MLB Player News

Garcia (3-2) allowed a hit over two scoreless innings to earn the extra-inning win over Arizona on Monday.

Both Jake McGee and Tyler Rogers had been leaned on heavily in the last few days, so Garcia took the mound with the game tied at 8-8 in the ninth inning. After he got the job done in his first inning of work, San Francisco pulled ahead in the 10th before the southpaw added another scoreless inning to complete the win. Since the start of July, he's allowed just one run on five hits and a walk with 14 strikeouts in 13.1 innings. Garcia owns a 2.70 ERA, 0.82 WHIP and 46:12 K:BB across 40 innings, which has made him a high-leverage option for manager Gabe Kapler.

Barlow pitched a perfect inning and collected a hold Tuesday, striking out two Angels and setting a new club record for consecutive strikeouts in the process.

When Barlow struck out Jack Mayfield leading off the eighth inning, it was his eighth straight whiff spread across five relief appearances, breaking the club record of seven (which had been shared by three pitchers, including Nolan Ryan). Barlow has also collected a hold in three straight outings, and with a 0.93 ERA and 0.62 WHIP across the first 9.2 innings of his big-league career, he's already looking like one of the top arms in the Rangers' bullpen. Spencer Patton is first in line for saves right now, but if he stumbles, Barlow could be next in line.

Floro gave up one hit over 1.1 scoreless innings Monday to record his third save of the season in a 6-3 win over the Mets.

With Yimi Garcia now in Houston, the saves picture in Miami may have just gotten a bit clearer. Anthony Bender worked a perfect seventh inning Monday while Anthony Bass struggled in the eighth, loading the bases with two outs and forcing Floro to bail him out before finishing the job in the ninth. Marlins manager Don Mattingly could turn to a committee in save situations, but he preferred having one closer earlier in the season when he leaned on Garcia, and it looks like Floro will get the first chance to fill that role over the final two months.

Axford left Monday's game against the Pirates with elbow pain and will undergo an MRI, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

After being acquired from the Blue Jays earlier in the day for $1, Axford was added to the Milwaukee roster and summoned from the bullpen for his first MLB appearance since 2018. He didn't look quite right during the outing, as he recorded one out and allowed two runs on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman. Axford will be considered day-to-day until the results of his MRI are known. The Brewers can ill afford to lose any more relievers after recently placing all of Josh Hader, Jake Cousins, Hunter Strickland and Jandel Gustave to the COVID-19 injured list.

Axford left Monday's game against the Pirates with an apparent injury, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Axford had a rough go of it in his first appearance with Milwaukee since 2013, as he hit a batter, gave up two singles and walked in a run before appearing to suffer an arm injury. He left the contest with the team trainer after recording just one out.

Valdez extended his scoreless streak to 8.2 innings Monday.

The 36-year-old has allowed six hits and four walks in that span, but he has successfully worked out of trouble lately. Valdez's good run of pitching came on the heels of a skid in which he allowed nine runs in five innings. He's seen mostly low-leverage work lately, and his season ratios sit at a 5.30 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 37:12 K:BB through 37.1 innings overall.

Lopez (3-12) allowed a run on one hit and five walks while striking out four in six innings, earning the win over the Yankees on Monday.

While the five walks were a season high for the right-hander, he was mostly able to contain his inefficiency. Monday was just the fourth time in 22 starts Lopez completed six innings. He has a 5.91 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 94:48 K:BB through 102 innings in what's been another difficult season for the 28-year-old. Lopez projects to make his next start versus Tampa Bay this weekend in a tough matchup.

Hand (5-6) allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and struck out one in one inning, taking the loss Monday versus Cleveland.

The southpaw has now allowed four runs (two earned) in two innings since he was traded from Washington to Toronto at the trade deadline. Hand hasn't worked very effectively since the start of July, yielding 12 runs (nine earned) in his last 10 innings. Overall, he has a 3.83 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 43:18 K:BB through 44.2 innings overall. It's unclear if he can right the ship well enough to earn a late-inning role with his new team.

Gallegos, who garnered his 18th hold in a win over the Twins on Sunday with a perfect eighth inning during which he recorded a strikeout, has four consecutive scoreless appearances during which he's garnered three holds.

The right-hander has rebounded nicely from dropping his third decision of the season back on July 23 and continues to profile as one of the top eighth-inning options in all of baseball. Gallegos was especially sharp Sunday, firing seven of eight pitches for strikes, three of those of the swing-and-miss variety.

Shaw (4-5) allowed a walk and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the win in Monday's game versus Toronto.

The 33-year-old did his job in the ninth inning, keeping the game tied before Cleveland's offense rallied for three runs in the top of the 10th. Shaw had allowed six runs (four earned) in his previous 5.1 innings, so it was encouraging to see him put in a strong appearance. He owns a 3.21 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 55:30 K:BB across 47.2 innings this season. The right-hander remains a late-inning option for Cleveland despite his troubling lack of control. He's collected 14 holds and a pair of saves.