MLB Player News

Hader struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Monday to record his 14th save of the season in a 1-0 win over Atlanta.

Atlanta batters were only able to make contact with one of the 15 pitches Hader threw -- a foul ball off the bat of Austin Riley on a 98.3-mph sinker. Hader remains one of the most dominant relievers in the game, and he has yet to be charged with a run this season while giving up only two hits in 13.1 innings with a 21:5 K:BB.

Robles gave up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his second save of the season in a 6-3 win over the Astros.

He needed only 10 pitches (seven strikes) to breeze through the outing, inducing a groundball double play from Jose Altuve to erase a Mauricio Dubon single. Robles now leads Boston in saves, but with Matt Barnes, Jake Diekman and Matt Strahm all having one each, there's still very little clarity on roles at the back of the Red Sox bullpen.

Neris (1-2) took the loss Monday as the Astros fell 6-3 to the Red Sox, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one in one inning of relief.

The right-hander entered a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning and got rocked for three extra-base hits, capped by a two-run homer off the bat of Xander Bogaerts. Neris saw his 10-appearance scoreless streak snapped, but on the season he still sports a strong 2.12 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 16:2 K:BB through 17 innings with a win and five holds.

Gilbert will be called up from Triple-A Reno and is listed as the Diamondbacks' starting pitcher for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Dodgers.

Arizona will likely designate Gilbert as the 27th man for the twin bill before sending him back out to Reno immediately after the start, his second of the season and third outing overall at the big-league level in 2022. Between his previous two appearances, Gilbert struck out six and allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks over 8.2 innings. However, he's been much less productive over a larger sample of 14.2 innings at Triple-A this season, logging an 11.60 ERA, 1.90 WHIP and 6:5 K:BB across four starts.

Heasley is slated to start the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Meanwhile, Brady Singer will be recalled from Triple-A Omaha to start the nightcap, and his performance Tuesday along with Heasley's will likely determine which of the two sticks around as the Royals' No. 5 starter moving forward. While entering the rotation last week as a replacement for the struggling Kris Bubic, Heasley didn't show much to get excited about. He worked 3.1 innings in a losing effort at Texas, giving up one earned run on four hits and four walks while striking out one batter.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that Melancon remains the team's closer, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Recent performances prompted Lovullo to review Melancon's work, which included three losses and a blown save over a one-week stretch. "Melancon's our closer," Lovullo said. "If you look at the full body of work, he's saved seven games for us. He's had some hiccups. Every closer has them." It should be noted that Melancon has converted seven of eight save chances, and the worst of his results have come when pitching in non-save situations.

Barlow (2-1) took the loss Monday versus the White Sox. He allowed two runs (one earned) on a hit and a walk with two strikeouts in 1.2 innings.

Barlow kept the game tied in the ninth inning, but he allowed a two-run home run to Luis Robert in the 10th. The Royals were unable to bounce back from that, giving Barlow his first loss of the year. The right-hander has been strong as the Royals' closer with a 1.56 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 16:5 K:BB, four saves and three holds in 15 appearances. The homer he allowed Monday was the second he's given up this year after surrendering only four long balls in 71 outings in 2021.

Kimbrel notched a save against the Diamondbacks on Monday, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out two batters over one inning.

Kimbrel made things interesting while protecting a three-run lead, serving up a two-run homer to David Peralta that brought Arizona within a run. The veteran nonetheless managed to close the door to notch his sixth save in six chances this season. The homer was the first Kimbrel has given up as a Dodger, and this was the first time he has allowed a run since his first appearance of the campaign.

Logue (2-2) tossed 4.1 innings against Minnesota on Monday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two.

The rookie struggled some with his control in the contest, throwing just 46 of 82 pitches for strikes and tossing a first-pitch strike to only seven of the 20 batters he faced. He gave up a run in each of the third and fourth innings and loaded the bases while collecting only one out in the fifth before he was pulled, but Domingo Acevedo came in from the bullpen and prevented the Twins from scoring any runs in the frame. Logue has pitched relatively well overall across three starts this season, and he's lined up to next face a formidable Angels offense on the road this weekend.

Duffey pitched a perfect inning against the Athletics on Monday, striking out one batter and earning a save.

Emilio Pagan has been the primary closer for Minnesota of late, but he pitched in three straight games over the weekend and was held out Monday. The Twins thus turned to Duffey with a two-run ninth-inning lead, and the right-hander came through with his first save of the season. Duffey hasn't allowed a run in his past six outings and is an important part of Minnesota's bullpen, but he doesn't figure to get many save chances going forward with Jhoan Duran joining Pagan in collecting a majority of the team's ninth-inning opportunities.