MLB Player News

Munoz earned the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Rockies, allowing one hit while striking out two without a walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

Munoz was called on to close out a one-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff single to slam the door. The 27-year-old has held opponents scoreless in seven of eight September appearances, converting four of five save opportunities over that stretch. For the year, he's 28-for-38 in save chances with a 4.11 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 89:23 K:BB across 57 innings.

Jansen earned the save in Friday's 11-8 win over the White Sox, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

Jansen was called on to protect a three-run lead in the ninth inning and retired the heart of the White Sox order to close things out. The veteran closer has now gone 10 straight appearances without allowing an earned run and owns a 1.86 ERA overall in 19.1 second-half innings. For the season, he's 21-for-27 in save chances with a 3.35 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 49:23 K:BB across 43 frames.

Nunez earned the save in Friday's 6-3 win over Philadelphia, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames. He did not record a walk or a strikeout.

Nunez was brought out of the bullpen with two outs in the eighth inning and needed only 11 pitches (seven strikes) to secure the win for the Mets. It was his first save of the season and the second of his major-league career, with his first coming during the 2024 season. Kodai Senga wasn't brought out for the save chance despite not having pitched since Tuesday, when he blew a save chance against the Orioles, so perhaps Nunez could get a couple more save chances before the 2026 campaign ends. Nunez has a 3.94 ERA and 1.06 WHIP across 16 innings this season.

Mayza (3-4) was tagged with the loss against the Mets on Friday, allowing three runs on three hits and one walk in one-third of an inning.

Mayza was given the nod to serve as Friday's opener after enjoying success in his last start against Atlanta this past Saturday, when he struck out four batters across three scoreless innings. He couldn't carry that momentum over against the Mets, however. This outing inflated his stats to a 3.46 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across 65 innings this season. Despite the poor outing, the Phillies may call on Mayza to serve as an opener one more time before the end of the regular season in order to protect the rotation for the playoffs.

Barnett did not factor into Friday's decision against Cleveland, allowing three runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out four across 3.1 innings.

Barnett was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Friday's start, his fifth of the season and 10th of his major-league career. He kept the Guardians off the board through the first three innings but proceeded to allow four of the first five batters he faced in the fourth on base, resulting in three runs scored for Cleveland. Barnett has allowed at least three earned runs in six of his last seven major-league outings, and he has a 7.16 ERA and 1.75 WHIP across 44 innings this season. Assuming he stays with the big club, Barnett is lined up to face the Astros at home next weekend.

Smith earned the save in Friday's 5-3 win over the Athletics, striking out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning.

Smith breezed through Friday's outing, fanning the first two batters he faced while needing only 14 pitches (nine strikes) to come away with his 38th save of the year, second-most in the majors behind Bryan Baker (40). Smith is up to 100 strikeouts on the year, marking his third consecutive season cracking the century mark. He has a 2.06 ERA and 0.99 WHIP across 70 innings this season.

Cleavinger (forearm) is expected to resume mound work Saturday, MLB.com reports.

If all goes well, the hope is that Cleavinger will progress to bullpen sessions shortly thereafter. The Rays shut the southpaw down in early September due to left forearm tightness, but he should have a chance to rejoin the Tampa Bay bullpen either before the end of the regular season or at some point during the playoffs.

Bello will start Saturday's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Bello will draw another start after tossing five shutout innings against the Angels on Sept. 7 in what had been his first MLB start in three months. The 27-year-old threw 19 pitches in 1.2 innings out of the bullpen during his most recent appearance Tuesday, but he should still be stretched out enough to pitch fairly deep into Saturday's contest.

Seymour (9-7) was tagged with the loss against the Red Sox on Friday, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five across five innings.

Seymour put the Rays behind immediately after giving up a leadoff homer to Roman Anthony in the first inning. Seymour proceeded to give up three more runs over the next two frames, with two of those runs coming on a bases-loaded single by Anthony in the second. The four earned runs Seymour gave up were his most in a start since July 12 against the Mariners, and he now sports a 4.38 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 127.1 innings this season. He's projected to make his next start against the Yankees next week on the road.

Miller earned his fifth save of the season in Friday's 4-2 win over the Rays, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out two in the ninth inning.

With Aroldis Chapman unavailable due to a lat issue, the Red Sox turned to Miller for the ninth inning to protect the team's 4-1 lead. It turned out to be a dramatic finish for Boston, with Miller tossing two wild pitches in the inning and loading the bases. Luckily for the southpaw, he limited the damage to just one run to secure the win for the Red Sox, who are inching closer toward punching their spot in the American League playoffs. Miller and Garrett Whitlock figure to be the top closer options for the Red Sox for as long as Chapman is sidelined.