MLB Player News

Strop struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth to secure his 10th save in Thursday's 1-0 win over the Pirates.

Strop has been terrific as Chicago's closer with Brandon Morrow (biceps) on the disabled list. He's locked down his last seven save attempts and hasn't been scored on in his last five outings. With Morrow's recovery timetable still uncertain, Strop will continue getting most of the save chances for the foreseeable future.

VIzcaino (shoulder) played catch Wednesday, David O'Brien of The Athletic Atlanta reports.

While this is an encouraging step for Vizcaino, he still needs to progress through the multiple stages of a throwing program before being cleared to rejoin the Braves sometime in September. The right-hander has been on the disabled list since July 14 with shoulder inflammation. A.J. Minter should continue to fill in as the team's closer in the meantime.

Loup was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a left forearm strain Thursday.

It's unclear as to when Loup suffered this injury, as he was able to finish off a scoreless inning of relief during Wednesday's win against the Red Sox. That marked his fourth appearance with Philadelphia after being traded from the Blue Jays prior to the non-waiver trade deadline last month. The club has yet to comment on a timetable for his recovery, though he will be eligible to come off the DL on Aug. 26. Ranger Suarez was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.

Leiter was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to Thursday's twin bill against the Mets, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Leiter will provide a little additional depth to the bullpen for the doubleheader after spending the past few weeks at the Triple-A level. Through 11 appearances with Philadelphia in 2018, he's logged a 5.74 ERA and 1.47 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of relief.

Burdi (elbow) shifted his rehab assignment to Triple-A Indianapolis and retired two of the five batters he faced Wednesday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He was charged with two runs (one earned) on three hits and a wild pitch in the loss.

Prior to joining the Triple-A club, Burdi, who is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, had made five rehab appearances between the Florida State and Eastern Leagues. None of those outings had come since July 31, however, though the Pirates didn't indicate the right-hander suffered any sort of setback. The Rule 5 pick could make regular appearances at Triple-A for the next week or so before being activated from the 60-day disabled list when rosters expand in September.

Wilson (3-0) was dominant for Triple-A Gwinnett in Wednesday's win over Louisville, allowing only one hit over eight scoreless innings while striking out a career-high 13.

The Braves' No. 11 fantasy prospect had been cuffed around in his first two starts for Gwinnett since a promotion at the beginning of August, but he rebounded in impressive fashion, retiring the first 10 batters he faced and facing the minimum number of batters through eight frames. Wilson isn't on the 40-man roster yet, but Atlanta hasn't been afraid to start the service clock early on their top pitching prospects this season as the team pushes for the playoffs, so the 20-year-old could be the next arm to get called up if he continues to shut down International League hitters.

Ferguson was charged with three runs on two hits and a walk while striking out one over two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's 12-inning win over the Giants.

Ferguson entered the contest in the eighth inning with a three-run lead, but he was unable to preserve it after serving up a three-run homer to Andrew McCutchen. The rookie southpaw has been transitioning to a late-inning role, and has generally been successful as a reliever (2.16 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 25 relief innings) even with Wednesday's hiccup. Ferguson joined a long list of Dodger relievers who recently coughed up a late-inning lead in Kenley Jansen's (chest) absence, so this rough outing shouldn't exclude him from a large closing committee.

Stephenson didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to Cleveland, allowing two runs on two hits and four walks over 1.2 innings while striking out two.

The right-hander threw only 26 of 57 pitches before getting yanked from the game. Stephenson has now walked nine batters in 5.2 innings since re-joining the Reds, and while he's scheduled to take the mound again next Wednesday in Milwaukee, he'll need to drastically improve his control if he wants to keep his spot in the rotation for the remainder of the season.

Dominguez tossed 1.1 scoreless innings Wednesday to pick up his 13th save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Red Sox.

He wasn't exactly sharp, throwing only nine of 18 pitches for strikes, but Dominguez didn't allow any hard contact as he rebounded from blown saves in his last two opportunities. Despite his occasional stumbles, the rookie still has a 2.32 ERA and 54:13 K:BB in his first 42.2 big-league innings.

Minter struck out two in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 11th save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Marlins.

The southpaw fired nine of 11 pitches for strikes as he converted his seventh save in eight chances since Arodys Vizcaino (shoulder) hit the disabled list. Vizcaino was only set to begin throwing again Wednesday, which means the closer job will likely remain in Minter's hands at least until rosters expand in September and perhaps through the end of the season.