MLB Player News

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.

Hicks recorded his third hold in an extra-inning win over the Phillies on Thursday, firing a scoreless sixth inning during which he issued a walk and recorded two strikeouts.

Manager Mike Shildt decided to afford Hicks his first action since Sunday by inserting him into the game immediately after the Cardinals had taken a 3-1 lead in the home half of the fifth inning. Hicks experienced trademark issues with his location while getting just nine of 19 pitches into the strike zone, but he still came away with his third hold. At present, an ascension to the closer's role he filled in 2019 before getting injured doesn't look to be anywhere in the cards for Hicks, as he still appears to be rounding back into shape after sitting out 2020, while Alex Reyes is currently perfect over six save chances while holding down ninth-inning duties.

Reyes (1-0) was credited with the victory in an extra-inning win over the Phillies on Thursday, firing two perfect innings during which he recorded three strikeouts.

The right-hander was refreshingly sharp, getting his six outs on 25 pitches, 18 of which found the strike zone. Reyes has made it virtually impossible for manager Mike Shildt to remove him from high-leverage duties -- and the closer's role specifically -- by firing 12.1 scoreless frames and going 6-for-6 in save opportunities across his first 12 appearances. Reyes has also now stayed away from issuing free passes entirely in back-to-back outings for the first time all season, an encouraging development considering his still-elevated 19.2 percent walk rate.