MLB Player News

Fairbanks picked up the save Thursday against the Athletics, pitching a scoreless inning while not allowing any hits or walks. He struck out one.

Fairbanks (hip) returned from the 15-day injured list Thursday and wasted no time in nailing down his sixth save of the season. The right-hander went 1-2-3 through the A's lineup and was especially effective with his slider, throwing it on eight of his 10 pitches in the inning. Fairbanks has now converted his last three save opportunities dating back to May 19 against the Brewers and has still allowed only two earned runs on the year.

Blanco is scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Reds at Minute Maid Park, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

After the Astros' recent stretch of 17 games in 17 days came to an end Monday, Blanco was moved to the bullpen while Houston condensed its rotation from six men to five. The Astros still plan on running a five-man rotation for the most part, but Blanco will make a spot start this weekend since manager Dusty Baker wants to give rookie Hunter Brown an extra day to recover from the seven-inning, 99-pitch workload he handled in Tuesday's win over the Nationals. Blanco will presumably transition back to a relief role following Sunday's start.

Weathers (1-5) took the loss against Cleveland on Thursday, allowing six runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out two batters over 1.2 innings.

Weathers endured an ugly first inning during which he allowed five runs on five hits, including David Fry's first MLB homer. The lefty hurler was allowed to return for the second frame but was lifted after Jose Ramirez plated another run with a two-out double. This was the second time in his past three starts that Weathers has managed to get only five outs, and he's posted a horrid 9.93 ERA and 2.27 WHIP over five starts as the rotation fill-in for Seth Lugo (calf). Lugo progressed to throwing a simulated game Thursday, so Weathers' time in the rotation -- and on the big-league roster -- may be running out.

Clase earned a save against the Padres on Thursday, issuing one walk and striking out one batter in 1.1 scoreless innings.

Clase didn't record more than three outs in any of his first 33 appearances this season, but manager Terry Francona opted to go to him in a big eighth-inning spot Thursday. Clase needed four pitches to retire Manny Machado with a runner on second base, then came back out for the ninth and tossed a scoreless frame to notch his first save in nine days. Despite the mild drought in opportunities, Clase continues to lead the majors with 21 saves on the season.

Harvey (3-3) blew a save but notched a win Thursday against Houston, allowing one run on two hits while striking out one batter over one inning.

Harvey was tasked with protecting a 1-0, ninth-inning lead for Washington, but he was unable to seal the deal. However, the right-hander was credited with the win as a result of the Nationals scoring three times in the top of the 10th. Though he's pitched well overall this season, Harvey has converted just three of eight save chances, so manager Dave Martinez may be better served using him prior to the ninth inning. Kyle Finnegan has also blown five saves on the campaign as the team's primary closer, but he looked great in striking out three batters over a scoreless eighth frame Thursday, and Carl Edwards -- who got the save in the contest -- could also be more of a factor in a closing role moving forward.

Edwards picked up a save Thursday against the Astros, striking out one batter in a perfect inning.

Hunter Harvey got the first stab at a save for Washington in the ninth inning, but he couldn't protect a 1-0 lead. After the Nationals scored three times in the top of the 10th, Edwards got the call, and he retired the side on 12 pitches (10 strikes). The save was his first since April 8, but with Kyle Finnegan pitching inconsistently of late and Harvey blowing the opportunity Thursday, Edwards could emerge as a more frequent closing option for manager Dave Martinez.

Webb picked up the save Thursday against the Rangers. He allowed one walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning.

The 29-year-old stepped into a high-leverage situation after Carlos Estevez walked the first three batters of the ninth to load the bases with no outs. However, Webb managed to escape the jam allowing just one inherited runner to score and pick up his first save of 2023 and the fourth of his career. In 11 appearances (13.1 innings) this season, Webb sports a 2.03 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP to pair with a 14:5 K:BB, as he's emerged as one of the Angels' top bullpen arms.

Bass was released by the Blue Jays on Thursday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Bass was designated for assignment Friday and will now become a free agent. He struggled to a 4.95 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 20 innings before losing his roster spot, but he had proven to be a reliable setup man in the prior seasons. As a result, he may get a chance to latch on with another bullpen around the league.

Bautista picked up the save Thursday against Toronto, striking out two over 1.1 scoreless innings while not allowing any hits or walks.

Bautista entered the contest with two outs in the eighth and went to work with his four-seamer, striking out Matt Chapman to end the inning. It was more of the same in the ninth as the right-hander struck out Kevin Kiermaier on five straight four-seamers to open the inning before retiring the next two batters to secure his 18th save. Bautista has converted each of his last seven save attempts and has at least two strikeouts in all five of his June appearances.

Hudson (knee) will have his rehab assignment shifted to Triple-A Oklahoma City this week, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Hudson pitched one inning apiece in three games at the Arizona Complex League and is now one step closer to a return. There's still no official timetable for his activation, though he'll need to be activated by the end of June or be returned from his rehab assignment.