MLB Player News

Kopech picked up the save over the Padres on Wednesday, allowing one walk over a scoreless ninth inning while striking out one.

Kopech relieved Blake Treinen to open the ninth and retired the first two batters on five pitches before surrendering a walk to Jake Cronenworth. The right-hander was then able to strike out Donovan Solano for the final out to lock down his 15th save of the campaign and his third in the month of September. Kopech has now allowed at least one baserunner in five-consecutive appearances and at least one free pass in four of his last five. However, he's also converted each of his last seven save opportunities, with his last blown save coming back on July 7 against the Marlins.

Fitts (0-1) took the loss Wednesday, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks over five innings as the Red Sox were downed 6-1 by the Blue Jays. He struck out two.

The rookie right-hander came into the game having not allowed an earned run in his first three big-league starts, but after three more shutout frames, Fitts ran into trouble in the fourth when Vladimir Guerrero and Alejandro Kirk led off the inning with back-to-back doubles. Fitts wraps up his first taste of the majors with a 1.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 9:7 K:BB through 20.2 innings, and depending on the moves the Red Sox make this winter, the 24-year-old could head into next spring with a chance to win a regular spot in the rotation.

Akin recorded the final two outs of Wednesday's 9-7 win over the Yankees to record his first save of the season.

It's the third career save for the southpaw, with the prior two being of the three-inning variety and not traditional save situations. The Orioles didn't look like they would have one of those either Wednesday, heading into the ninth inning with a 9-3 lead, but Matt Bowman made a mess of things and Akin got the call to retire Austin Wells and Giancarlo Stanton, giving Baltimore's high-leverage options like Seranthony Dominguez and Yennier Cano an extra day of rest ahead of the playoffs. On the season, Akin sports a 3.13 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 96:19 K:BB through 77.2 innings, but those career-best ratios have led to only three wins and six holds in addition to Wednesday's save.

Martinez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Giants.

The Diamondbacks were up, 5-1, when manager Torey Lovullo had Martinez enter the contest to open the seventh inning. He allowed the first two batters to reach but managed to wriggle out of danger. The right-hander was sent out to start the eighth and was removed after a double and single made it a 5-2 game. It's unclear why Lovullo had his closer enter what would normally be a low-leverage spot. Martinez has pitched at regular intervals over the past week, so it wasn't an issue of rust. Perhaps it was due to Lovullo's desire to end the team's three-game losing skid.

Walters tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Guardians.

Walters served as the opener in a bullpen game and retired all five batters he faced while throwing 13 of 20 pitches for strikes. The 23-year-old has not surrendered a hit or earned run through his first 7.2 major-league innings while posting a 6:4 K:BB.

Helsley earned a save Wednesday, inducing a double play on the only pitch he threw against the Rockies.

St. Louis carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth frame, but Matthew Liberatore gave up a leadoff homer to Brenton Doyle and issued a one-out walk to Michael Toglia to prompt Helsley's entrance in a save situation. Helsley didn't take long to extinguish Colorado's hopes of a comeback, as Sam Hilliard grounded into a game-ending double play on the right-hander's first pitch. The save was Helsley's league-leading 48th of the campaign, and he has an outside chance of reaching 50 with four games remaining on St. Louis' schedule.

Suarez allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five innings in a no-decision against the White Sox on Wednesday.

All of Chicago's runs against Suarez came via the long ball -- the left-hander gave up a two-run shot to Korey Lee in the second inning and a solo blast to Lenyn Sosa in the fourth. It was the only time this season Suarez gave up multiple homers in an outing. That's partly due to the fact that he spent much of the campaign as a reliever, though he came into Wednesday having yielded just two long balls over his past 36 frames. Suarez returned Sept. 9 from an extended stay on the injured list and had held his opponents without an earned run over 13 frames prior to giving up Lee's second-inning blast Wednesday.

Erceg struck out one in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Nationals. He struck out one batter.

Erceg was summoned for the second straight game and locked down his 13th save on just 12 pitches. According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the 29-year-old secured the Royals' franchise-record 26th consecutive scoreless inning. He has converted all five of his September save attempts and owns a 3.41 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 71:16 K:BB across 60.2 innings this season.

Junis did not factor into the decision in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Guardians, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts over five innings.

Junis shook off a leadoff homer by Steven Kwan and mostly pitched well, throwing 48 of 72 pitches for strikes. The 32-year-old has completed at least five innings while yielding two earned runs or fewer in each of his last four starts. He'll finish the season with a 2.69 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 51:8 K:BB across 67 innings with the Brewers and Reds.

Clase earned the save against the Reds on Wednesday, allowing one hit and two walks with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

Clase was called upon to protect a 5-2 lead in the ninth frame and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs to secure his 47th save of the season. While he was a bit shaky, the closer has not allowed an earned run in 10 September outings. He owns a microscopic 0.61 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 66:10 K:BB across 73.1 innings and is in a tightly contested battle with Ryan Helsley of the Cardinals for the major-league lead in saves.