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Blake Treinen RP | LAD
Athletics' Blake Treinen: Finishes season with save
Treinen worked around a hit with a strikeout in a scoreless inning of work to earn his 16th save of the season Sunday against the Rangers.
Treinen was squared up for a two-out double in this appearance, but he promptly got Brett Nicholas to line out to end the game. Though he struggled mightily at times this year, Treinen finished the season in strong form, with 10 consecutive scoreless innings, racking up six saves during that span. He posted a 2.13 ERA after being acquired from the Nationals.
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Daniel Mengden RP | KC
Athletics' Daniel Mengden: Tosses seven scoreless in win
Mengden (3-2) tossed seven scoreless innings to earn the win Sunday against the Rangers, allowing four hits with one walk and striking out eight.
Mengden was terrific in this one, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Adrian Beltre ended it with a single. He got into a bit of trouble in the seventh but was able to induce an inning-ending double-play ball to conclude his afternoon. Mengden threw 66 percent of his pitches for strikes and lowered his ERA to a sharp 3.14 with this outing. The 24-year-old finished the season in terrific form after rejoining the big-league rotation, rattling off four quality starts in his last five with a 1.54 ERA and a 26:6 K:BB ratio during that span. He should have every opportunity to begin the 2018 campaign in the majors after this display.
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Collin McHugh RP | ATL
Astros' Collin McHugh: Delivers quality start Sunday
McHugh struck out eight and held the Red Sox to three runs on five hits over six innings en route to his fifth win of the season Sunday in Boston.
Even with the quality start, McHugh might be on the outside looking in at a playoff rotation spot as Brad Peacock and Charlie Morton may claim the final two jobs behind Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel. Nevertheless, McHugh appears to be healthy entering the postseason after being limited to 12 starts (63.1 innings) during the regular season.
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Jakob Junis RP | TEX
Royals' Jake Junis: Bounces back for victory Saturday
Junis (9-3) completed six innings Saturday against the Diamondbacks, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks to pick up the victory. He also struck out five.
Junis was actually on the hook for the loss after serving up a home run to A.J. Pollock in the sixth, but he was saved by the offense in the bottom half of the inning. This was good to see from the 25-year-old after he got shellacked in his previous start. He'll close out the 2017 campaign with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP, although he only allowed more than two earned runs during two starts in the month of September. This will likely give him a good chance at keeping his spot in the Royals' rotation heading into next season.
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Buck Farmer RP | CIN
Tigers' Buck Farmer: Bounces back with victory Saturday
Farmer (5-5) claimed the victory against the Twins on Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits and four walks across five innings of work. He struck out three.
It wasn't a spectacular outing, but the right-hander managed to limit the damage to just one run notched in the bottom of the first -- a bases-loaded walk, no less. All in all, 2017 was a shaky season for Farmer, as his ERA and WHIP now sit at 6.75 and 1.56, respectively. Given the dearth of options ready for the majors heading into next season, however, the 26-year-old will likely get a fair shake at landing one of the final spots in Detroit's 2018 rotation if he can show improvement during spring training.
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Edwin Diaz RP | LAD
Mariners' Edwin Diaz: Notches 34th save Saturday
Diaz struck out two batters over 1.1 innings and earned his 34th save of the year in Saturday's 6-4 victory over the Angels.
After blowing a save for the first time in more than two months Friday, Diaz didn't allow a baserunner Saturday. Having fanned 89 batters over 66 innings, Diaz has been a solid source of strikeouts this season. However, his lack of control has been an issue, as he's walked 32 batters and surrendered 10 home runs in that time as well.
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Carson Fulmer RP | PIT
White Sox's Carson Fulmer: Bests Kluber, Indians for third win
Fulmer (3-1) earned the win over the Indians on Saturday, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two over five innings.
A blister surfaced early in his last start, but Fulmer showed no ill effects Saturday, getting the best of Corey Kluber and the Tribe. Just as many seemed ready to write Fulmer off as a starter, he went on a strong run in September, going 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 19:10 K:BB over 22 innings. He's put himself in position to open 2018 in the White Sox rotation, but Fulmer will need to continue to hold his own in spring training.
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Alex Colome RP | CHW
Rays' Alex Colome: Records 47th save
Colome allowed one run on two hits in an inning against the Orioles on Saturday, but escaped with a save.
He gave up back-to-back hits to begin the frame, and one of those runners came around to score on a sac fly, but Colome eventually nailed down the 4-3 win for Tampa Bay. Colome is now up to 47 saves on the season, six more than anyone else in baseball and nine more than anyone else in the American League. The 28-year-old is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter.
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Miguel Castro RP | CHW
Orioles' Miguel Castro: Takes loss in penultimate game
Castro (3-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs on six hits and one walk over 3.1 innings against the Rays. He struck out three.
Things were going pretty well for Castro in his first career big-league start up until the fourth inning, when he allowed three straight hits to begin the frame, including a homer to Brad Miller. Castro was traded to the Orioles early in the year after being designated for assignment by the Rockies and went on to post strong ratios, but his strikeout rate fell off a cliff in his age-22 season.
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Aroldis Chapman RP | BOS
Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Nails down win for 22nd save
Chapman struck out one batter in a perfect ninth inning against the Blue Jays on Saturday en route to his 22nd save of the season.
The flamethrower ends September with a perfect 0.00 ERA in 11 appearances (12 innings), with just three hits allowed and a 17:2 K:BB in that span. Chapman lost his grip on the closer role earlier in the second half, but he's regained his dominant form at the right time as the Yankees head into a one-game playoff against Minnesota next week.