MLB Player News

Contreras (2-3) took the loss and blew a save against the Blue Jays on Friday, allowing two runs on two hits without retiring a batter.

With the Angels up by a run in the eighth inning, manager Ron Washington turned to Ben Joyce -- who has been closing of late -- to face the heart of Toronto's order. Joyce got the job done, leaving Contreras to try to follow suit in the ninth. The latter couldn't close things out, however, as he gave up back-to-back solo homers to Joey Loperfido and Addison Barger to take the defeat. Contreras had been pitching well coming into Friday, allowing just one earned run and posting a 16:4 K:BB over his prior 14 frames.

The Astros optioned Dubin to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Dubin fired 8.1 scoreless frames and struck out nine batters after returning to the Astros' bullpen July 30. However, he will be forced back to the minors following the return of Kaleb Ort, who returned from the paternity list Saturday. If Dubin is able to keep his hot streak alive in the minors, he figures to have a good chance of returning to Houston before the end of the year.

The Astros reinstated Ort from the paternity list Saturday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

After spending the three-day maximum away from the team following the birth of his child, Ort will now return to the Astros' bullpen. In order to make room on the roster, Shawn Dubin was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land.

The Astros optioned Martinez to Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Martinez will be squeezed out of the Astros' bullpen in order to make room for Hector Neris, who signed with the team Thursday. With a 3.04 ERA and 1.21 WHIP through 50.1 innings, the 29-year-old Martinez remains a candidate to return to Houston's bullpen down the stretch.

The Athletics optioned Jimenez to Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

Jimenez has given up six earned runs in two innings over his last two appearances, so the A's will now send him to Triple-A in order to get back on track. Hogan Harris was recalled from Las Vegas to fill the open spot on Oakland's pitching staff.

Snider (3-2) got the extra-inning win over the Giants on Friday, firing a scoreless 10th inning during which he issued an intentional walk and recorded two strikeouts.

Snider was called on to preserve a 5-5 tie in the 10th after Andres Munoz had struck out the side in the ninth, and the former responded with a crisp showing of his own. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to a stellar 0.98 with what was his 13th consecutive appearance without surrendering an earned run, and he now has four multi-strikeout tallies in his last nine trips to the mound.

The Twins designated Okert for assignment Saturday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Okert will lose his spot in the Twins' bullpen after posting a 5.09 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 35.1 innings on the season. Scott Blewett was promoted from Triple-A St. Paul to fill the open roster spot.

The Twins selected Blewett's contract from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Blewett elected free agency after being DFA'd by the Twins on Aug. 13 but eventually re-signed with the club on a minor-league deal last Saturday. The right-hander will now return to Minnesota's bullpen to replace Steven Okert, who was DFA'd in a corresponding move.

Weaver picked up a hold against the Rockies on Friday, walking one batter and striking out one in a scoreless inning of work.

After Carlos Rodon started and gave New York six scoreless frames, Weaver followed in the seventh and worked around a two-out walk to keep the shutout going. The hold was the righty reliever's team-leading 21st of the campaign after he entered the season without any holds over eight years that were mostly spent as a starter. Weaver has recorded five consecutive scoreless outings following a five-run implosion in a loss against Texas on Aug. 10.

Vest (3-4) tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Friday's 5-2 victory over the White Sox. He allowed one hit.

Vest came on with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, then worked through the seventh inning as well to earn the win when the Tigers scored twice in the top half to break a 2-2 tie. The veteran righty is having another quality season with a 3.11 ERA across 55 innings of relief. Vest is getting high-leverage work, though Jason Foley is seeing the bulk of the save opportunities for the Tigers, including in Friday's contest.