MLB Player News

Smith (2-0) picked up the win in Friday's 10-7 extra-inning victory over the Brewers, giving up one run on one hit and striking out one over one inning of relief.

The left-hander blew his first save of the season after Christian Yelich led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a triple and then scored, but Smith prevented any further damage and was rewarded when Buster Posey launched a grand slam in the top of the 10th. Smith now sports a 2.17 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 54:8 K:BB through 37.1 innings and remains the top bullpen arm most likely to be available at this year's trade deadline.

Jackson picked up the save Friday against the Padres after allowing one run on a hit and a walk with two strikeouts over one inning.

Jackson gave up a leadoff walk to Manuel Margot, then punched out Greg Garcia and Fernando Tatis Jr. before allowing an RBI single to Eric Hosmer to make the score 5-3. Fortunately, that was the final run of the night for the Padres as Jackson got Manny Machado to ground out and end the game. The 27-year-old now owns a 2.80 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 61:16 K:BB with 15 saves over 42 appearances.

Lamet (0-2) took the loss Friday against Atlanta after allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out seven over five innings.

Making just his second start since 2017, Lamet put together a decent showing against the Braves. The 26-year-old started off strong by punching out Ronald Acuna Jr., but surrendered a double to Dansby Swanson, a walk to Freddie Freeman and a three-run homer to Josh Donaldson to give the Braves the lead. Acuna Jr. then hit a solo shot off Lamet in the fifth for the final damage of the night. Despite the loss, the right-hander has a good chance at remaining in the Padres' rotation. Over two starts this year, Lamet owns a 6.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 14:4 K:BB.

Pivetta (4-4) allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts across five innings while taking a loss against the Nationals on Friday.

The 26-year-old pitched much better than he did in any of his last three outings. Pivetta didn't give up a homer Friday, which is a big deal because he had tossed up nine homers in his last four appearances. However, he was still saddled with his third loss in his last four starts, and his ERA barely decreased. Pivetta now has a 5.81 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, .293 batting average against and 54 strikeouts in 66.2 innings. He is schedule to pitch next at home against the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Ponce de Leon didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Diamondbacks, allowing one run on three hits over 6.2 innings while striking out seven.

A solo shot by Christian Walker was the only blemish on the right-hander's line, but Ponce de Leon hit the showers after 105 pitches (69 strikes) with the score tied 1-1. He now boasts a 1.99 ERA and 38:11 K:BB through 31.2 big-league innings this season, but he'll likely return to a relief role with Adam Wainwright (back) not expected to miss much time.

Hernandez allowed two runs on three hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Rockies.

It's the third blown save of the season for the reliever, who now sports a 6.28 ERA and 1.45 WHIP on the year. Hernandez has allowed 11 runs over his last six outings, with all of the damage Friday coming on solo shots from David Dahl and Daniel Murphy.

Kimbrel set the Pirates down in order during the ninth inning to record his third save in a 4-3 victory Friday afternoon.

He didn't register a strikeout, but Kimbrel induced a flyout and two groundouts to nail down the one-run win. Since yielding five runs over two outings against the Pirates last week, Kimbrel hasn't allowed a hit and walked one batter with three strikeouts in his last two appearances, both of which were saves. It's still a very small sample size, but Kimbrel is 3-for-4 in save chances with a 9.64 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and six strikeouts in 4.2 innings this season.

Munoz's contract was selected from Triple-A El Paso prior to Friday's game against the Braves, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Munoz, a 20-year-old righty, is the best relief-pitching prospect in the game, thanks largely to his monster fastball that can touch 104 mph. He had 58 strikeouts and 18 walks in 35.2 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A. While Munoz has the upside to someday be the top closer in baseball, he will likely work in a setup role as long as Kirby Yates is still on the Padres roster.

Boxberger agreed to a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Friday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

Boxberger saved 32 games for the Diamondbacks just last season, but his 2019 campaign has gone very poorly. He struggled to a 5.40 ERA in 26.2 innings with the Royals before being released in early July. The veteran will head to Double-A Harrisburg, the Nationals' geographically closest high-minors affiliate, in hopes of proving himself worthy of a return to the big leagues.

Hernandez will move to the bullpen for at least the near future, Andre Fernandez of The Athletic reports.

Hernandez owns a 4.25 ERA in 29.2 innings this season, starting five times and appearing twice out of the bullpen. His 27.0 percent strikeout rate and 6.4 percent walk rate are each strong, but his 1.82 HR/9 represents a significant weakness. The 24-year-old is set for a fairly high-leverage role, Fernandez reports. He'll have an outside chance to enter the ninth-inning conversation if Sergio Romo struggles or gets traded at the deadline, though Hernandez doesn't appear to be a favorite to close at this point.