MLB Player News

Rodney earned his third save with a scoreless ninth inning while allowing one hit and striking out one Friday against the Cardinals.

Rodney was provided a three-run lead, and despite allowing a base runner, easily closed out the victory for the Padres. On the season, he's yet to allow an earned run in any of his six appearances.

Melancon picked up his fourth save while allowing three hits over 1.1 innings Friday at the Diamondbacks.

Melancon came on in the eighth inning to protect a two-run lead with a runner on base, and promptly gave up three straight hits, but fortunately only one run scored. He then came back in the ninth to set the Diamondbacks down in order to close out the victory. After allowing an earned run in his first appearance of the year, he now hasn't allowed an earned run over his last seven outings to lower his ERA to 1.17.

Neris pitched a scoreless inning Friday against the Brewers. He struck out two and walked one.

Neris is up to 10.1 scoreless innings to start the season. He has a 17:3 K:BB over that span, with six of those strikeouts coming in his prior outing. He pitched the eighth inning Friday and could be moving up in the bullpen pecking order. That could make him a candidate for save chances down the road if Jeanmar Gomez struggles.

Gomez gave up one run on two hits while recording zero strikeouts in a non-save situation Friday against the Brewers.

He has now given up three runs in his last six innings, although he has not blown a save in that span, and his ERA remains at 2.70. Gomez has not had a save opportunity since April 13, but he has notched a couple wins since then, which more than makes up for the lack of recent saves. He is the de facto closer for the Phillies at the moment, but that could change in a hurry if he continues to give up runs at his recent pace.

Garcia was diagnosed with right biceps soreness after leaving Friday's game against the Rockies, the Los Angeles Times' Andy McCullough reports.

The Dodgers are still in the process of evaluating him and determining the next step, but it does not sound like Garcia will be available out of the bullpen for the rest of this weekend's series against Colorado.

Montero was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

He will clear a spot on the 25-man roster for Sunday's starter, Jacob deGrom, who will need to be activated from the paternity list. Look for the 25-year-old righty to return to the rotation at Triple-A, serving as a flexible depth piece for the Mets going forward.

Garcia left Friday's game with an apparent arm injury, the Los Angeles Times' Andy McCullough reports.

He shook his arm and then left the game in the seventh inning after allowing a run and recording just two outs. His fastball velocity declined sharply over the course of his appearance Friday, topping out at 95 mph against the first batter he faced, and dipping to 90 mph with his final fastball. Stay tuned for an official diagnosis from the team.

Hoover endured another shellacking by the Cubs on Friday night, giving up four runs while retiring just two batters. He gave up his fourth homer of the year to Javier Baez leading off the inning, and later gave up three consecutive doubles.

At this point, one has to wonder if something is physically wrong with Hoover, beyond merely the gravity of the ninth inning role hanging over him. His ERA climbed to 19.50 after this latest bad outing.

The Diamondbacks have not ruled out skipping Miller's next turn in the rotation to give him extra time to work on mechanical issues that have plagued him this season, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez reports. "As of right now, we are not planning on him skipping the start," manager Chip Hale said. "Can that change? It always can. If that's what [pitching coach Mike Butcher] and everybody thinks. But as of right now, he's feeling good. He's healthy. His arm is fine and his hand is fine, so he should be OK."

He is tentatively scheduled to pitch Tuesday against the Cardinals, but Hale left himself some wiggle room in case the team decides it is more important for Miller to work out his issues by missing a turn in the rotation to do side work. Miller has obviously been awful to start the season, particularly with his command and control. It sounds like Miller will make that start Tuesday against the team that drafted and developed him, but fantasy owners may want to keep him on the bench for now until he can get a good outing or two under his belt.

Estevez was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday.

Estevez will provide the Rockies with some bullpen depth after going 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA and four strikeouts in five games with Albuquerque this season. The right-hander was brought up along with Gonzalez German and Jon Gray as the Rockies made six roster moves ahead of Friday's series opener against the Dodgers.