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Brad Boxberger RP | CHC
Brewers' Brad Boxberger: Capitalizes on rest
Boxberger threw a scoreless sixth inning in Tuesday's victory over the Dodgers.
Boxberger was unofficially shut down for a few days after pitching 10 times in the first 20 days out of the All-Star break, and the rest appeared to have done him well, as he retired all three batters he faced and punched out two of them. Boxberger remains part of Milwaukee's late-inning mix, but even with Josh Hader's departure, he may have been bumped down a spot in the pecking order -- trade deadline acquisitions Matt Bush and Taylor Rogers both followed him in Tuesday's contest.
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Joe Mantiply RP | TOR
Diamondbacks' Joe Mantiply: Holds lead once again
Mantiply allowed one hit while striking out three over one inning to earn a hold in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Giants.
Mantiply locked down the eighth inning, a feat he's accomplishing with regularity, before Ian Kennedy blew the save in the ninth. The left-hander has made 11 consecutive scoreless appearances, picking up five holds while striking out 11 and walking two over 9.1 innings. Mantiply has yet to be handed a save opportunity since Mark Melancon was removed from the role, but manager Torey Lovullo indicated earlier that he has no problem rolling with Mantiply if left-handers are due up.
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John Brebbia RP | COL
Giants' John Brebbia: Earns sixth win
Brebbia (6-1) allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the win Tuesday over the Diamondbacks.
Brebbia kept the Giants within a run in the top of the ninth inning, and Brandon Crawford slugged a walkoff two-run home run to earn the right-hander the win. It was a good bounce-back effort for Brebbia, who allowed three runs without recording an out Sunday in a blown save versus the Pirates. He's often been a steady middle reliever this year, pitching to a 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 41:15 K:BB through 50.2 innings while adding 12 holds. He's allowed multiple runs in just four of 56 appearances.
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Jakob Junis RP | TEX
Giants' Jakob Junis: Strikes out seven in quality start
Junis registered a no-decision during Tuesday's 2-1 win against Arizona, allowing one run on four hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.
Junis engaged in an unlikely pitcher's duel with opposing starter Merrill Kelly and appeared to be done in by a Christian Walker solo shot in the fourth inning until Brandon Crawford walked it off in the ninth to erase him from the ledger. The 29-year-old had his best stuff working with 16 swinging strikes on 101 pitches and fell one short of his season high with seven strikeouts. Aside from last week's blip, Junis has held opponents to three runs or fewer in each of his last eight turns and possesses a solid 3.53 ERA and 1.14 WHIP with 63 strikeouts in 71.1 innings. He currently lines up for another start this week Sunday in Colorado.
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Craig Kimbrel RP | KC
Dodgers' Craig Kimbrel: Handed loss, blown save
Kimbrel (3-5) took the loss and the blown save during Tuesday's 5-4 defeat at the hands of the Brewers, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk while striking out one in one-third of an inning.
Kimbrel was brought in for the bottom the 11th after Los Angeles took the lead in the top of the inning and struggled to find the zone, walking one and firing only 11 of 20 pitches for strikes. A leadoff Hunter Renfroe single and one-out Luis Urias walk set the stage for a two-run Victor Caratini single to saddle the 34-year-old with the blown save and loss on the same pitch. Kimbrel has struggled since the calendar turned to August, surrendering five total runs across 5.1 innings this month, including permitting runs in four of his last five appearances. It's track record over performance keeping Kimbrel in the closer role right now.
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Ryan Helsley RP | BAL
Cardinals' Ryan Helsley: Snares seventh win
Helsley (7-1) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the win in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.
Helsley kept the game tied in the top of the ninth inning, and the Cardinals won on a walkoff hit-by-pitch in their half of the frame. While he's allowed two runs in 7.1 innings in August, he's also picked up two wins and three saves with an 8:1 K:BB. The fact that this has been one of his poorer months speaks to how dominant the right-hander has been all year -- he owns a 0.91 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 72:13 K:BB with 12 saves and six holds through 49.2 innings overall.
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Mark Leiter RP | ATH
Cubs' Mark Leiter: Records first MLB save
Leiter pitched a scoreless 11th inning with two strikeouts to earn the save in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Nationals.
Chicago used five relievers before turning to Leiter, but he made the most of the opportunity with a lead and earned his first MLB save. The righty has quietly been pretty solid since getting recalled from Triple-A Iowa on July 30, recording a 1.46 ERA across 12.1 innings. Leiter is still more of a long reliever for the Cubs, so he shouldn't see regular save chances moving forward.
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Dylan Floro RP | ARI
Marlins' Dylan Floro: Earns third save
Floro picked up the save Tuesday, striking out three and allowing a hit in the ninth inning of a 4-3 victory over San Diego.
Floro entered the game with a man on first and nobody out and gave up a single to the first batter he faced. He then struck out Josh Bell, Jake Cronenworth and Wil Myers to end the game. It was his first save since he closed out back-to-back games at the beginning of July. Tanner Scott had pitched in consecutive games, leading to Floro being called upon to close Tuesday.
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Sean Manaea SP | NYM
Padres' Sean Manaea: Lasts four innings in no-decision
Manaea allowed three runs on four hits and a walk, striking six in four innings in a 4-3 loss Tuesday in Miami. He did not factor into the decision.
Nick Fortes tagged Manaea with solo homers in the second and fourth innings. The lefty was removed from the game after four innings, having tossed 64 pitches. It was his fifth straight outing of 83 pitches or fewer. Since the All-Star break, he has an 8.06 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and seven homers allowed in 22.1 innings across five outings.
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Evan Phillips RP | LAD
Dodgers' Evan Phillips: Fine after injury scare
Phillips will be available out of the bullpen for Tuesday's game against the Brewers, despite taking a 105-mph line drive off his left knee during a relief appearance in Monday's 4-0 win, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.
On his third pitch of the night, Phillips was struck by a comebacker off the bat of Christian Yelich, but he calmly picked up the ball and threw to first to record the out. He proceeded to retire the final two batters he faced to conclude the eighth inning, and Phillips didn't require any X-rays after the contest, suggesting that he's dealing with nothing more than cosmetic damage to his knee. Since June 1, Phillips has been one of the most dominant setup men in baseball, as he's posted an 0.33 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 31:7 K:BB in 27 innings over a stretch of 28 appearances.