MLB Player News

Pirates reliever Mark Melancon (1-1) tossed a perfect ninth inning and was awarded his first win of the season Friday night at home against the Blue Jays. Pedro Alvarez and Starling Marte homered in the ninth to give Pittsburgh the win. Melancon owns a 1.38 ERA over 13 innings pitched.

Fantasy owners thought they were getting a reliable closer in Kenley Jansen, but so far, he's been anything but.

Yeah, he's gotten the job done -- and maybe those just counting up his save total haven't noticed the difference -- but he hasn't made it easy. With another hit (to go along with two walks) in Monday's outing, he has now allowed 10.6 hits per nine innings -- an unacceptable rate for any closer, but particularly one that entered the season with a career rate of 5.0.

Of course, his 15.3 strikeouts per nine innings is as good as it's ever been -- third among closers, as a matter of fact -- and the Pitch F/X data shows he's throwing as hard as usual. His command may be a little off in the early going, but in the long run, he'll be fine.

As shaky as he's been, he hasn't given the Dodgers much reason to consider making a change, going 11 for 13 in save opportunities so far.

Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly, who was placed on the disabled list on April 17 with a hamstring injury, played catch from a mound for the second time on Friday, MLB.com reports.

Although his arm strength is fine, Kelly said his hamstring still feels fatigued, leaving him without a timetable. He will continue to play catch every two days until he receives clearance for a minor-league rehab assignment.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen was not at his best, but escaped with 11th save of the season in Game 2 of a day-night doubleheader against Minnesota in extras.

Jansen entered the game with a two-run advantage in the 12th inning. He gave up a run on a sacrifice fly before securing a 4-3 win and the save. He allowed one run on one hit and two walks in one inning pitched. He is 11 of 13 in save chances with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP in 15 1/3 innings pitched.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman began his minor-league rehab assignment at Class A Dayton Thursday night. Chapman struck out two and worked a perfect sixth inning for the Dragons.

Chapman could be back in the majors by next week, depending on how his next two or three rehab appearances go.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen recorded the final out of his team's 6-4 win over the Twins Wednesday to secure his 10th save of the seaso.

Jansen came into the game with the Dodgers up 6-2 but with two men on and two outs. After giving up a two-run double (with both runs charged to the previous pitcher), the closer induced a groundball to the shortstop to finish off the victory. He owns a 3.14 ERA and 26:5 K:BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman will begin his minor-league rehab assignment at Class A Dayton Thursday, according to MLB.com.

Chapman is set to throw one inning in his first appearance since taking a line drive to the head in spring training. He is nearing a return to the majors, and could be back in a wee, but still has to get through three or four rehab appearances.

"We're going to get through one at a time," manager Bryan Price told MLB.com Wednesday. "We have a schedule. We have a template. We're not going through this blindly. We'd just like to see him go out there and pitch in a game before we announce any further outings. I think that's the responsible thing to do."

Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller survived a rocky start to his start Wednesday against torrid Milwaukee before settling down to earn his third win.

Miller yielded a two-run homer to Matt Reynolds in the second and solo blast to Carlos Gomez with one out in the third, followed by two singles. But he gave up just one more hit through the sixth inning. He ended up yielding six hits with three walks and one strikeout in lowering his ERA to 3.15.

He is scheduled to make his next start during the series in Atlanta early next week.

Reds manager Bryan Price said Wednesday closer Aroldis Chapman, who has been sidelined all season since being struck in the head by a line drive in spring training, could be back in 7-10 days, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly played long toss again Tuesday as he continues to recover from a right hamstring strain, MLB.com reports.

Kelly is eligible to come off the disabled list starting Friday but he won't make it back right away. He is expected to make at least one rehab start in the minors before returning.