MLB Player News

Smith earned the save in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Mets, allowing one hit while striking out two in a scoreless inning of work.

After Emmanuel Clase pitched in three consecutive days, the Guardians turned to Smith in the ninth with a three-run lead Wednesday. The rookie right-hander would allow a two-out double to Francisco Lindor before rebounding to strike out Pete Alonso, sealing his first MLB save. Smith's been solid out of the bullpen for Cleveland this year, pitching to a 2.01 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 32:7 K:BB while recording five holds in 22.1 innings. While he won't unseat Clase for the closing job, Smith has certainly established himself as a high-leverage option going forward.

The Rangers optioned Winn to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday.

Winn will give up his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Dane Dunning (shoulder), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of his start Wednesday versus the Phillies. The demotion comes after Winn had struggled mightily thus far in May, giving up runs in five of his six appearances while pitching to a 13.50 ERA and 2.05 WHIP over 7.1 innings.

Duran picked up the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals despite allowing a run on two hits in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth, Duran got off to a rocky start, surrendering a leadoff homer to Joey Meneses followed by a Luis Garcia single. However, following a sac bunt that moved Garcia into scoring position, Duran struck out Joey Gallo before inducing a game-ending groundout from Keibert Ruiz to close out a 3-2 win. While he was able to escape with the save Wednesday, Duran's been shaky recently, allowing homers in three consecutive outings and five runs over 2.2 innings in that span. He now has four saves with a 4.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB across 9.2 innings to start the year.

Campbell (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Campbell has been out since mid-April with a right shoulder impingement, but he's finally ready to move on to the final phase of his recovery process. He will likely need multiple rehab appearances before returning from the 15-day injured list and rejoining Boston's bullpen.

The White Sox placed Wilson on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a back strain.

It's not clear how long Wilson is expected to be sidelined by the injury, but he'll be eligible for activation June 4. The right-hander has managed a 2.84 ERA with the White Sox this season in spite of 14 walks over 19 innings.

Webb (0-3) allowed a run on one walk over two-thirds of an inning, taking the loss in Tuesday's game versus the Cardinals after it resumed Wednesday.

Webb walked Ivan Herrera before exiting the contest in the sixth inning. Keegan Akin proceeded to give up a two-run home run to Nolan Gorman, but Webb was responsible for the go-ahead run. Over seven innings in May, Webb has allowed five runs (three earned) with a 6:9 K:BB. He's still earned some high-leverage looks despite his shaky control, and he's sporting a 2.66 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 21:12 K:BB through 20.1 innings overall. He's added two saves and four holds over 24 appearances, but the bulk of the closing duties are expected to belong to Craig Kimbrel or Yennier Cano.

The Orioles recalled Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk and designated him as the 27th man for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Because the Orioles and Cardinals resumed Tuesday's suspended game earlier Wednesday, both teams were allotted a 27th man for the contest that was initially scheduled for Wednesday. Vespi will provide the Orioles with a fresh arm out of the bullpen for the series finale but will likely be returned to Norfolk immediately following the game.

The Rays designated Ramirez for assignment Wednesday.

Ramirez will move off Tampa Bay's 26-man active roster and 40-man roster after delivering a 4.50 ERA and 9:6 K:BB across 16 innings. The right-hander seems likely to clear waivers and could wind up remaining in the organization.

Erceg (2-2) got the win against the Rockies on Tuesday, firing a perfect eighth inning.

Erceg's blink-and-you-missed-it frame was done in a tidy 11 pitches, seven of which he located for strikes. The 29-year-old right-hander has had a couple of hiccups along the way, but he sports a pair of saves and seven holds alongside his two wins. Erceg, who's now averaging 98.6 mph on his fastball this season, has the stuff to form a gnarly 1-2 punch with dominant closer Mason Miller in the late innings, and he lowered his ERA and WHIP to 3.32 and 1.05, respectively, with what was his third scoreless effort in the last four appearances.

Miller recorded his ninth save in Tuesday's win over the Rockies, striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning.

Miller mowed through the trio of Jordan Beck, Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar on 16 pitches, retiring each on swinging strikes to close out the one-run win. It was Miller's first save opportunity since April 30, as well as his 15th straight scoreless appearance. The flamethrowing right-hander hasn't allowed so much as a single since April 25 as well, and his trio of strikeouts Tuesday pushed his K/9 and swinging strikeout rate figures to an astounding 18.1 and 23.7 percent, respectively, across 20.1 innings.