MLB Player News

Giles pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out the side to pick up his 29th save of the season in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Mariners.

Giles protected the win for the newest member of the team, starter Justin Verlander. It was Giles' seventh consecutive successful conversion of a save opportunity. For a stretch from early July to mid-August, the Astros weren't giving Giles many save opportunities, at one point going 13 appearances with just five chances. Since Aug. 18, Giles has had six opportunities in his last eight outings.

Paredes notched his first save Tuesday in Oakland, allowing two hits with one walk and one strikeout in a scoreless 10th inning.

Paredes got the job done after being called upon to protect an 8-7 lead, but the 22-year-old right-hander didn't make things easy on himself. He took 29 pitches to get three outs, finally sealing the deal by getting Jed Lowrie to fly out with the count full and the bases loaded. Keep in mind Paredes didn't enter the game until after Cam Bedrosian worked a scoreless bottom of the ninth in a tie game, and Blake Parker was unavailable after making several appearances over the past week.

Graveman struggled in Tuesday's no-decision against the Angels, surrendering four runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over five innings.

Graveman's uninspiring 4.70 ERA is coupled with a miniscule 6.3 K/9, making him a bottom-of-the-barrel option in mixed leagues. He pitched like one again here, falling behind 4-1 before getting bailed out by the offense in the bottom of the fifth. Don't expect much improvement Sunday in a tough home matchup against the Astros.

Santiago (back) left his rehab assignment with Triple-A Rochester and flew to Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "He is still feeling that tightness in his upper back," Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey said. "So we're going to have a follow-up evaluation and announce the details of that one once we find out."

It doesn't sound like Santiago will be able to return this season. Even if he does, he's pitched so poorly that the Twins are unlikely to use him in any significant role in a playoff race.

Colome allowed a run on two hits and a walk in an inning of work while recording his 42nd save of the season Tuesday against the Twins.

Staked to a two-run lead, Colome allowed a leadoff home run to Robbie Grossman before putting two more on with one out. He followed up by inducing a game-ending double-play ball from Eddie Rosario to escape the danger. Despite the hiccup Tuesday, Colome has been scored upon just twice in his last 15 outings and has converted 13 consecutive save opportunities.

Mengden will join the Athletics' starting rotation and draw the start for the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Astros, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Mengden was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday and will be deployed in the starting rotation in place of the struggling Chris Smith. Mengden posted a 6.50 ERA in his 14 starts last season and gave up nine runs in his two starts earlier this year, so he can be left off your fantasy radar until he shows he's capable of performing at the big-league level.

Pruitt is scheduled to start Friday's game against the Red Sox, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pruitt will step in for the injured Chris Archer (forearm), who won't be able to make his next start on schedule. Archer isn't expected to miss more than one start, so Pruitt will likely head back to a long-relief role following Friday's outing. The 28-year-old has compiled a serviceable 4.19 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in eight starts for the Rays this season.

Smith (elbow) was activated from the 60-day disabled list Tuesday, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

His return was delayed by a day after he was struck by a line drive in the leg in his final rehab start over the weekend. Seeing as Smith has only made three appearances for the big club since the start of 2016, he will likely be eased back into action in a lower-leverage role. The hope is that he'll be ready to contribute more substantially in 2018 after building his arm back up in the offseason. Kyle Martin was designated for assignment to clear room for Smith's return.

Armstrong was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

Armstrong was summoned to the big club to provide an extra arm out of the bullpen down the stretch. The 26-year-old owns a 4.76 ERA and 19:9 K:BB through 22.2 big-league innings this season. Given the depth of Cleveland's bullpen, Armstrong will likely work in lower-leverage situations for the rest of the season.

Mengden was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.

Four players were brought up following the conclusion of Nashville's season, Mengden included. The right-hander gave up nine runs in two starts for the A's earlier in the season (eight innings), and he wasn't a whole lot better with Nashville after his return from a rib injury in August. He figures to pitch primarily out of the bullpen the rest of the way.