MLB Player News

Pirates pitcher Mark Melancon converted his 49th save with a scoreless ninth inning in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Rockies.

It's the eighth scoreless outing in a row for Melancon, who has surrendered no hits and has a 8:1 K:BB ratio during that span. The right-hander has a 1.24 ERA and 0.83 WHIP since April 23.

Rockies starter Chris Rusin took his ninth loss Tuesday against Pittsburgh as he allowed six runs on eight hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out two.

Rusin has actually been worse on the road than at Coors Field this year, even though his home ERA is now up to 5.31 in 11 games (10 starts). Still, he's serving up a 5.46 ERA in 11 road games (again, 10 starts) and hitters are batting .320/.373/.536 off him in 272 plate appearances. In this case, it isn't Coors, it's Rusin. His ERA is up to 5.39.

Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson (head) has been placed on the 60-day DL Tuesday. 

Considering the Brewers already ruled him out for the remainder of the season, this move should come as no surprise.

Tyler Cravy is set to take the mound in place of Nelson, and he could finish out the rest of the season in the starting rotation if he pitches well Tuesday.

Braves starter Shelby Miller fell to 5-16 despite a quality start Monday against the Mets, as he allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks over six innings. He struck out three.

Two of Miller's walks were intentional, so his control wasn't as bad as his line makes it seem. Miller has now lost 12 straight decisions, six of which were quality starts. The Braves are giving him under 2 1/2 runs per game in support and have scored two runs or fewer in 18 of his 31 starts. As of Monday night, he is the only starter in major league history with 16 losses in a season with an ERA of 3.00 or better.

Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson (head) will be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Nelson was struck in the head by a line drive Thursday which forced the Brewers to skip over his start Tuesday for precautionary reasons. Even though he seems to be fine, the Brewers took it one step further Monday by shutting him down for the rest of 2015 while Tyler Cravy takes over Tuesday, and potentially for every other projected one of Nelson's starts through the end of the season.

Mets RP Carlos Torres (calf) pitched Sunday night for the first time since Sept. 7. The outing wasn't great - he allowed three runs on a hit and two walks, retiring two batters.

With September roster expansion, the Mets won't have an urgent need to use Torres, though it'll be interesting to see if he makes the playoff roster.

Marlins starter Brad Hand's control deserted him Saturday, as he allowed three runs on four hits and six walks over 4 2/3 innings while striking out four.

He's now issued 14 free passes in 10 1/3 innings over his last four starts, and the only thing keeping Hand in the Marlins' rotation right now is a lack of viable alternatives. His next start is currently scheduled for next Saturday, at home against the Braves.

Cubs reliver Pedro Strop worked a perfect ninth inning Saturday, striking out one, to notch his third save of the season in a win over the Cardinals.

Hector Rondon came out to start the ninth inning in a non-save situation, hit the only batter he faced and promptly got ejected. Zac Rosscup then allowed three straight hits, forcing Strop to come in and put out the fire. Rondon is still manager Joe Maddon's top choice as closer, but Strop is more than capable of handling the job should he be called upon again.

Braves reliever Arodys Vizcaino earned his sixth save in a 2-1 victory Saturday over the Phillies, working a scoreless ninth inning in which he surrendered one hit and struck out two.

Vizcaino is 6-for-7 in save opportunities for the Braves since being announced as the team's closer on July 31, and he now has five whiffs over the last two innings. Saturday's outing was also the third consecutive scoreless effort for the 24-year-old righty after having given up five runs (four earned) in just 2/3 innings in the two appearances prior.

The Braves appear to have made a prudent move in allowing Vizcaino to garner valuable experience in late-inning pressure situations in the closing weeks of a forgettable 2015 campaign, as he appears to slowing be developing into their closer of the future.

Braves starter Ryan Weber took a no-decision on Saturday against the Phillies, allowing two hits, one run and two walks in seven innings. He struck out five.

It was the young righty's strongest performance yet since his Sept. 7 call-up from Triple-A Gwinnett. Two of Weber's starts since that point have been against this same Phillies squad, and he has surrendered only three earned runs on six hits over 13 innings to them, while striking out seven. Despite the strong pair of outings, he did not earn a victory in either due to an almost complete absence of run support.

Another encouraging sign for Weber coming out of Saturday's performance was his stamina and pitch count, after having only made nine starts in 38 appearances in the minors this season. Weber threw 98 pitches against the Phillies and has now increased his pitch count in each of his three trips to the mound with the major league club.