MLB Player News

Hand struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning against the Royals on Wednesday to secure his 32nd save of the season.

It was a nice bounce-back outing from Hand after he allowed a run in a non-save situation Tuesday. The 28-year-old southpaw has now converted all eight of his save chances for the Indians, posting a shiny 1.86 ERA with 28 strikeouts across 19.1 innings with Cleveland in the process. Hand remains locked in as the top option for saves in Cleveland at the moment, with Cody Allen working the eighth inning Wednesday.

Kimbrel picked up his 38th save of the season Wednesday against the Braves, issuing one walk while striking out two across a scoreless ninth inning.

Kimbrel was called upon after the Red Sox rallied to take the lead with two runs in the top of the ninth inning, and he needed just 18 pitches (10 strikes) to close the door on the Braves. The right-hander has now converted 38 of his 43 save chances this season, posting a shiny 2.45 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 84:27 K:BB across 55 innings in the process.

Coulombe was outrighted to Triple-A Nashville on Wednesday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Coulombe was recently cast off the 40-man roster and will head to the Triple-A level after passing through waivers unclaimed. On the year, he's logged a 4.56 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 23.2 innings with Oakland.

Whalen cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The 24-year-old tossed four scoreless relief innings for the Mariners this year. He spent the bulk of his season with Tacoma, making 20 starts and posting a 5.16 ERA. He'll remain at that level but will be one step further from returning to the big leagues.

Kelly struck out two and walked one during an inning of relief against the Braves on Tuesday.

Outside of a solo home run in Monday's series opener in Atlanta, Kelly hasn't allowed an earned run since Aug. 15, which encompasses 10.2 innings of work. On the year, he's logged a 3.75 ERA and 1.23 WHIP with a 9.0 K/9, though his 4.2 BB/9 raises some cause for concern.

Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said that Fulmer (shin) experienced no complications Tuesday and is on track to make his next scheduled start Sunday against the Cardinals, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers have an off day Thursday and recently expanded their pitching depth with a slew of September callups, affording them plenty of coverage in the event Fulmer requires additional time off after being struck by a line drive during his start Monday against the White Sox. It appears the team won't have to adjust its rotation plans, however, as Fulmer is expected to throw his normal pre-start bullpen session Thursday or Friday before making his next turn over the weekend. Since returning from the disabled list Aug. 24 after a five-week absence due to an oblique strain, Fulmer has posted a 5.14 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across three starts.

Hector Velazquez, and not Pomeranz, will start Wednesday against the Braves, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports.

Manager Alex Cora was considering giving the start to Pomeranz, but said he likes the way the left-hander is throwing out of the bullpen. Pomeranz could be used as a multi-inning reliever Wednesday depending on how long Velazquez goes.

Pressly pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out the side in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Twins.

Pressly ran his scoreless innings streak to 10.1 over 11 appearances. He's given up just four hits, struck out 16 and hasn't walked a batter during that streak. The right-hander has been dominant since the Astros acquired him from the Twins in July and should be considered for setup work if Hector Rondon's hand injury lingers.

Mengden pitched 4.2 innings without allowing a run while striking out three and allowing one hit in Tuesday's loss to the Yankees. He didn't factor into the decision.

Mengden didn't get the start in this one, as Liam Hendriks served as the opener, but he saw the bulk of the action Tuesday. He retired the first 10 batters he faced and only allowed a single hit -- a single -- against the final batter he faced with two outs in the sixth. It's unclear what Oakland's strategy will be with its starting rotation going forward, but Mengden could be in line to start sometime next week against the Orioles.

May (3-1) allowed four runs on five hits in a one-inning start against the Astros on Tuesday, recording no walks and no strikeouts while taking the loss.

Making his first start of the year, May gave up a couple RBI base hits before surrendering a two-run homer to Yuli Gurriel. The right-hander wasn't expected to go long in the bullpen game, but a better showing was anticipated from a guy who had allowed just three runs in 14.1 innings of relief work. May saw his ERA balloon from 1.88 to 4.11 in the outing, but he still has a decent 1.17 WHIP to go along with a 22:3 K:BB in 15.1 innings.