MLB Player News

Garcia (1-0) fired two perfect innings while striking out three, earning the win over the Royals on Saturday.

Garcia entered the fifth inning and retired all six batters he faced. He has allowed just three hits in 8.1 scoreless innings over his last five appearances. His ERA is down to 5.79 after a rocky start to his season. In addition, he has a solid 10.6 K/9.

Jansen saved Saturday's 5-3 triumph over the Angels, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth with one strikeout.

After the Dodgers took the lead in the bottom of the eighth, Jansen entered and needed just nine pitches to retire the top of the Angels' order. The save is Jansen's first since July 24 as he's only thrown four innings over the last two weeks.

Graterol (2-0) won Saturday's 5-3 game against the Angels, pitching a scoreless eighth while allowing two hits with two strikeouts.

Graterol entered a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning and sat down Phil Gosselin and Shohei Ohtani before the Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the inning to put him in line for the win. The hard-throwing righty has now thrown 2.2 scoreless innings in three appearances since being recalled from Triple-A earlier this week. He has a 4.63 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 9:4 K:BB in only 11.2 innings this season.

Suter blew the save Saturday against the Giants, allowing a run on two hits in one inning of work.

Suter came on in the ninth to protect a 2-1 lead and secure the win for starter Brandon Woodruff, but Avisail Garcia misplayed Tommy La Stella's two-out fly ball into a run-scoring triple. It was the first earned run allowed by Suter since July 7, ending his streak of 10 consecutive scoreless appearances.

Smith (3-6) took the loss and blew the save against the Nationals on Saturday, giving up three runs on three hits and one walk in one inning.

The Braves turned the ball over to their closer while holding a two-run lead in the ninth inning. Smith couldn't slam the door, with the big blow being a two-run shot by Riley Adams that gave Washington a 3-2 lead. Smith entered the contest having converted six straight save chances and allowing only one run over his previous 10 outings, so Saturday's blowup isn't going to threaten his ninth-inning role. He has gone 22-for-25 in save opportunities overall this season.

Finnegan earned the save against the Braves on Saturday as the result of pitching a perfect ninth inning.

The right-hander blew his previous save chance in ugly fashion, but he was right back on the bump with Washington protecting a one-run lead in the ninth inning Saturday. Finnegan had no problem taking care of business, retiring the side in order on just 12 pitches. The strong outing should strengthen his stranglehold on the closer job for the Nationals. Finnegan has three saves and one win in addition to the blown save over his past five appearances.

Pomeranz (1-0) won Saturday's 6-2 matchup with the Diamondbacks, allowing one hit in the eighth inning.

Pomeranz took over a 2-2 game in the eighth and fired 11 of 13 pitches for strikes to keep Arizona off the board before San Diego scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to put the lefty in line for the win. Surprisingly enough, this was Pomeranz's first decision despite appearing in 26 games. He now sports a robust 1.80 ERA with 10 walks and 30 strikeouts in 25 innings.

Soto allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out two in his one inning of work Saturday, eking out his 13th save of the season in Detroit's 2-1 win over Cleveland.

Soto inherited a 2-0 lead to start the ninth but quickly saw that advantage halved when Wilson Ramos led the inning off with a solo homer. The collective blood pressure of the Detroit dugout rose again when the next batter, Owen Miller, dropped in a base hit. However, Soto recovered to strike out two of the final three batters he'd face to secure his 13th save. While this might not have been the most convincing outing, Soto hasn't blown a save since July 11.

Morgan (1-4) allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts through seven innings, taking the loss in Saturday's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Detroit.

Morgan got a raw deal in this one. The rookie pitched well enough to win, but didn't get the run support to make that vision become a reality. The only damage against his line came on a Zack Short sacrifice fly in the second and an Akil Baddoo RBI base hit in the fifth. While the right-hander still has allowed multiple earned runs in all nine career starts, Saturday marked the first outing in which he didn't yield a home run. Seven innings is also the deepest Morgan has gone into a game in his career, and he needed just 88 pitches to do it. While the strikeouts weren't there, the 25-year-old has now strung together two quality starts since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 2.

Alexander (2-1) allowed four hits and struck out four over 5.1 scoreless innings, getting the win in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Cleveland.

Alexander needed this one. After allowing seven runs in his last two starts, the left-hander blanked Cleveland through 5.1 innings of ruthlessly efficient baseball. While Alexander couldn't eclipse his season high of four strikeouts, he didn't walk a batter and needed just 62 pitches to record 16 outs. He did exit the game in a two-on, one-out jam, but Michael Fulmer mopped it up to keep the 27-year-old's line spotless. If Alexander can continue to pitch like this, it would be a boon to a Tigers team short on starting pitching depth.