MLB Player News
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Ryan Helsley RP | STL
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Earns 34th save
Helsley earned the save against the Cubs on Saturday, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
Helsley was summoned to protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning and did so on just nine pitches. He rebounded from a blown save Thursday and surpassed Emmanuel Clase for the major-league lead in saves with 34. On the season, the 30-year-old owns a 2.64 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 54:19 K:BB across 47.2 innings.
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Jacob Bird RP | COL
Rockies' Jake Bird: Sent back to minors
The Rockies optioned Bird to Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday.
Bird has struggled to find his footing in the majors this season, accumulating a 6.12 ERA and 1.84 WHIP over 25 innings out of the bullpen. He'll head back to Triple-A in order to right the ship, and his roster spot will be given to Tanner Gordon, who will start Saturday's game versus San Diego.
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Calvin Faucher RP | MIA
Marlins' Calvin Faucher: Stumbles in high-leverage spot
Faucher (2-3) blew the save and took the loss Friday against Atlanta, getting tagged for three runs on three hits and two walks in the eighth inning. He struck out one.
Manager Skip Schumaker continues to play it coy when it comes to the Marlins' closer situation in the wake of the Tanner Scott trade. After rookie Valente Bellozo gave the team five innings as the starter, Anthony Bender worked the sixth, Andrew Nardi the seventh and then Faucher the eighth, leaving open the question of who would have gotten the ninth had Faucher not coughed up a 3-2 lead. The blown save was Faucher's third of the year against two successful conversions, and Friday's implosion was the first time he's been charged with multiple earned runs since June 17. The situation could be headed for a committee, but at least so far, Schumaker has been willing to deploy Nardi and Bender earlier in the game in key spots.
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Aaron Bummer RP | ATL
Braves' Aaron Bummer: Collects third win
Bummer (3-2) picked up the win Friday over the Marlins, allowing one hit and striking out two in a scoreless eighth inning.
Entering the game with Atlanta down 3-2, the southpaw gave up a leadoff single to Xavier Edwards and watched the shortstop steal second base, but Bummer then proceeded to shut down what passes for the heart of the Miami order, including a strikeout of cleanup hitter Jonah Bride. Bummer has a 1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 16:1 K:BB through 10.1 innings since the beginning of July, but Atlanta's deep bullpen keeps him out of consistent fantasy-friendly usage -- he has zero saves or holds on the season.
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Grant Holmes RP | ATL
Braves' Grant Holmes: Drawing second start
Holmes is slated to start Saturday's game against the Marlins.
Holmes had made his first 10 MLB appearances out of the Atlanta bullpen, but he was called upon for a start in Monday's game against the Brewers. He took a no-decision in Atlanta's 8-3 loss, covering five innings and striking out eight while allowing just one run on three hits and no walks. The performance was enough to earn Holmes a second turn through the rotation, but he could be at risk of heading back to the bullpen as soon as next week if both Max Fried (forearm) and Reynaldo Lopez (forearm) are ready to make starts.
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Luis Ortiz RP | PIT
Pirates' Luis Ortiz: Ambushed by Arizona
Ortiz escaped with a no-decision in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Diamondbacks, coughing up six runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.
All three long balls came in the first inning, as Ketel Marte, Joc Pederson and Josh Bell went back-to-back-to-back as part of a five-run frame. It's the first time since June 21 that Ortiz has served up multiple homers, and over six appearances between those two games he'd posted a 1.71 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB through 31.2 innings. With Jared Jones (lat) inching closer to a return though, Ortiz likely can't afford more meltdowns if he wants to hang onto his spot in the rotation. He's scheduled to make his next start at home next week against the Padres.
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A.J. Puk RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' A.J. Puk: Pitches in sixth inning
Puk allowed one run on three hits over one-third of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.
Puk entered to clean up a mess made by Kevin Ginkel in the sixth inning but couldn't prevent the Pirates from taking the lead. Both Puk and Ginkel were speculated as options to close out games after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald would no longer be the club's closer. Ryan Thompson eventually closed out the win after Arizona retook the lead, but Lovullo, who did not specifically name a replacement for Sewald, trusts all three of those relievers.
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Kevin Ginkel RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Kevin Ginkel: Enters in sixth inning
Ginkel allowed three runs on one hit, one walk and a hit batsman over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.
Ginkel entered in the sixth inning with Arizona up 6-3 and by the time he and A.J. Puk finished the frame, the Diamondbacks were down 7-6. This came on the day that manager Torey Lovullo announced Paul Sewald would no longer be the team's closer, which led to speculation about both Ginkel and Puk as options to close games. Ryan Thompson eventually closed the win, but Lovullo never mentioned a specific player as Sewald's direct replacement. The manager has a number of arms he trusts, including Ginkel.
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Tyson Miller RP | CHC
Cubs' Tyson Miller: Earns win in relief
Miller (3-1) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Friday against the Cardinals. He struck out one.
Chicago starter Javier Assad only lasted four innings in this one, which opened the door for Miller to pick up his third win in relief this year. The righty has emerged as a nice bullpen option for the Cubs, posting a 2.06 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 36 strikeouts across 39.1 innings. He's still likely behind both Hector Neris and Porter Hodge in the pecking order for saves, though with Mark Leiter traded to New York, Miller could at least see a bit more high-leverage work moving forward.
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Ryan Thompson RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ryan Thompson: Earns second save
Thompson allowed one run on two hits in one inning Friday, recording the save in a 9-8 win over Pittsburgh.
Thompson was given the first save opportunity after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald was being removed from the closer job. It was the second straight save converted by Thompson, who closed out Wednesday's win when Sewald couldn't. Lovullo could also use Kevin Ginkel or A.J. Puk in save situations, but those two pitched earlier in the game Friday, combining to give up four runs in the sixth inning.