MLB Player News

Ashcraft allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over two scoreless relief innings to earn a hold in Friday's 5-3 win over Pittsburgh.

Ashcraft provided the bridge in the seventh and eighth innings, setting up Emilio Pagan for the save and picking up his second straight multi-inning hold. Ashcraft has not allowed a run over six appearances (7.1 innings) this season. Reds manager Terry Francona has leaned on Pagan as the team's closer, as the manager navigates endgame situations without Alexis Diaz (hamstring). However, Ashcraft's move from starter to reliever has been a success thus far and could eventually earn him save chances.

Diaz recorded his third save of the season in Friday's 7-6 win over the A's, giving up two runs on one hit and two walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Called in to protect a 7-4 lead, Diaz nearly made a hash of it as he led off the ninth by issuing two walks sandwiched around a strikeout of Brent Rooker. A Shea Langeliers double and a JJ Bleday sacrifice fly brought home both free passes, but Diaz got Jacob Wilson to ground out to escape the jam. The veteran closer has yet to blow a save in 2025, but Diaz has been tagged for five runs in his last two appearances, leaving him with a 7.94 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 7:4 K:BB through 5.2 innings.

The Twins recalled Funderburk from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday.

After pitching 5.2 shutout frames with a 7:2 K:BB to start the year in Triple-A, Funderburk will now join the big-league bullpen to replace Scott Blewett, who was DFA'd in a corresponding move. Funderburk owns a 5.01 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 46.2 frames in his MLB career, so he may be limited to low-leverage situations to begin with while on the Twins.

Graveman (back) threw a bullpen session Friday, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Graveman, who missed all of spring training with the injury, will require at least one more bullpen session before the next step in his recovery, which is facing live batters. After that, there is expected to be a rehab assignment.

The Twins designated Blewett for assignment Saturday.

Blewett made two appearances after being selected from the minors, allowing one earned run while striking out five batters and walking none across 4.2 innings. Despite his strong performance, the Twins will move him to the minors and call up Kody Funderburk from Triple-A to fill the open spot in the bullpen.

Ginkel (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Friday, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

Ginkel, whose shoulder injury surfaced late in spring training, has thrown a couple of sessions and is ready to face live batters. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said it's likely that Ginkel will throw a rehab game before being activated.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Friday that Matz remains on track to start April 16 against the Astros as part of a six-man rotation, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Matz will be available out of the bullpen this weekend against the Phillies, although maybe not for multiple innings since he has a start looming Wednesday. It's not yet clear how long the Cardinals plan to use a six-man rotation, but it sounds like Matz will be in line to make multiple starts. The left-hander has pitched well out of the bullpen so far this season, permitting three runs (two earned) with a 5:1 K:BB over 9.1 frames. Matz's high pitch count among his four appearances is 53, and that came back on April 4. He's thrown 16 and 11 pitches over his last two appearances, respectively, so he'll likely have workload limitations versus Houston.

Pagan struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to collect his third save of the season in Friday's 5-3 win over the Pirates.

Friday's outing was exactly what Pagan needed to bounce back from his last appearance Wednesday, which saw him give up a walk-off home run against the Giants. He sent Endy Rodriguez and Ke'Bryan Hayes down on strikes, and Jack Suwinski ended things quickly with a flyout on the first pitch he saw. Pagan is still the only reliever in the Reds' bullpen with multiple saves, though he may not get many more ninth-inning chances with Alexis Diaz (hamstring) approaching a return from the IL.

Martin (0-2) took the loss Friday against the Mariners after giving up two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings. He struck out one without walking a batter.

Martin served up a go-ahead two-run homer to Cal Raleigh in the eighth inning, allowing the Mariners to score what were ultimately the winning runs. Although the veteran right-hander entered spring training as Texas' presumed favorite for saves, he's fallen behind Luke Jackson in the bullpen pecking order to open the campaign. Even so, Martin holds a 2.25 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 12:2 K:BB with four holds over eight innings this year, so he should remain in the high-leverage mix going forward.

Munoz picked up the save Friday against the Rangers after giving up one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out one.

Jonah Heim singled to bring the potential tying run to the plate, but Munoz was able to get Dustin Harris to strike out and Marcus Semien to ground into a double play to preserve the victory for the Mariners. The hard-throwing right-hander has been a lights-out closer to begin the campaign, having not yielded a run while converting each of his first five save chances to go with 10 punchouts over seven innings.