MLB Player News

Brubaker secured the save Saturday against Colorado, allowing a solo home run and no walks in two innings. He struck out two.

Caleb Kilian blew the save in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Rockies and also worked each of the past two days for the Giants, so the club called upon Brubaker for his first save chance of the year Saturday. San Francisco has struggled for stability at closer largely due to Ryan Walker's season-long ineffectiveness, leaving the door open for Brubaker to see more high-leverage work. He's taken advantage of those chances with a 2.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 33:20 K:BB with three holds over 47 innings.

Mahle (2-8) earned the win Saturday against the Rockies, allowing one run on five hits and three walks in seven innings. He struck out four.

Facing a soft matchup at home against the last-place Rockies, Mahle delivered one of his finest outings of the campaign Saturday. The 31-year-old right-hander matched a season high in innings during his second quality start of 2026, emptying the tank for a season-most 104 pitches. Despite Saturday's gem, Mahle still has a lackluster 5.31 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 73:32 K:BB over 78 innings ahead of the All-Star break.

Nootbaar went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Saturday's 4-1 win over Atlanta.

Nootbaar's first-inning blast gave the Cardinals all the offense they needed in this contest. The outfielder had gone a month between homers, batting .269 with a .687 OPS during his 24-game power drought. For the season, Nootbaar is hitting .265 with a .781 OPS, three homers, 12 RBI, 15 runs scored, one steal, six doubles and one triple over 31 contests. He is filling a strong-side platoon role in left field.

O'Brien walked one, hit a batter and struck out one in a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-1 win over Atlanta.

O'Brien wasn't quite at his best while pitching for the third time in four days, but he got the job done. He's on a seven-inning scoreless streak and has earned six saves with a 6:2 K:BB in that span. The All-Star reliever has converted 24 of 28 save chances this season while pitching to a 3.43 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 39:13 K:BB through 39.1 innings. O'Brien presumably won't be available if a save opportunity surfaces Sunday -- JoJo Romero or Ryne Stanek would be top options to step in for a save chance since George Soriano has also pitched consecutive days.

Freeland (2-8) took the loss Saturday against the Giants, allowing four runs on six hits and no walks in six innings. He struck out nine.

Freeland was working on producing one of his best starts of the season, as he fanned a season-high nine, but Casey Schmitt launched a three-run home run in the sixth inning to leave a big dent on the hurler's line. The 33-year-old left-hander still turned in his fourth outing of the year of at least six frames, but he's now given up multiple runs in 13 consecutive appearances. Freeland has struggled to offer much fantasy viability in 2026, posting a career-worst 7.36 ERA and 1.57 WHIP despite an otherwise encouraging 79:18 K:BB over 88 innings.

Liberatore (5-6) allowed four hits and a walk while striking out six over six scoreless innings to earn the win over Atlanta on Saturday.

This was Liberatore's first quality start in over two months -- his previous was May 7 versus the Padres. He has completed six frames in just four of his 19 starts on the year, as elevated walk (3.5 BB/9) and home run (1.6 HR/9) rates have limited his ability to pitch deep into games. He's at a 5.00 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 88:36 K:BB through 93.2 innings but heads into the All-Star break with a 2.25 ERA across his past thee outings.

Peralta (5-8) took the loss Saturday against the Red Sox, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out six.

It was another laborious outing by Peralta, who has now failed to complete five frames in all three of his July starts thus far. The 30-year-old right-hander has battled his control all year long, as he has issued at least one walk in all of his 19 starts since Opening Day versus Pittsburgh, However, he was at least able to strike out Tsung-Che Cheng to escape a bases-loaded jam in the second inning Saturday to limit the damage. Peralta has been a big disappointment during his first year with the Mets, holding a 4.66 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 104:44 K:BB over 104.1 frames.

Major League Baseball announced that Mikolas will begin serving his five-game suspension Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

The suspension stemmed from his role during a bench-clearing brawl with the Red Sox on July 2. Mikolas initially appealed his suspension, but after teammate Cade Cavalli completed a five-game ban of his own, the veteran right-hander is now required to begin serving his time. Mikolas will be available to return to action July 21 against the Rockies, the Nationals' fifth game out of the All-Star break. Mikolas heads into the break with a 5.78 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 50:19 K:BB across 90.1 innings.

Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a two-run double during the Phillies' 4-2 win over the Tigers on Saturday.

Realmuto extended the Phillies' lead to 3-0 with a two-run double in the fourth inning before coming home to score on an RBI single by Derek Hill in the same frame. Realmuto is slashing .200/.281/.338 with three steals, seven home runs and 30 RBI across 253 plate appearances this season and is batting .173 with five homers, 21 RBI and 14 runs in 28 games since the start of June.

Duran earned the save against the Tigers on Saturday after tossing a perfect ninth inning with no strikeouts.

Duran needed just eight pitches (seven strikes) to protect the Phillies' two-run lead in Saturday's win. It was his 24th save of the season, which is third most in the majors behind Cade Smith (28) and Bryan Baker (25). Duran has a 1.38 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 50:6 K:BB across 32.2 innings this season and has converted his past eight save chances.