MLB Player News

Phillies reliever Luis Garcia has done well so far this season, continuing his roll Sunday. Garcia came on with a runner on first and got Freddie Freeman to groundout to short.

Garcia has worked 8 2/3 innings so far this season with a 1-1 record and nine strikeouts. Manager Ryne Sandberg continues to be impressed by the young pitcher, reports MLB.com.

"He's a power pitcher," Sandberg said about Garcia. "The biggest thing with Garcia right now is the command of the baseball. He has two power pitches, and when he's ahead of the hitters, he can be very effective."

Padres reliever Craig Kimbrel struck out two batters in the ninth inning of Sunday's 3-1 win over the Dodgers. 

Kimbrel picked up his sixth save of the season after striking out two batters. He also got Yasmani Grandal to ground out to end the game. Kimbrel now has an ERA of 2.16 for the season. 

The Padres have recalled right-handed pitcher Cory Mazzoni and optioned lefty Chris Rearick to Triple-A El Paso.

Mazzoni will be making his first trip to the major-league regular-season roster. He was acquired from the Mets in a trade before the beginning of the season. Mazzoni has made six appearances with El Paso, giving up one earned run in 8 1/3 innings while striking out 13 and walking one.

Pirates closer Mark Melancon is unavailable to pitch Sunday after racking up three saves in the last three days, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Melancon has dealt with some velocity issues this April and owns a 5.79 ERA and 5:4 K:BB ratio in 9 1/3 innings, but he hasn't surrendered a run in any of his three appearances over the last three days. With the closer getting a scheduled break, the team could turn to lefty Tony Watson or righty Jared Hughes in a save opportunity Sunday.

Rockies closer Adam Ottavino did his job Saturday night. If his bat-wielding teammates had done the same, he might have earned a victory against San Francisco.

Ottavino pitched a scoreless tenth inning, allowing a walk and hit before getting Brandon Belt to ground out. The right-hander maintained his perfect 0.00 ERA in the process through 10 appearances. He has given up just three hits in 10 1/3 innings on the year.

Pirates relief pitcher Mark Melancon worked a nearly perfect ninth inning Saturday in Pittsburgh's 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks, earning his fifth save of the season.

Melancon got past a single with one out to start the inning after Nick Ahmed was caught stealing second. Melancon finished things off by forcing a groundout to second by Yasmany Tomas. Melancon lowered his ERA to 5.79 in 9 1/3 innings of work this season.

"I do be­lieve ev­ery player has a bank ac­count here," Hur­dle said to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "They in­vest by what they do, and they put things in the bank and those things draw in­ter­est. There come times when you take money out."

Diamondbacks pitcher Rubby De La Rosa allowed one run on four hits in seven innings of work in Arizona's 2-1 loss to the Pirates Saturday. He was in control throughout the start, adding eight strikeouts with no walks to his totals.

De La Rosa's only blemish came in the fourth inning. He allowed a double to Neil Walker, who advanced to third on a Starling Marte ground out. Then, Pedro Alvarez doubled to right field, scoring Walker.

De La Rosa, who remains 2-1, lowered his ERA to 4.68 on the season. 

Braves right-hander Shelby Miller continued to fly under the radar as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball Saturday night.

Miller managed his fourth straight strong start and third consecutive victory by going his typical six innings and giving up two runs on three hits in Philadelphia. He walked two and struck out three.

All was not peachy in the fourth inning when Miller yielded a two-run homer to Ryan Howard that broke a scoreless tie. But his teammates scored three in the seventh to give him the win.

Miller, whose ERA rose to 2.03, will try for his fourth win in a row Thursday against Cincinnati.

Pirates closer Mark Melancon wasn't exactly turning cartwheels over implications that he was losing his grip on the job after a sluggish start to the season.

He blew a two-run lead Tuesday to the Cubs, raising his earned run average to 8.53 and prompting Clint Hurdle and the media to point out that his velocity was down. But after two straight 1-2-3 saves, including one on Friday, he fought back.

"I blew one save - one save," Melancon told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Should anybody lose confidence after one save? That's for them to decide, I guess."

Melancon, whose velocity remains down, had a closed-door meeting with Hurdle in which he was told the closer job was still his.

"I try to put myself in his position," Hurdle said. "What opportunity would I hope to get, based on what I've done for the club. When (his) performance goes the other way, I don't need to be the first one to overreact."

Hurdle also expressed his belief that Melancon can remain effective despite decreased velocity.

"It's about execution and location," he said.

Cubs relief pitcher Pedro Strop is available to throw Sunday after being held out with a sore left foot, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Strop, who has thrown 7 1/3 scoreless innings this season, would have been available Saturday, but the contest was rained out with no make-up date scheduled yet. He has recorded 10 strikeouts with just two walks so far this season.