MLB Player News

Robles gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his eighth save of the season in an 8-5 win over the White Sox.

Taylor Rogers was dominant in front of him, striking out four of the five batters he faced, but Robles didn't drop the baton in the ninth despite a far less impressive effort. The right-hander had been tagged for eight runs in 3.1 innings over his last four appearances, so this outing was encouraging. On the season, Robles has a 4.38 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 36:22 K:BB through 37 innings, and he'll remain part of Minnesota's closer mix until the team finds a better option from the right side to complement Rogers.

Ottavino allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two to lock down the save in Monday's 5-4 win over the Angels.

Ottavino was on in the ninth because closer Matt Barnes threw 33 pitches the day prior. He ran into trouble, giving up a run and had two men on with the dangerous Shohei Ohtani at the dish. The fill-in closer wriggled out of the jam, as Ohtani's 101.9 mph grounder was picked cleanly by second baseman Christian Arroyo to end the threat and the game. It was Ottavino's seventh save.

Clase (3-4) blew a save and took a loss after allowing two runs on three hits and a walk against the Rays on Monday. He failed to record an out.

Clase allowed three straight singles to open the inning, including an RBI base knock by Wander Franco to tie the game. After intentionally walking Austin Meadows, he forced a groundball by Yandy Diaz but the winning run still came in to score. Clase is now 11-for-13 in save chances this season after his first blown save since April. He owns a 1.51 ERA through 35.2 innings.

Bazardo (lat) was recalled from Triple-A Worcester and placed on the 60-day injured list Monday.

The right-hander was already on the injured list at Worcester with a strained right lat, but he was promoted so Boston could clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Bazardo originally landed on the shelf in late May, so he'll be eligible to be activated in late July. He resumed a throwing program in mid-June, though it's unclear where he currently stands in his recovery.

Mejia won't start Tuesday against the Rays after the game was postponed due to Tropical Storm Elsa.

Mejia could be a candidate to start one of the two games in Wednesday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay following Tuesday's postponement. The righty has posted a 7.80 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 15 innings across his last three starts.

Diekman has logged five appearances over the last 14 days, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.91 WHIP over the 3.2 innings he's logged in that span.

The left-hander gave up a pair of home runs during that stretch as well, leading to the elevated numbers. Diekman's swing-and-miss stuff, while not quite on last season's career-best level, is still among the AL's best (14.4 percent swinging strike rate, 31.0 percent strikeout rate), but a career-high 1.6 HR/9 has been a primary culprit when he has endured some struggles.

Swanson (groin) fired a scoreless sixth inning in Triple-A Tacoma's loss to Reno on Saturday, allowing one hit.

Swanson was originally scheduled to kick off his rehab assignment with the Rainiers last Monday, but some back soreness following a tune-up bullpen session during the preceding weekend put a hold on those plans. However, the right-handed reliever encouragingly was able to tolerate a solid 20-pitch workload over his one frame Saturday, and he'll likely make at least one more rehab appearance before activation is considered.

Sewald secured his sixth hold in a win over the Rangers on Sunday, allowing one hit and recording two strikeouts over a scoreless eighth inning.

The 31-year-old continued his stretch of dominance, one in which he's now strung together 13.2 consecutive scoreless innings across 15 appearances. Sewald has compiled a fantasy-friendly allotment of three victories, one save and four holds over that span as well, all while also generating an elite 16.5 K/9. With the Mariners' closer situation a fairly fluid one, Sewald's body of work and swing-and-miss stuff could certainly afford him additional save opportunities in coming weeks.

The Astros optioned Solomon to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The righty was recalled July 1 and pitched a scoreless inning that day, albeit with two hits and a walk. Solomon has pitched three innings total with the Astros this season, each of which has been scoreless, so he may rejoin the bullpen at some point down the road in 2021.

McHugh secured his third hold in a win over the Blue Jays on Sunday, firing three scoreless innings during which he allowed just one hit and recorded six strikeouts.

McHugh's string of dominant multi-inning efforts continued in stellar fashion Sunday, as he needed only 33 pitches to record nine outs, with six of those impressively coming via punchout. The veteran right-hander has now authored nine straight scoreless appearances to lower his ERA and WHIP to 1.87 and 0.98, respectively; moreover, he's taken his swing-and-miss stuff to a career-best level, as evidenced by a 13.4 K/9 and 38.5 percent strikeout rate.