MLB Player News
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Andrew Kittredge RP | STL
Cardinals' Andrew Kittredge: Secures 30th hold
Kittredge allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning, earning his major-league-leading 30th hold of the season in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals.
Kittredge has been one of the best setup men in the majors this year, which has helped the Cardinals rely on the bullpen to find success. He's on a 7.1-inning scoreless streak since the All-Star break, adding five holds and a blown save in that span. For the year, Kittredge has pitched to a 3.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 49:15 K:BB while adding one save, five blown saves and a 1-4 record over 50.2 innings.
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Matthew Liberatore RP | STL
Cardinals' Matthew Liberatore: Collects third win
Liberatore (3-3) allowed one walk and struck out three over three scoreless and hitless innings to earn the win Friday over the Royals.
Liberatore allowed nine runs over his first 3.2 innings following the All-Star break, but he's bounced back with 6.2 scoreless innings and a 9:2 K:BB over his four appearances in August. The southpaw has been a multi-inning reliever and occasional spot starter for the Cardinals this year. He's now at a 4.76 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 53:22 K:BB through 62.1 innings, but it doesn't look like he'll find a path to a regular starting role any time soon.
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Ryan Walker RP | SF
Giants' Ryan Walker: Taking over as closer
Manager Bob Melvin said Friday that Walker will serve as the Giants' closer going forward, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Walker has been dominant out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2.24 ERA and 0.88 WHIP across 60.1 frames while typically handling the seventh inning for the Giants. With the struggling Camilo Doval now in Triple-A Sacramento, Walker will become San Francisco's go-to reliever in save situations and is worth rostering in all fantasy formats.
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Ryan Helsley RP | STL
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Notches 37th save
Helsley gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 37th save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Royals.
It didn't look like Helsley's services would be needed headed into the late innings, but the Cardinals scored twice in the eighth and ninth frames to erase a 5-4 deficit. The St. Louis closer then made things interesting by bring the tying run to the plate with one out, but he coaxed a double play grounder out of Vinnie Pasquantino to end the night. Helsley has worked three of the last four days, likely making him unavailable Saturday, but he racked up saves in each appearance to extend his major-league lead in saves over Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase (33).
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Hector Neris RP | HOU
Cubs' Hector Neris: Escapes with 16th save
Neris gave up two hits and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 16th save of the season in a 7-6 win over the White Sox.
The veteran right-hander gave up back-to-back singles to lead off the ninth before walking Andrew Benintendi with two outs, but Neris got Andrew Vaughn to fly out to escape the jam. Neris hasn't blown a save since June 16, posting a 1.26 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 17:6 K:BB over 14.1 innings since then to build up some job security as the Cubs' closer.
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Justin Martinez RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Picks up win
Martinez (5-2) earned the win over the Phillies on Friday, allowing one run and striking out one over a scoreless ninth inning.
Martinez's ascension to the back end of the Diamondbacks' bullpen continued. He was prepping for a save opportunity, but setup reliever A.J. Puk allowed an inherited runner to score, negating the chance. For Martinez, it was a sixth straight scoreless outing, during which he's struck out 12 batters in six innings.
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Tyler Rogers RP | SF
Giants' Tyler Rogers: Snags second win
Rogers (2-4) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the win Friday over the Tigers.
The Giants' bullpen is in flux following the team's shock decision Friday to option Camilo Doval to the minors. Rogers wasn't asked to handle a save situation Friday, but he pitched the ninth inning in a tied game, which is another common situation for closers to handle. That may have been a product of Ryan Walker pitching on four of the previous five days, as it's likely to be Walker who sees the bulk of the ninth-inning duties while Rogers -- who has often struggled in save situations in his career -- remains in a setup role. For the season, Rogers has a 3.04 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 38:3 K:BB with 25 holds and one save in two chances. Jordan Hicks and Taylor Rogers are also in the high-leverage mix, and the former's prior closing experience could make him a dark-horse candidate for saves.
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Victor Vodnik RP | COL
Rockies' Victor Vodnik: Secures seventh save
Vodnik picked up the save in Friday's 6-5 victory over Atlanta, working around a leadoff single to pitch a scoreless inning. He struck out one.
After allowing a leadoff single to Jarred Kelenic to open the ninth inning, Vodnik promptly retired the next three batters in a 17-pitch appearance. This outing was a welcome sight after the 24-year-old suffered a loss while coughing up three runs Wednesday against the Mets. He has now collected five of the last six Colorado saves since the All-Star break and appears to be in the driver's seat for the closer role over Tyler Kinley. Vodnik has pitched to 3.50 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB across 18 innings since July 1.
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Grant Holmes RP | ATL
Braves' Grant Holmes: Yields five runs in Coors Field
Holmes did not factor into the decision in Friday's 6-5 loss to Colorado, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out eight.
Despite generating an impressive 21 whiffs, the 28-year-old rookie couldn't contain the Rockies in his first appearance at Coors Field. After this performance, Holmes' ERA since joining the rotation July 29 has ballooned to 5.52 in 14.2 innings across three starts. However, he has been a solid contributor in the strikeout department, generating 20 Ks against four walks over that span. Holmes is currently scheduled to make his next outing in San Francisco next week.
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Joan Adon RP | WAS
Nationals' Joan Adon: Sent back to Rochester
The Nationals optioned Adon to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.
Since rejoining the Nationals bullpen July 30, Adon has given up three earned runs in just 3.1 innings across four appearances. His Triple-A numbers haven't been spectacular either (5.40 ERA, 1.66 WHIP), but there's still a chance he returns to Washington later in the season if the Nats' bullpen depth runs thin.