MLB Player News

Kittredge (0-3) allowed three runs on three hits and struck out one over one inning to take the loss and a blown save Saturday versus the Rockies.

Kittredge surrendered an RBI single to Brenton Doyle and a two-run home run to Ezequiel Tovar in the seventh inning, just half a frame after the Cardinals had rallied ahead. St. Louis didn't have another rally in it, leaving Kittredge with the loss. He'd pitched four scoreless innings to begin June before Saturday's slip-up. On the year, he has a 3.54 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 29:8 K:BB with three blown saves and 17 holds through 28 innings. Kittredge remains an important high-leverage reliever, but JoJo Romero has been the Cardinals' most effective setup man and Ryan Helsley remains locked in as closer.

Miller (1-2) allowed a hit and struck out two over one scoreless inning to earn the win over the Rangers on Saturday.

Starter Spencer Howard came up one out shy of qualifying for the win. That left the decision to Miller, who got the last out of the fifth inning and two more in the sixth to contribute his part of 4.1 scoreless innings by the Giants' bullpen. Miller is on a 6.1-inning scoreless streak and has pitched to a 3.60 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 38:15 K:BB with 10 holds and two blown saves through 30 innings this season. He's also opened four games and continues to operate in whatever role is needed of him from game to game.

Beeks struck out two without allowing a baserunner across a scoreless inning to earn a hold Saturday against the Cardinals.

Beeks entered the game in the eighth inning for the second consecutive game, this time clearly in a setup role. He had served as the Rockies' closer for a month prior to allowing five earned runs Wednesday, though he had a disastrous 6.92 ERA and 1.92 WHIP across 13 games in that span. Save chances will likely continue to rotate through members of the team's bullpen, though it appears Tyler Kinley is first in line for the time being.

Kopech allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two across a scoreless ninth inning Saturday against the Red Sox.

Kopech was called upon to protect a five-run lead. He did so successfully, though he allowed three hitters to reach base -- he hit a batter in addition to the walk and hit he surrendered -- and required 33 pitches to retire the side. Though it was shaky, the outing was still positive for Kopech as he had allowed at least one run in three of his last four appearances entering Saturday.

Kinley earned a save against the Cardinals on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over one scoreless inning.

Kinley entered with Colorado holding a one-run lead in the ninth inning and allowed a one-out double to Brendan Donovan, but he was able to close out the contest without further trouble. The right-hander was pretty sharp in throwing 10 of 13 pitches for strikes. Kinley has now picked up each of Colorado's past two saves while Jalen Beeks -- who leads the club with six saves on the campaign -- has notched a hold in both of those contests. It's worth noting that Beeks has blown four saves this season while Kinley is a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances despite owning a 7.71 ERA. It appears Kinley may be the slight favorite for ninth-inning opportunities moving forward, though that's far from certain given the rockiness of Colorado's bullpen as a whole.

Ortiz allowed three hits and one walk while striking out three across 4.1 scoreless innings Saturday against the Twins.

Ortiz entered the game in the second inning in a designed bullpen game for the Pirates. He threw 58 pitches and turned in his longest outing of the season. Though Ortiz wasn't able to get the run support to earn a win, he has now turned in 10 scoreless innings with a 9:1 K:BB across his last three appearances out of the bullpen.

McGough will serve as the Diamondbacks' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Padres, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.

McGough was called up from Triple-A Reno on Saturday and threw a scoreless inning (11 pitches) in the Diamondback's 13-1 loss. Saturday's usage should not alter plans to have him open Sunday. Though McGough will make his second career start, he can be considered an opener after exclusively working out of the bullpen in both the majors and minors in 2024 and having yet to throw more than two innings in any of his 26 appearances. Manager Torey Lovullo didn't reveal if the Diamondbacks would lean on a primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind McGough, though the skipper suggested that Arizona would call up another arm from Triple-A to help cover some innings. Among the available pitchers currently in the Arizona bullpen, Bryce Jarvis (three days' rest) and Justin Martinez (four days' rest) are the freshest arms who could be part of the pitching plan Sunday. Over his 16 outings with the big club this season, McGough has logged a 6.35 ERA and 1.65 WHIP across 17 innings.

Avila struck out six and walked two over three scoreless and hitless innings to earn the save in Saturday's 8-0 win over the Marlins.

Avila was scored on in nine of his first 12 outings, but he's settled down lately. He's currently on an 8.2-inning scoreless streak, during which he has a 12:2 K:BB. His save Saturday was the first of his major-league career, though it was his multi-inning abilities in a blowout win that allowed him to pick it up. He's now at a 4.60 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 37:11 K:BB through 31.1 innings between the Padres and the Guardians this year. He's trimmed his ratios to a 3.09 ERA and 1.07 WHIP since he was traded to Cleveland in mid-April. Avila is no threat to challenge for consistent high-leverage work.

Brown (1-3) took the loss to the Reds on Saturday, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk while striking out three over four innings.

Brown gave up multiple home runs in a game for the first time in his young career. Jeimer Candelario took him deep in the first inning and then TJ Friedl got him for the go-ahead homer in the third. The rookie right-hander has now given up eight runs in his last two starts after a stellar showing of seven no-hit innings against the Brewers on May 28. Brown will take a 3.58 ERA into his next start, currently slated for next weekend against the Cardinals.

Francis will start Sunday's game against the Athletics, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Francis will make his first start since being activated from the 15-day IL on Tuesday. The 28-year-old surrendered four runs and tossed 57 pitches in long relief Tuesday and has yielded 12 runs over 8.1 innings during his only two starts this season. However, he'll have the luxury of facing an Athletics lineup that is scoring just 3.6 runs per game in 2024.