MLB Player News

Bednar pitched a scoreless inning in a 5-3 win over the Cubs on Thursday. He struck out two without allowing a hit or walk en route to his first hold.

The righty appeared in the seventh inning to protect a 5-2 lead, ahead of Chris Stratton (eighth inning) and Rich Rodriguez (ninth inning) with Kyle Crick (personal) away from the team. Bednar's fine outing represents a carryover from his impressive spring and while he didn't close out Thursday's game, he's definitely got closer-worthy stuff.

Montero gave up a solo home run and blew the save Thursday against the Giants. He struck out two in an inning of work.

The Mariners took a 7-6 lead into the top of the ninth, which is when Alex Dickerson hit a 408-foot home run off Montero to tie the game, although the Mariners ended up winning in the 10th inning. He made one bad pitch and was otherwise fine, so Montero should still have some leash as Seattle's closer going forward.

Kelly (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to March 29.

Manager Dave Roberts announced last weekend the veteran right-hander would open the season on the injured list, though the move wasn't made official until the roster was finalized Thursday. Kelly is recovering from right shoulder inflammation and was throwing bullpen sessions toward the end of camp, but he had yet to progress to facing live hitters.

Graterol (undisclosed) was placed on the 60-day injured list Thursday.

The 22-year-old was held back throughout spring training, and he's now set to miss the first two months of the season. The official transaction wasn't accompanied by an injury designation, so the reason for the extended absence is unclear given Graterol was throwing bullpen sessions in March. Regardless, the right-hander won't be seeing major-league action until at least the start of June.

Paredes picked up his first hold of the season during Thursday's 8-1 win over the Athletics, allowing one unearned run on one hit and two walks while striking out two in one inning.

The final score indicates a blowout, but it wasn't so when Paredes warmed up in the sixth inning of a 3-1 ballgame. That is an indication he will be used in high-leverage situations. Starter Zack Greinke cleaned up the inning on his own before Paredes got himself into a dicey situation in the seventh. Yuli Gurriel dropped a foul popup which gave Ramon Laureano a second life, and he doubled. After a couple of walks and a sacrifice fly, Paredes bore down to whiff the final two batters and claim his first hold.

Hearn allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over 2.1 innings in Thursday's 14-10 loss to Kansas City.

In what may have been one of the ugliest Opening Day games in MLB history, the stretched-out Hearn came on in relief of starter Kyle Gibson, who lasted one-third of an inning and left with a 135.00 ERA. Hearn is part of one of Texas' tandem rotation slots and was originally expected to pitch Sunday on what would now be two days rest.

Bummer (0-1) allowed two unearned runs on two hits and one walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning to take the loss against the Angels on Thursday.

Holding a one-run lead entering the eighth inning, the White Sox were set up for a season-opening win and the debut of new closer Liam Hendricks, but Bummer couldn't work around a couple of fielding miscues. On a fielder's choice, Nick Madrigal's throw drew Tim Anderson off the second-base bag, then a Yasmani Grandal passed ball advanced the runners. A single, a walk and a sacrifice fly later, and Opening Day went from a delight to, well, a bummer. Bummer's been stellar out of the bullpen for the White Sox the previous two seasons and has earned the role as a setup man.

Iglesias struck out two while recording the save in Thursday's win over the White Sox.

Iglesias was dominant in his Angels debut, fanning two of the three batters that he faced while recording an eight pitch save. The 30-year-old will look to hold his closing role in an Angels bullpen that will be looking for consistency. The right-hander appeared in a closer-by-committee situation in 2020 for the Reds and should benefit from Joe Maddon's emphasis on consistently inserting particular pitchers in certain innings.

Bard allowed one hit, one walk and a hit batsman while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning to earn a save Thursday against the Dodgers.

Bard was given a three-run lead in the ninth inning, but he allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base. However, he buckled down with the bases loaded, striking out Matt Beaty before inducing a weak line drive off the bat of Mookie Betts to end the game. Bard is the clear closer in Colorado and managed to convert his first save chance, but he'll need to control his pitches better to experience continued success.

Barlow allowed a hit and two walks and struck out four in 1.2 innings to earn a hold in Thursday's 14-10 win over the Rangers.

Barlow is in the mix for saves this year, but he entered Thursday's game in the seventh inning. He did well to keep the Rangers off the board -- one of just three Royals pitchers who achieved that in a high-scoring Opening Day game. Barlow was alright with a 4.20 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, seven holds and two saves in 32 appearances last year. The 28-year-old righty is likely to work in a setup role behind Greg Holland to begin 2021.