MLB Player News

Clase struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Twins.

Clase had blown two of his last three save chances entering Saturday, but he had no trouble protecting a one-run lead this time around. He's struck out only 10 batters while walking four over 17.1 innings this season, but he's been able to limit the damage well with a 2.08 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. He's now 11-for-14 in save chances and remains unchallenged for the closer role in Cleveland.

The Royals recalled Castillo from Triple-A Omaha ahead of Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Castillo will provide the Royals with a fresh arm capable of covering multiple innings out of the bullpen after Kansas City needed six relievers to cover 8.2 frames between the first two games of the series with Oakland. The Royals still plan on developing Castillo as a starter, so he'll likely be in line for only a brief stay with Kansas City before returning to Triple-A and slotting back into the Omaha rotation.

The Royals optioned Heasley to Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.

Heasley tossed 2.2 innings and 38 pitches out of the bullpen in Friday's 12-8 loss to Oakland and wasn't likely to be available for another day or two, so the Royals are opting to move him off the 26-man active roster in favor of a fresh arm in Max Castillo, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. The 25-year-old Heasley should reclaim a rotation spot as he heads back to Omaha.

Holmes earned a hold against Tampa Bay on Saturday, allowing one hit in an inning of work.

After New York rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning, manager Aaron Boone turned to Holmes to face the heart of the Rays' order in the bottom of the frame. He gave up a leadoff single that was quickly erased on a double play and needed just seven pitches overall to get through the scoreless inning. However, rather than being kept in the game to go for a multi-inning save, Holmes was relieved by Ian Hamilton, who closed things out for his first career save. There was no changing of the guard here -- if anything, it was a testament to Boone's faith in Holmes that he brought him in to face the toughest part of Tampa's lineup -- but the outing was a reminder that Holmes won't always work the ninth inning. He had been struggling of late, so a positive spin is that the effective performance against MLB's top team could help the closer regain any diminished confidence.

Hamilton earned a save against the Rays on Saturday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.

After New York rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning, it turned to closer Clay Holmes to protect the advantage against the heart of Tampa's order in the bottom of the frame. He did so on just seven pitches, but rather than have Holmes go for a multi-inning save, manager Aaron Boone opted to bring in Hamilton to close things out with the score still 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth. Hamilton allowed a two-out double but got Isaac Paredes to fly out to end the contest and notch his first career save. The righty reliever has been fantastic for New York this season, posting a 1.42 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB over 19 innings. Based on those numbers and his surprise ninth-inning usage Saturday, it wouldn't be surprising if he starts to see more high-leverage work, though Holmes and Michael King remain the prime candidates for saves in the Yankees' bullpen.

Davidson tossed two-thirds of an inning against Texas on Saturday, allowing seven runs on seven hits and one walk.

The game wasn't completely out of reach for the Angels when Davidson entered in the ninth inning, as they were down 3-0 at the time. By the end of the frame, the team had deployed position player Brett Phillips to the mound after Davidson allowed seven straight batters to reach base with two outs. Five of those came around to score while the the southpaw was in the contest, and two more crossed the plate after he departed, resulting in an unsightly seven runs charged to his final tally. Davidson entered Saturday with a 2.25 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over seven appearances -- those numbers are now 5.94 and 1.62, respectively.

Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Smith will remain pitching in high-leverage situations following Friday's blown save, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

In Smith's first appearance after he was anointed as the team's closer -- taking over for Jose Leclerc -- the left-hander was rocked by the Angels in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning loss. However, Smith retains the confidence of the manager, who's seen the bullpen during a 13-game stretch either blow a lead or turn a tied game into a deficit in the seventh inning or later six times. There aren't many dependable arms for Bochy to choose from to close out games, so Smith should be safe.

Jansen allowed one hit and struck out one batter in a scoreless inning against the Phillies on Saturday to earn a save.

Jansen appears to be past a back injury that sidelined him late last week and into the beginning of this week, as he pitched for the second straight day Saturday. The veteran closer was sharp against Philadelphia, throwing 11 of 14 pitches for a strike and allowing just an infield single. Jansen has been dominant in his first season with Boston, allowing only one earned run and posting a 16:4 K:BB over 10.2 innings while converting eight of nine save chances. He's now at 399 saves for his career -- with his next one, he'll become the seventh pitcher in MLB history to reach 400.

Montero (0-1) allowed four earned runs on three hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss Saturday against the Mariners.

Montero was tasked with protecting a three-run lead in the eighth inning, and he retired the first two batters he faced. However, he allowed the next four batters he faced to reach base -- two of which were on infield singles -- to suffer the ugly line and his first loss of the campaign. Montero has otherwise been solid, as he had turned in scoreless appearances in 10 of his 14 previous opportunities.

Jackson picked up the save Saturday against the Royals. He gave up one hit and one walk while striking out two over one scoreless inning.

Jackson grabbed his first save of the season, taking advantage of Trevor May's (personal) presence on the 15-day injured list and Jeurys Familia recently being designated for assignment. May's rehab assignment was recently paused, making it unclear when he might rejoin the A's. Jackson appears to be Oakland's preferred option at closer for now, but he'll likely remain an unsavory fantasy option considering Saturday's win was just the team's eighth of the year.