MLB Player News

Antone retired the only batter he faced Friday to record his first save of the season in an 8-6 win over the Cubs.

Carson Fulmer started the ninth inning for the Reds with the club ahead 8-4, but after he put the first two batters aboard, Lucas Sims entered the game. Sims did no better, allowing both inherited runners to score and loading the bases with two outs, forcing manager David Bell to turn to Antone, who needed only three pitches to rack up his first career save by getting David Bote to ground out. The Reds prefer using Antone in longer high-leverage stints a la Josh Hader -- he's gotten more than three outs in five of his eight appearances so far -- but with both Sims and Amir Garrett struggling badly in save situations, the 27-year-old could find himself working the ninth more often.

Coonrod allowed a walk and struck out one in one inning to earn the save in Friday's 2-1 win over the Mets.

Closer Hector Neris pitched three of the previous four days and needed rest, so Coonrod was given an opportunity for a save. He did well, as a two-out walk to Brandon Nimmo was the only blemish in Coonrod's performance. The 28-year-old right-hander has a 1.50 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 13:2 K:BB across 12 innings this season. He's picked up two holds and two blown saves in 11 outings.

Garcia (2-2) took the loss Friday versus Washington, allowing two runs (one earned) on one hit. Garcia did not record an out.

Garcia's outing lasted only two pitches before Washington's Kyle Schwarber hit a walkoff two-run home run. In addition to the loss, Garcia was also charged with a blown save, as Miami held a 1-0 lead when he entered. The 30-year-old has a 2.19 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 10:3 K:BB across 12.1 innings. He is now 4-for-5 in save chances, and he added two holds before taking over the closer job from Anthony Bass earlier in April.

Hand (2-0) allowed an unearned run on one hit and two walks with one strikeout in two innings to earn the win Friday versus Miami.

Hand allowed an RBI single to Garrett Cooper in the top of the 10th inning, but Kyle Schwarber bailed him out with a walkoff two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning. The run against Hand was the first he has allowed all season, but it won't show up on his still-perfect 0.00 ERA. The southpaw has added a 0.89 WHIP, 7:4 K:BB and three saves across nine innings as Washington's closer.

Littell's contract was selected by the Giants on Friday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Littell served as a non-roster invitee this spring but was unable to break camp with the club after he posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 10 innings. He should mainly pitch in lower-leverage roles for San Francisco.

Ponce de Leon was placed on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The move was backdated to Thursday, so Ponce de Leon could be eligible to return as soon as May 9, but it's unclear if the issue is minor enough for that to be a possibility. Jake Woodford was recalled in a corresponding move.

Hernandez (biceps) threw a bullpen session Wednesday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Hernandez couldn't complete three innings in his first start of the year before being shut down with biceps inflammation. Wednesday's milestone is a significant one, but he'll still have to build up his pitch count and likely appear in rehab games before returning to the active roster. It's not yet clear when the Marlins expect that to happen.

Megill landed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain Friday.

Megill joined the big-league roster on Monday and made a pair of appearances before suffering the injury. In his first taste of big-league action, he threw two scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out two. Kyle Ryan was recalled in a corresponding move.

Kelly revealed Friday that he underwent surgery on his right shoulder back in November, Rob Bradford of WEEI reports.

Kelly had reportedly been dealing with shoulder troubles since late in the 2019 season, which were eventually revealed to be related to a cyst on a nerve in his shoulder. Recovery from the procedure will wind up costing him the first month of the season, but he's expected to make his season debut in the second week of May.

Uceta will serve as the opener for what's expected to be a bullpen game Friday against the Brewers, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

The Dodgers entered the season with enviable rotation depth, but injuries to David Price (hamstring) and Tony Gonsolin (shoulder) will cause them to go with a bullpen game already before the first month of the season is complete. Uceta, who's yet to pitch above Double-A, has pitched almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, but it doesn't look as if he'll be asked to go deep in this contest. In 123.1 minor-league innings in 2019, he recorded a 2.77 ERA, 27.0 percent strikeout rate and 9.4 percent walk rate.