MLB Player News

Garcia was reinstated from the paternity list Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Garcia landed on the paternity list Wednesday but will rejoin the Giants after spending a few days away from the team. The southpaw made nine appearances in September and posted a 3.55 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 12.2 innings.

Junis will pitch behind opener Scott Alexander as the bulk reliever Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Junis also served as a long reliever during last Sunday's win over Arizona and picked up the win, allowing a run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven in 5.1 innings. He should be able to handle a similar workload while pitching behind Alexander once again Saturday.

Alexander will serve as the opener for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Alexander has tossed 7.2 scoreless innings over his last eight appearances, and he's converted both of his save chances while picking up three holds over that stretch. However, he'll serve as an opener for the second time in less than a week Saturday, while Jakob Junis should be available as a bulk reliever.

Williams picked up the save Friday against the Marlins, allowing a hit while striking out three and walking two over a scoreless inning.

Williams escaped with the save after allowing three baserunners He tossed 13 of 27 pitches for strikes to pick up his 15th save of the season. He logged six saves in September after apparently locking down the closer job. The righty reliever has allowed just one earned run in 10.1 innings across his last nine appearances, lowering his ERA for the year to 1.64.

Jansen picked up the save Friday against the Mets, allowing a walk and a hit while striking out three in a scoreless inning.

Jansen picked up his 38th save Friday, the second-most saves in baseball this season. He allowed two baserunners and needed 24 pitches, 15 of which were strikes, to get the job done. After allowing two runs in an outing on Sep. 11 that ballooned his ERA to 3.91, the veteran has steadily lowered it to where it sits now at 3.54.

Helsley issued one walk, struck out one and did not give up a hit in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save in a 2-1 victory over the Pirates on Friday.

Helsley closed out the one-run game thanks in part to some excellent defense behind him. With a runner on first and two out, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made an incredible running catch on a pop up by Miguel Andujar in foul territory that saw him crash into the netting. Helsley has a superb 1.26 ERA this season and could reach the 20-save mark for the first time in his career depending on how the Cardinals decide to manage his rest in the final week of the regular season.

Szapucki (hip) struck out two in a perfect inning Friday versus the Diamondbacks.

Szapucki hadn't pitched since Sept. 24 after exiting his last appearance with hip tightness. Friday marked his first clean outing this year, though his season-long numbers remain skewed by his lone appearance with the Mets in May in which he allowed nine runs in 1.1 innings versus the Giants. He has given up three runs in 11.2 innings across nine outings over two stints in the big leagues with the Giants since he was included in the Darin Ruf trade at the deadline.

Treinen (shoulder) played catch Friday and manager Dave Roberts said he's getting closer to throwing off a mound again, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

There is still no word on how soon Treinen will be able to return, but chances are that he will miss at least the beginning of the postseason. He's been sidelined with shoulder issues for the vast majority of the season and hasn't made an appearance since the beginning of September.

Yates (elbow) threw a bullpen session Friday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Yates has been sidelined since mid-September due to right elbow inflammation but has been optimistic he'll be able to return this season. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available for the playoffs, but he's trending in the right direction and would likely be able to have a relatively normal offseason, even if he isn't cleared to return to game action.

Johnson (1-2) took the loss and was charged with a blown save against the Dodgers on Thursday, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two batters over two-thirds of an inning.

San Diego held a one-run lead when Johnson entered in the sixth inning, but he surrendered a hit to each of the first three batters he faced to allow Los Angeles to tie the score. The righty nearly got out of the frame without further damage, but a two-out, two-run single off the bat of Miguel Vargas put the Dodgers ahead and resulted in Johnson's departure. It was the second time this season Johnson has allowed three runs in an appearance, though he's held the opponent scoreless in each of his other 11 outings.