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Felix Bautista RP | BAL
Orioles' Felix Bautista: Narrowly avoids disaster
Bautista picked up the save in Thursday's 7-4 victory over Detroit. He allowed three walks while striking out three over one scoreless inning.
Bautista worked his way out of a one-out, bases-loaded situation Thursday, striking out Jonathan Schoop and Jake Rogers to pick up the save after walking three batters. He narrowly avoided his third blown save on the season but has been strong outside of the pair of blown saves, having only allowed two earned runs in 12.2 innings for the season. Though Bautista has had an up-and-down year, nobody seems to be pressing him for the Orioles' closing job.
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Dylan Floro RP | ARI
Marlins' Dylan Floro: Earns first save
Floro picked up the save in Thursday's 5-4 win over Atlanta, striking out two in a perfect ninth inning.
A.J. Puk, the Marlins' regular closer, pitched the eighth inning Wednesday, giving Floro the opportunity in the ninth. He responded by setting down Atlanta in order, sealing Miami's comeback victory. It was a strong bounce-back outing for Floro after he allowed four runs (three earned) in one-third of an inning Wednesday. He's now 1-for-2 in save opportunities this season with a 2.31 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 12:3 K:BB. Puk seems to have a fairly firm grasp on the closing job, though Floro appears to be the next man up.
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A.J. Minter RP | MIN
Braves' A.J. Minter: Stunned by Miami
Minter (1-3) took the loss in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Marlins. He allowed five runs on five hits while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning.
Minter entered the ninth inning with a 4-0 lead. He'd ultimately surrender five runs on five hits en route to a 5-4 loss. Minter has struggled mightily recently, allowing 10 earned runs in his last 3.2 innings. His ERA is up to 8.53 with a 1.42 WHIP and 15:3 K:BB while going 5-for-7 in save opportunities. Minter was likely to lose the closing role with Raisel Iglesias (shoulder) nearing a return, though his recent performance may force Atlanta to expedite a change in the back of their bullpen.
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Jonathan Loaisiga RP | ARI
Yankees' Jonathan Loaisiga: Renewed soreness after throwing
Loaisiga (elbow) felt renewed soreness after throwing Wednesday, Greg Joyce of the New York Post reports.
Loaisiga had been doing daily flat-ground throwing sessions, but that's on pause for now as the Yankees try to determine the severity of this setback. The 28-year-old reliever has been on the injured list since April 6 due to right elbow inflammation and there is no current timetable for his return. It's likely to be at least a couple more weeks.
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Craig Kimbrel RP | KC
Phillies' Craig Kimbrel: Grabs third save
Kimbrel struck out two in an inning Thursday, earning the save against the Mariners in a 1-0 victory.
Kimbrel capped the Phillies' shutout win with a perfect ninth inning, earning his third save of the season. After a rocky start to the season, Kimbrel has gone eight straight appearances without allowing a run, lowering his ERA to 4.09 with a 1.27 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB. Still, it's hard to rely on Kimbrel as a source of saves, despite his recent success, while he splits ninth-inning duties with Jose Alvarado.
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Matt Strahm RP | KC
Phillies' Matt Strahm: Stymies Seattle
Strahm (2-2) earned the win Thursday, allowing no runs on two hits over 5.1 innings against the Mariners. He struck out five.
The Mariners couldn't get anything going against Strahm, mustering just two hits, as the Phillies picked up a 1-0 win. It's already the third scoreless outing for Strahm this season as he lowers his ERA to 2.31 with a 0.81 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB in 23.1 innings this season. The 31-year-old left-hander has done an impressive job stabilizing the back of Philadelphia's rotation early this year. Strahm tentatively lines up to face the Dodgers on the road in his next start.
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Chris Martin RP | TEX
Red Sox's Chris Martin: Rehab appearance pushed back
Martin (shoulder) will make his rehab debut Friday instead of Thursday due to a stomach bug, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.
Martin was supposed to make an appearance for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday night but came down with a mild illness earlier this week, so the parties involved have opted to give him an extra day of rest and treatment. The veteran reliever still seems poised to return to Boston's bullpen early next week, possibly by Sunday. He's been on the IL since April 13 due to shoulder inflammation.
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Liam Hendriks RP | CHC
White Sox's Liam Hendriks: To have checkup soon
Hendriks (illness) will have a checkup in Chicago next week, with the hope he can be cleared to begin a rehab assignment soon, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
We're just a week removed from Hendriks announcing that he's cancer free following a final round of chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins's lymphoma. The White Sox have not placed Hendriks on the 60-day IL, leaving open the possibility that he could make his season debut before the end of May. He will certainly need ample rehab time before rejoining the big-league bullpen.
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Garrett Crochet RP | BOS
White Sox's Garrett Crochet: Could begin rehab soon
Crochet (elbow) rejoined the White Sox on Thursday and is getting a checkup in hopes of being approved to begin a rehab assignment, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.
Crochet is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in the long road back from Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing left-hander's rehab assignment figures to be lengthy given how much time he's missed, but he should eventually return to being a valuable late-inning relief arm.