MLB Player News

Varland picked up the save in Monday's 4-3 win over San Francisco. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning.

With Clayton Beeter recording four outs between the seventh and eighth innings, Varland was called upon to handle the ninth frame and worked around a leadoff walk to Rafael Devers and a two-out single by Jung Hoo Lee to secure the win for Washington. It marked Varland's fifth save of the campaign and first since May 7. Overall, the right-hander owns a 4.01 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 23:12 K:BB across 24.2 innings. He's in the mix for save opportunities, though Beeter likely sits slightly ahead of Varland in the pecking order.

Winn (2-2) blew the save and took the loss Monday against the Nationals. He allowed three runs on three hits and a hit-by-pitch while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.

After eight brilliant innings from Logan Webb, Winn was unable to protect a two-run lead, allowing a two-run single to CJ Abrams and a go-ahead single to Daylen Lile before being lifted with one out remaining in the frame. Other high-leverage relievers Caleb Kilian and Erik Miller were presumably unavailable after pitching in each of the previous two games, making Winn the logical choice for the save opportunity. The 28-year-old now owns a 3.23 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 26:9 K:BB while converting one of two save opportunities across 30.2 innings.

Mikolas allowed three hits and no walks while striking out two over 4.2 scoreless innings of bulk relief Monday against the Giants.

Entering in the second inning following opener Richard Lovelady, Mikolas didn't miss many bats but kept the Giants' offense off the board before exiting after 54 pitches (41 strikes). It was a nice rebound outing after he surrendered six runs across six frames in his previous start against the Marlins, though the right-hander's season numbers remain quite poor. Mikolas will take a 1-5 record with a 5.90 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across 61 innings (14 appearances) into his next outing, which is tentatively scheduled for Sunday against the Mariners.

Yates blew a save chance against the Astros on Monday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out one batter over one inning.

With the Angels up 5-4 entering the ninth inning, manager Kurt Suzuki turned to Yates to shut the door. The veteran right-hander couldn't do so, as Jeremy Pena led off the inning with a walk, stole second base and came around to score on a one-out Christian Walker single. Monday marked Yates' first save opportunity since he logged his lone save May 23, but that's largely due to the Angels' struggles as a team, as the club as a whole has zero saves since then. Though Yates has pitched to a poor 5.23 ERA this season, Suzuki seemed to commit to giving him more ninth-inning opportunities moving forward, saying after the game, "We signed him to be our closer, and we're going to give him a chance to close," per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

Abreu notched a save against the Angels on Monday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over one scoreless inning.

Josh Hader was deployed with the score tied in the bottom of the ninth inning and struck out the side in order. After Houston plated a run in the top of the 10th, manager Joe Espada turned to Abreu, whose last save had come May 19. The right-hander got the job done with some help from his defense -- Jose Siri singled off Abreu to lead off the frame, but Brice Matthews threw Mike Trout out at home plate. With Hader back in action, Abreu isn't likely to get many save chances moving forward, but he should be an option on days when Hader is unavailable.

Duran earned a save over the Blue Jays on Monday, allowing one hit over a scoreless inning.

Duran had a three-run lead to work with when he entered in the ninth frame and needed just nine pitches to record three outs. The fireballing right-hander notched his eighth straight scoreless outing, and he's converted all 16 of his save opportunities this season. Duran recorded a career-high 32 regular-season saves last year, and he's currently on pace to exceed that mark. His 1.25 ERA and 0.83 WHIP are also tracking toward career-best numbers.

Munoz secured the save Monday against the Orioles, allowing no runs on no hits and one walk in the ninth inning. He struck out two.

Baltimore made Munoz work Monday, as the hurler needed 20 pitches (11 strikes) to complete the frame. The hard-throwing right-hander is looking for some consistency as Seattle's closer, considering he's not yet converted four consecutive save opportunities at any point this year. Through 24.1 innings, Munoz has a shaky 5.18 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 37:10 K:BB with 10 saves in 15 attempts.

Englert was expected to work in a bulk-relief role during Monday's 3-1 win over the Red Sox, but he ended up going unused after opener Ian Seymour pitched the first four innings and five other relievers finished out the contest, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

After being called up from Triple-A Durham last Wednesday, Englert proceeded to cover five innings of long relief behind starter Nick Martinez in the Rays' loss to the Tigers later that day. With the Rays announcing over the weekend that Steven Matz would be moved to the bullpen, Englert looked like a logical candidate to fill the open spot in the rotation. Instead, Seymour now looks like he could wind up getting stretched out for the vacated starting role, as he permitted just one hit and one walk while striking out five across 55 pitches Monday. Englert has underwhelmed over his 11 appearances (one start) with Tampa Bay this season, logging a 4.71 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 16:4 K:BB across 21 frames.

The Brewers placed Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list Monday due to a right shoulder impingement, MLB.com reports.

Milwaukee optioned Rodriguez to Triple-A Nashville on May 31, but he hadn't made an appearance since being demoted and has now been moved to the IL retroactive to that date. Rodriguez will be eligible for activation June 15, but whenever he's reinstated, Milwaukee is likely to option him back to Triple-A.

Baker secured the save Monday against the Red Sox, allowing no runs on one hit and no walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Baker did let the potential tying run get to the plate, but he was able to hold on for the save. The 31-year-old right-hander has established a strong grip as Tampa Bay's closer, successfully converting six save opportunities in a row. Through 26.1 frames, Baker has a 2.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 30:11 K:BB while converting 17 of his 20 save chances.