MLB Player News

Kimbrel got the save in Boston's 5-4 victory over Toronto on Thursday, striking out one without allowing a baserunner in a clean ninth inning.

It was business as usual in this one for the dominant right-hander, who has given up just one earned run and bagged seven saves in as many opportunities over his 10.1 innings so far this season. Kimbrel now has 0.87 ERA and 0.68 WHIP and is firmly entrenched as one of the most reliable closers in the game.

Diaz struck out two and walked one in a scoreless inning of work Thursday to record his 11th save of the season.

Diaz labored a bit in this outing, needing 19 pitches to close out the win for the Mariners. However, he continues to be absolutely dynamic in the final frame as he remains perfect in converting save opportunities and maintains a 0.68 ERA and 0.68 WHIP on the season.

Fulmer tossed six scoreless innings but did not factor into the decision in Thursday's 1-0 loss to the Pirates. He gave up four hits and a walk while striking out nine.

Fulmer has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his five starts this year and now has a 2.76 ERA, but he has just one win to show for it, as the Tigers have not been providing him much run support. The young righty has a solid matchup on tap Wednesday against the Rays, and if he keeps pitching like this, he stands a pretty good chance of grabbing some wins along the way.

Graveman was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

Graveman has struggled through six starts this season, compiling an 8.89 ERA and 1.84 WHIP across 28.1 innings, but this is still a bit surprising. The 27-year-old has proven he can be a serviceable big-league starter over the previous three seasons, posting a 4.11 ERA across 71 starts, so he'll likely be afforded an opportunity to rejoin the rotation once he smooths out some kinks in the minors. In the meantime, Wilmer Font was added to the roster in his place. Graveman's replacement in the rotation has yet to be announced.

Kelly's six-game suspension was upheld and he will begin to serve it Thursday, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Kelly received the suspension back on April 12, but he was able to play in the meantime while he appealed the decision. With Major League Baseball refusing to budge from their initial penalty, the right-hander will be sidelined for nearly a week. He's eligible to return Wednesday against the Royals.

Pagan allowed an earned run on two hits and a walk over 1.2 innings in a loss to the Rangers on Wednesday. He struck out three.

Pagan has now disconcertingly allowed at least one earned run in five straight appearances, a span during which he's also yielded four home runs. On the brighter side, Pagan's three strikeouts Wednesday represented a season high, but his ERA and WHIP now sit at 5.68 and 1.58, respectively, following his latest appearance.

Kittredge (1-2) fired a scoreless two-thirds of an inning to record the win over the Orioles on Wednesday.

Kittredge's first career win came on an efficient eight pitches and served as a welcome reprieve from some recent rough outings. The 28-year-old right-hander had given up at least one earned run in three of his previous four trips to the mound, and Wednesday's appearance was only his second scoreless effort of the season overall.

Andriese notched his first hold while racking up four strikeouts over 2.2 scoreless innings in a win over the Orioles on Wednesday. He allowed one hit.

That's back-to-back impressive, multi-inning scoreless efforts for Andriese, who's also posted an 8:2 K:BB in his last three appearances overall. Andriese offers manager Kevin Cash considerable flexibility out of the bullpen and also has 44 career starts, essentially guaranteeing him a substantial workload.

Graveman (0-5) gave up three runs on six hits and four walks with seven strikeouts over six innings as he took the loss Wednesday to the Rangers.

Graveman remains winless despite easily his best start of the year, his first quality start of the campaign. For the first time all season, Graveman didn't give up a home run, and his seven strikeouts were a season best. Unfortunately, Graveman still walked four batters, and as a result he needed 112 pitches to get through just six innings. Sure, it's a bright spot, but even on his best day yet, Graveman was still mediocre. He'll carry an 8.89 ERA into his next start.

Chapman gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday to record his fourth save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Twins.

The left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.80 through 10 innings while improving his K:BB to 19:4. There are mild concerns about Chapman's velocity to begin the season since he's not averaging over 100 mph with his fastball as he's done in the past, but he seems to be getting by just fine with a mere 98 mph.