MLB Player News

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen struck out two and pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 22nd save of the season Friday night against the Red Sox.

Opponents are 2-for-48 against Jansen since July 24. He is 22 of 24 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP.

Mets pitcher Carlos Torres will not join the rotation, as previous reported, thanks to the team's acquisition of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told MLB.com he expects Torres to remain in the bullpen through the rest of the season.

"This is not about being unhappy with Carlos," Alderson said. "This is about Carlos being a very important part of our bullpen. To put him out of there and put him in the rotation was going to weaken us, we felt, in the 'pen."

Torres has a 3.00 ERA in 45 innings on the season. 20 of his 23 appearances have come out of the bullpen this season.

Cardinals starting pitcher Joe Kelly (5-3) tossed a quality start as he earned his fifth win of the season Thursday night against the Braves at Turner Field. The right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out three over six innings of a 6-2 victory.

Kelly is 5-0 with a 1.79 ERA in his past seven starts after starting the season 0-3 with a 4.15 ERA through his first 43 1/3 innings logged this season. He is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday at home against Cincinnati. He is 2-3 with a 3.98 ERA in 14 appearances (five starts).

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen wasn't in top form Wednesday against the Marlins, but he still had relatively little trouble closing out a 4-1 win.

Jansen walked one batter and needed 24 pitches to get three outs, but he eventually did so without surrendering a run in the inning. He struck out one batter for his 21st save. 

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman converted a six-out save for the first time in his career in Wednesday's 10-7 win over the Diamondbacks. Chapman was summoned to the mound with no outs and one man on the eighth after an apparent injury to Jonathan Broxton and threw 35 pitches in two scoreless innings while walking two, striking out one and allowing one hit.

Chapman also recorded his first career at-bat in the game, striking out on six pitches in the bottom of the eighth inning. He's converted 32 of 37 save opportunities while posting a 2.92 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 87:23 K:BB ratio in 52 1/3 innings.

Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel picked up save number 40 against the Mets Wednesday.

Kimbrel gave up one hit during his scoreless inning. He struck out one batter. Kimbrel has a 1.05 ERA this year.

Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen had little trouble setting down the Marlins in order Tuesday, in a 6-4 win. 

Jansen needed 12 pitches to finish off a perfect ninth inning, throwing 11 of them for strikes. He struck out one batter, while picking up one groundball and one flyball out each.

Jansen now has 20 saves in 23 chances, with a 2.01 ERA and 0.81 WHIP for the season. 

Pirates reliever Mark Melancon recorded his eighth save Monday night in San Diego. Now the team's full-time closer, Melancon didn't have a clean inning.

Melancon gave up a run on two hits in the ninth, but struck out two batters and held down the victory over the Padres. His ERA is 0.93 on the season.

The 28-year-old gave up his first earned run since July 21 in Monday's save. Still, he's gone 8 for 10 thus far for the Pirates.

Cardinals starter Shelby Miller had to settle for a no-decision Monday night in Milwaukee. The starter was solid for St. Louis, but his offense didn't ignite until later in the contest.

Miller gave up just two runs on five hits and four walks over 5 1/3 innings. He wasn't as economical as he could have been as he threw 101 pitches on the night. He struck out eight batters and his ERA is at 2.98.

The 22-year-old hasn't won a start since moving to 11-7 back on Aug. 2. He is 11-8 now. Miller makes his next scheduled start on Saturday against Atlanta.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman gave up two hits in the ninth Monday at home against Arizona. Chapman still earned his 31st save.

Chapman needed just nine pitches to retire three batters in the ninth in the victory. His ERA is 3.04. He did not strike out a batter.

Chapman rebounded from giving up two runs his last time out without retiring a batter in his fifth blown save. He's struck out 86 over 50 1/3 innings this season and is 31 for 36 in save chances.