MLB Player News

Stanek blew the save Sunday against Toronto, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with a strikeout over one inning.

Stanek took the mound in the seventh inning, inheriting a pair of runners with no outs and a 4-1 lead. After striking out Kevin Kiermaier, Stanek surrendered a three-run home run to George Springer, tying the game and resulting in the blown save. Stanek briefly took closing duties from Andres Munoz in mid June while Munoz dealt with a back injury, but Stanek has since yielded ninth-inning work to Munoz.

Kimbrel picked up the save Sunday, allowing one hit and no walks with two strikeouts across a scoreless inning against Oakland.

Kimbrel has now fired seven consecutive scoreless frames, going 7-for-7 in save chances during that stretch to bring his season total up to 23 saves. The 36-year-old fell to a 4.73 ERA after his first 16 appearances of 2024, but has been dominant since, recording a 0.43 ERA with 31 strikeouts across 21.0 innings.

Spence (5-5) took the loss Sunday against Baltimore, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk across six innings. He struck out five.

All four runs charged to Spence came in the first inning, when he allowed a solo home run to Anthony Santander and a three-run home run to Heston Kjerstad. Spence was able to settle in afterward, and would have kept the Orioles off the scoreboard if it weren't for a dropped flyball with two outs in the third inning that allowed a run to score. Since the start of June, Spence owns a 5.01 ERA and a 32:6 K:BB across 41.1 innings. He's tentatively scheduled to face the Phillies in Philadelphia next weekend.

Smith (4-1) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the win Sunday over the Giants.

Smith pitched the sixth inning, and the Guardians took the lead in their half of the frame to make him the pitcher of record. After a strong first two months of the season, Smith has taken a bit of a step back, allowing six runs over his last 14.1 innings since the start of June. He's now at a 2.50 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 53:9 K:BB while adding a save and 13 holds over 39.2 innings.

Clase earned a save over the Giants on Sunday. He gave up a run on one hit in one inning of work.

Clase coughed up an out-of-character run on a Michael Conforto groundout. Clase was still able to close out the 5-4 win and pick up his 27th save of the year. He's given up just four earned runs through 42.1 innings this season, resulting in a 0.85 ERA. Sunday's outing snapped a nine-inning scoreless streak. Clase has converted 14 straight save chances and is 27-for-30 in 2024.

Kopech (2-8) allowed four runs on two hits and two walks against Miami on Sunday. He was charged with a blown save and a loss.

Kopech entered the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead but quickly gave it up on a Josh Bell RBI double. Two batters later, Jake Burger would crush a walk-off three-run homer. Kopech hadn't blown a save chance since June 13 but is now just 8-for-13 in opportunities this season. His ERA jumped to 5.45 with a 51:23 K:BB through 38 innings. John Brebbia could begin to push for more ninth-inning work; he threw a scoreless eighth inning Sunday and has given up just two runs over 16.1 frames since the start of June.

Hader (3-5) took the loss Sunday against the Twins, allowing a solo home run without recording an out.

Hader entered with the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth. He served up a solo shot to Christian Vazquez, which gave the Twins the walk-off win. This is the fourth time in six outings that Hader has given up a run -- all of which have been on homers -- though he hasn't taken a blown save since April 2. He's at a 4.15 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 61:11 K:BB through 39 innings while converting 15 of 16 save chances this season. Since his missteps have rarely resulted in trouble so far, Hader's security as the Astros' closer remains high, but his recent struggles with the long ball are reminiscent of his awful second half of 2022, which is at least worth keeping an eye on for fantasy purposes.

Duran (4-3) earned the win Sunday over the Astros, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning.

Duran was tasked with keeping the game tied at 2-2 in the ninth inning, and he got the job done. He then earned the win when Christian Vazquez walked it off for the Twins with a solo home run in the bottom of the frame. Duran has been dialed in with 11 scoreless outings over his last 12 appearances, allowing just two runs with a 10:3 K:BB in that span. For the year, the closer has a 3.25 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 25:9 K:BB through 27.2 innings while converting 13 of 14 save chances and adding one hold.

Hendriks (elbow) threw another bullpen session Sunday and is expected to ramp up his activity during the upcoming week, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Hendriks finished his three throwing sessions of the week in New York on Sunday, and he'll now progress toward the next step in his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last August. The right-hander remains without an expected timetable to return, but his ability to complete the bullpen sessions without any sort of setbacks is a positive outcome nonetheless.

Winder was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul after Sunday's 3-2 win over the Astros, Audra Martin of Bally Sports North reports.

Winder was called up Friday and appeared in the team's 13-12 loss to Houston, pitching two innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits while striking out two batters. The right-hander will now have to wait for his next chance to join the major-league roster while the vacancy he leaves behind with the big-league club is expected to be filled by Chris Paddack (arm).