MLB Player News

Taylor earned a save against the Giants on Saturday, striking out two batters over two perfect innings.

After Adrian Houser fired seven scoreless frames, Taylor was asked to protect a tenuous 1-0 lead. The rookie right-hander excelled in the assignment, retiring all six batters he faced on 31 pitches (21 strikes). Taylor was especially impressive in the ninth frame, when he struck out both Rafael Devers and Dominic Smith. The 23-year-old righty has two saves and a hold over his past three appearances and has each of Chicago's past two saves, so he appears to be the team's current top choice to close games.

Ashcraft (2-0) was the pitcher of record in Saturday's 9-2 win over the Mets after allowing one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out two across 2.2 innings of relief.

After making a three-inning start in his first MLB start during Monday's win over the Brewers, Ashcraft shifted back to the bullpen this weekend. He entered Saturday's contest in the top of the second inning following a lengthy rain delay, relieving starter Bailey Falter. Ashcraft wasn't especially dominant Saturday and induced only five swinging strikes on his 52 pitches, but he largely worked his way out of trouble in both the third and fourth frames. The right-hander is likely to serve as a multi-inning reliever for Pittsburgh moving forward.

Holderman (thumb) began a rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on Thursday and gave up one run on one hit while striking out three over one inning.

Holderman has been on the shelf since May 20 due to right thumb inflammation but was cleared to report to Bradenton after completing his throwing program at the Pirates' spring training facility. He'll likely need a few appearances in the minors before being activated from the injured list, but he should be back in the Pirates bullpen at some point in early July.

Romano gave up four runs on four hits and no walks in the seventh inning during Saturday's 6-1 loss to Atlanta. He didn't record a strikeout.

Romano's standing in the Phillies' bullpen already appeared to be in a state of flux, and Saturday's showing certainly won't do him any favors. The right-hander served up a grand slam to Sean Murphy to blow the game wide open for Atlanta. Romano has worked to a 7.94 ERA, 1.85 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB over his last 11.1 innings and hasn't seen a save chance in the month of June, so he seems to have fallen quite a bit behind Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm when it comes to manager Rob Thomson's preferred ninth-inning options.

Suarez earned the save in Saturday's 6-4 win over the Reds, allowing two walks while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

Suarez returned from a two-game suspension and was immediately thrust into a save situation, working around two walks to secure the win. The 34-year-old has now delivered three straight scoreless outings and has converted all five of his save chances in June. He leads the majors with 23 saves, accompanied by a 3.41 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 36:11 K:BB across 34.1 innings this season.

The Angels recalled Fermin from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday.

Fermin has logged 9.1 innings across 10 appearances with the Angels this season, posting a 4.82 ERA and 1.61 WHIP with a 15:5 K:BB and no holds or saves. The righty reliever dealt with a right elbow impingement in May but was activated from a stint on the IL on June 6 and posted a 9:2 K:BB across 5.1 frames with Salt Lake between then and his call-up Saturday. To make room for Fermin on the 26-man roster, veteran reliever Hector Neris was designated for assignment.

Casparius (6-2) took the loss against the Royals on Saturday, allowing six runs on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts over four innings.

Casparius generated an impressive 13 whiffs on 85 pitches but was ultimately undone by a four-run fifth inning. While he entered the outing with back-to-back wins, the 26-year-old has now allowed 11 earned runs over 12.2 innings in three consecutive appearances working behind Shohei Ohtani. Casparius carries a 3.97 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 54:12 K:BB across 56.2 innings this season and could pitch behind Ohtani again in a home matchup with the Astros next weekend.

Perkins allowed one hit and two walks over 3.1 scoreless innings of relief Saturday to record his first career save in a 7-0 win over the Yankees. He struck out three.

The rookie right-hander has been outstanding over his first two big-league appearances, firing 6.1 scoreless innings with a 5:2 K:BB. Both outings have come in relief of JP Sears, who has a 5.09 ERA on the season even after Saturday's combined shutout. The fact that the A's are keeping Perkins stretched out and on the same schedule as the southpaw could be a sign the team plans to have him move into the rotation in Sears' spot sooner rather than later.

Mattison (elbow) was reinstated from Triple-A Toledo's 7-day injured list Saturday, Emily Waldon of Baseball America reports.

Mattison's recovery from Tommy John surgery is officially complete, as he's been activated from the Triple-A injured list 15 months after the procedure. The 25-year-old made nine appearances between Single-A and High-A during his rehab assignment, and he allowed seven runs with a 9:8 K:BB across 10.1 innings.

The Phillies optioned Rangel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday.

Rangel pitched five scoreless innings of relief Friday, but he'll return to Lehigh Valley so the Phillies can add a fresh arm to the bullpen in Daniel Robert. Rangel owns a 4.96 ERA in 69 innings at Lehigh Valley this season.