seven earned runs in just 6.1 innings since joining the Diamondbacks organization in April, and a return to Arizona isn't likely, barring a significant turnaround.

Thompson (illness) was activated from the 15-day injured list Friday and was optioned to Triple-A Iowa, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Thompson has been recovering from a viral illness since mid-May and was rehabbing with Triple-A Iowa this week. While he's over the illness, he'll stick around in the minors, where he started this season. He's appeared in three games for Iowa during his rehab stint, yielding one run on three hits with six Ks over 4.2 innings.

The Cubs optioned Hodge to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Ryan Herrera of CHGO Sports reports.

Hodge flashed both his wipeout stuff (seven strikeouts) and control problems (four walks) during his first five major-league innings. He'll get another chance eventually, but for now he'll attempt more fine-tuning at Iowa.