MLB Player News

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo reiterated after Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Braves in 10 innings that Boxberger would remain the team's closer despite turning in another shaky outing, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports. "He is still our closer. He's going to get save opportunities," Lovullo said of Boxberger. "He's going to be the main guy that I'm looking at to get that [saves] column filled up, all right?"

Though Lovullo pledged his commitment to Boxberger, the skipper's usage of the 30-year-old Thursday seemingly didn't support his statement. With the game tied at 6-6, Boxberger was summoned from the bullpen to begin the 10th inning and retired the first two batters, then allowed a base hit, infield single and walk to load the bases. Rather than allowing his closer to work out of the jam, Lovullo pulled Boxberger from the contest and turned to Yoshihisa Hirano, whose wild pitch allowed the Braves to take the lead. Though Boxberger has taken the loss in each of his past two appearances, it's worth noting that he's exited both times with the score unchanged from when he entered the game, as the reliever pitching after him has given up the go-ahead run. Lovullo's reluctance to let Boxberger clean up his messes suggests a lack of faith in the closer, who hasn't performed well enough in the second half to enjoy a long leash. Over his 15 appearances since the All-Star break, Boxberger has converted seven of nine save chances and has turned in a 6.39 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 6.4 BB/9. Hirano and Archie Bradley would be the most likely candidates to pick up saves in the event Lovullo eventually opts to make a change at the back of the bullpen.

Castillo (2-2) was the winning pitcher after firing a scoreless inning with a strikeout against the Reds on Thursday.

Starter Eric Lauer was only deployed for four innings, so the official scorer deemed Castillo's scoreless appearance worthy of the victory. Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen are firmly entrenched as the Padres' top late-inning options, but Castillo is making a strong case for a larger role next year after posting a 2.67 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 11.6 K.9 over 30.1 innings.

Biddle allowed two earned runs on three hits to blow the save Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

With both Dan Winkler and A.J. Minter -- the two pitchers who had previously appeared to be the favorites to record saves for the Braves -- getting roughed up on Wednesday, Biddle was called upon in the ninth inning to close out a two-run lead. However, he allowed a leadoff double that eventually came around to score and a solo home run to Paul Goldschmidt to blow the save chance. It was only Biddle's fourth save opportunity of the season, and now that he has converted only one successfully it appears unlikely that he will see many more chances in the closer role this season.

Chavez allowed two baserunners but pitched a scoreless 10th inning with two strikeouts to record the save in Thursday's win over the Nationals.

With Pedro Strop getting used in the bottom of the ninth inning, Chavez got the call for the 10th with the Cubs up 6-4. The 35-year-old gave up a hit and a walk to get into some trouble, but he also struck out Washington sluggers Bryce Harper and Juan Soto. Chavez now has a strong 2.92 ERA this season, and he's been a welcome addition to the Chicago bullpen since coming over in late July.

Strop (5-1) pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts and grabbed the win when the Cubs prevailed in 10 innings over the Nationals on Thursday.

Strop hasn't allowed a run in his past five appearances, and he's picked up two saves, a hold and a win during the stretch. The 33-year-old has done a great job filling in for Brandon Morrow (biceps) as the Cubs' closer, as he now has a sparkling 2.37 ERA this season.

Mayers (shoulder) will pitch for Triple-A Memphis on Friday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Mayers and Michael Wacha (oblique) are both expected to make appearances during the Redbirds' postseason matchup Friday. The right-hander has been on the shelf since Aug. 26 with shoulder inflammation, but he could return to the big-league bullpen soon if everything goes as planned over the weekend.

Ottavino pitched a clean ninth inning with a strikeout to secure a save in Wednesday's win over the Giants.

With regular closer Wade Davis unavailable after pitching two days in a row, Ottavino got the call and he had little trouble sending San Francisco down in order in the ninth inning to secure his sixth save and first since early August. Davis has struggled some this year, and Ottavino now owns a sparkling 1.96 ERA to go along with 100 strikeouts in 69 innings, but he figures to continue seeing only sporadic save opportunities.

Suarez (6-10) took the loss Wednesday, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks while striking out five over six innings against the Rockies.

Suarez was beaten by Trevor Story for three solo homers, and the trio of homers accounted for the bulk of the damage on Suarez's ledger. The lefty has been boom-or-bust of late, allowing zero runs in three of his last five outings and five earned in each of the other two. He'll take a 4.33 ERA into Tuesday's matchup versus the Braves.

Pivetta (7-11) took the loss Wednesday, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks over four innings while striking out four as the Phillies fell 2-1 to the Marlins.

Despite the early exit Pivetta didn't pitch badly in this one, throwing 45 of 69 pitches for strikes, but he was saddled with the loss as the Phillies weren't able to muster any offense against Sandy Alcantara. Pivetta will carry a 4.66 ERA into his next start Tuesday at home against the Nationals.

Strop allowed a hit and a walk but kept the Brewers off the scoreboard to secure the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win.

Strop got into trouble right away, as he started off the bottom of the ninth by walking Travis Shaw and giving up a single to the red-hot Christian Yelich. However, the righty closer buckled down from there, getting Eric Thames to fly out, Lorenzo Cain to ground into a fielder's choice and Curtis Granderson to strike out to end the game. Strop now has 12 saves this season to go along with a strong 2.41 ERA, and with Cubs manager Joe Maddon noting that Brandon Morrow (biceps) might not have time to return from the DL before the regular season ends, the 33-year-old should continue to receive save opportunities.