MLB Player News

Cardinals pitcher Joe Kelly made his first appearance since last Tuesday on Monday night against the Pirates. After dealing with a hand injury, he worked two scoreless innings in a 10-6 win.

The right-hander gave up just one hit and struck out one.

Kelly lowered his ERA to 6.35.

Reds closer Aroldis Chapman earned his first save in over a week on Monday night against the Phillies. He entered in the ninth inning with a two-run lead and needed 14 pitches to retire the side in order.

Chapman, who struck out two, picked up his third save in the 4-2 win.

Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel fired another pristine inning of relief to notch his sixth save of the season during Atlanta's 3-1 victory over Washington on Saturday. Kimbrel, who is sporting a perfect ERA, struck out a batter for the sixth straight game as he needed just 10 pitches (eight strikes) to complete his outing.

Braves closer Craig Kimbrel continued his perfect start to the season Friday, tossing a one-two-three ninth in an extra-inning victory over the Nationals.

Kimbrel set down the side in order with one strikeout in the 10th inning to finish off a 6-4, come-from-behind win. Kimbrel saved his fifth game in five tries and his ERA hangs at a pristine 0.00 through five innings.  

Cardinals rookie pitcher Shelby Miller was nearly flawless in his second outing of the season, allowing just a leadoff single and hitting Alex Gonzalez in the second inning before retiring the final 17 batters faced in a 2-0 win over the Brewers Friday.

Miller threw 113 pitches (87 for strikes) in the seven-inning outing, striking out eight batters to move to 2-0. He'll take a 1.74 ERA into a Wednesday start against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen was called upon to pitch the ninth inning of Thursday's game against the Padres and preserved a 3-2 lead, striking out one while allowing no walks or hits to pick up his first save of the year.

Dodgers closer Brandon League threw 34 pitches the day before, so he stayed in the bullpen while Jansen shut the door.

Mark Melancon has thrown five scoreless inning for the Pirates so far and told MLB.com on Wednesday that he benefited from working with pitching coach Ray Searage and Jim Benedict, a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington, during the spring.

"I learned more about my delivery and about pitching in general in a month of spring training than I have my whole pro career," Melancon said.

The right-hander is coming off a campaign in which he posted a 6.20 ERA in 41 appearances for the Red Sox.

"He brought awareness to some of the things in my delivery which, honestly, I haven't really yet changed," Melancon said of Benedict. "It's a work in progress, and I'm just glad I'm aware of it, so in the long run I can deal with it and be that much better."

Maybe my John Axford advice on Tuesday ("pick him up if he's dropped in your league!") was somewhat untimely, as the embattled reliever gave up three runs on two walks and a hit against the Cubs Tuesday night. But I'm sticking with the analysis and picking up the scraps as owners drop him.

Just to clarify -- I wasn't saying start him. I wasn't saying he'd be awesome immediately. I wasn't even saying I like him a lot. I was just saying that the Brewers' plan -- for all the world to see -- is to fix Axford, then reinstall him as the closer. I figured it would take a couple weeks; it may take a little longer. 

Axford is, for lack of a better comparison, the boomerang from The Legend of Zelda. And not in the corny "he will come back around" way. Yes, you may have a white sword now (even one that shoots other glowing swords from it), as well as a candle and a bomb (say, Addison Reed and Kenley Jansen) but that doesn't mean you just throw away the boomerang. You keep it in your arsenal, because it may come in handy later. If you never use it again, such is life. But there's no reason to think that something helpful early won't be helpful again. That is John Axford right now. Wholly useless, but worth hanging on to just in case. 

Diamondbacks injured hurler Daniel Hudson is expected to throw live batting practice on April 16 for the first time since he underwent Tommy John surgery last year, MLB.com reports. 

Hudson threw a bullpen session Tuesday and is scheduled for another Friday. If he comes through that OK, live batters are the next step. 

"He's throwing the ball real well," Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. Arizona expects to have Hudson back some time after the All-Star break. 

Braves closer Craig Kimbrel notched save No. 4 during Tuesday's contest against the Marlins.

The right-hander entered the game in the ninth inning with a one-run lead and walked leadoff hitter Donovan Solano before settling down. He pitched a scoreless inning as he struck out one and walked one to secure a 3-2 victory.

Kimbrel, who has a 0.75 WHIP, has allowed just one hit and has yet to allow a run through his first four save opportunities.