MLB Player News

Diamondbacks starter Rubby De La Rosa allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings, Friday against Houston. 

De La Rosa took a no-decision, his first since June 30. He has allowed at least four earned runs and eight hits in three of his last five starts. 

De La Rosa walked one and struck out four.

Padres closer Craig Kimbrel blew his second save of the year, as he allowed a game-tying home run to the Marlins' Derek Dietrich in the ninth inning on Friday. The Padres would wind up winning the game 8-3 in 11 innings.

Kimbrel, who was the subject of trade rumors over the last several days, had converted 21 straight save opportunities before Friday's hiccup. 

Pirates closer Mark Melancon was far from perfect on Friday night, but he was able to escape with his 33rd save of the season in Friday's 5-4 win over the Reds.

Melancon gave up a hit to Brandon Phillips to lead off the ninth. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, Todd Frazier ripped a single to left, but Phillips was thrown out at the plate trying to score. Melancon would get the next batter to put the game to bed.

It was a shaky outing for Melancon, but he got the job done as he converted his 31st consecutive save opportunity.

The Rockies have made a change in the back-end of their bullpen. Manager Walt Weiss has removed John Axford from the closer's role, after he record his fifth blown save of the season, and fourth in a row on Thursday.

"I had a conversation with John a little earlier and I told him I was going to get him out of that ninth inning for a little bit and let him catch his breath," Weiss said Friday, per The Denver Post.

Axford, who once saved 46 games in a season, got off to a blazing start in 2015. He had converted each of his first 12 save opportunities and gave up just one earned run over his first 20 appearances.

But he has struggled lately, posting a whopping 12.15 ERA over his past nine outings.

"I'm not so bullheaded as to say that I want to pitch in the ninth inning and that's how it has to be," Axford said. "I have pitched in other innings and I've had success in other innings. A lot of my success has come in the ninth, but that's also where some of the pain comes.

"Stepping away definitely could be beneficial. It's worked before for me. It worked in 2012."

Weiss indicated he will likely go with a closer-by-committee approach, with the likes of Rafael Betancourt, Tommy Kahnle and Justin Miller as potential ninth-inning options. 

"We have a few different options down there, so it will probably come down match-ups and who is available," Weiss said. "So there will be a few different guys throwing at the end."

The Phillies and Rangers finally completed their blockbuster trade Friday.

The Rangers will receive starting pitcher Cole Hamels, reliever Jake Diekman and cash considerations in exchange for starting pitcher Matt Harrison, outfield prospect Nick Williams, catcher prospect Jorge Alfaro, starting pitcher prospect Jake Thompson, starting pitcher prospect Alec Asher and starting pitcher prospect Jerad Eickhoff.

The 31-year-old Hamels, who will make his Texas debut Saturday against the Giants, has compiled a 114-90 record, 3.30 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 10 seasons in the majors -- all with the Phillies. The three-time All-Star is under contract through 2018 on a seven-year, $159 million deal. He also has a $20 million option ($6 million buyout) for 2019.

The 28-year-old Diekman is in his fourth MLB season. He has compiled a 9-11 record, 3.84 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 191 career relief appearances for Philadelphia. He is striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings.

After the trade of Jim Johnson to the Dodgers, Arodys Vizcaino will serve as the Braves closer, according to MLB.com.

The 24-year-old right-hander has not recorded a save in his MLB career. He is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 10 appearances (nine innings) in 2015. He has eight strikeouts and four walks.

Vizcaino missed the start of the season while serving an 80-game suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs.

Brewers right-hander Jimmy Nelson had a strong outing against the Cubs on Thursday. The youngster fired seven shutout innnings, allowing just two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. He threw 104 pitches on the evening.

Despite the brilliant effort, Nelson was left with a no-decision after the bullpen allowed the Cubs to score five runs over the final two innings in the 5-2 Cubs' win.

Nelson had a strong month of July, going 3-1 with a 1.64 ERA in five starts.

Rockies closer John Axford earned his fifth blown save of the season on Thursday, as he allowed the game-winning run to score in the bottom of the ninth in the 9-8 loss to the Cardinals. Axford gave up two runs on two hits while recording one out. He walked three batters, including one to force in the winning run. 

Axford has now blown each of his last four save opportunities, and has allowed eight earned runs over his last 3 2/3 innings, spanning five appearances. 

Rockies starter Chris Rusin got shelled by the Cardinals on Thursday. The left-hander allowed six runs on 10 hits over five innings. He didn't walk a batter and struck out five, and he did not factor in the decision as the Rockies lost 9-8 in walk-off fashion.

Rusin got off to a shaky start, allowing four runs through the first two innings, including a three-run homer by Matt Carpenter in the second. Carpenter got to Rusin again in the fifth, as he blasted a solo shot as part of a two-run inning. 

The young hurler did help his own cause in this one, as he went 2 for 2 at the plate, including his first career home run--a two-run shot in the fourth inning.

The Rockies' southpaw finishes July 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA over six appearances--five starts.

New Phillies closer Ken Giles picked up the save in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Braves. Giles, who is replacing the recently-departed Jonathan Papelbon as the team's stopper, allowed two hits and struck out a pair in a scoreless ninth inning.

Giles was regularly reaching 100mph on his fastball in this one, as he claimed his second save of the year. The hard-throwing right-hander has been scored upon once in 12 appearances this month.