MLB Player News

Santos (biceps) started his rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma against Albuquerque on Friday, firing a scoreless eighth inning during which he allowed a hit and a walk.

Santos got some good work in during his first game action since July 31, throwing 15 pitches during his one frame. The right-hander may need only a couple more setback-free outings before being deemed ready for activation and potentially assisting the Mariners' bullpen down the final stretch of the regular season.

McFarland (2-2) took the loss and a blown save against the Tigers on Saturday, allowing two unearned runs on a hit and a walk over one-third of an inning.

McFarland authored a messy start to a seventh-inning stint that started with the Athletics up 1-0, allowing a single and a walk to two of the first three batters he faced. Both would eventually come around to score, although McFarland was on the mound only for the first run, and a throwing error by Zack Gelof on the leadoff hit also kept both runs unearned. McFarland had last qualified for a decision -- a victory in that instance -- back on Aug. 7, and he still holds a 1.29 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over the 14 innings he's pitched in the second half of the season.

Yates earned a save against the Angels on Saturday, striking out one batter in a perfect ninth inning.

Yates had little trouble closing the door in the ninth frame, preserving a two-run lead with a 1-2-3 inning on just 12 pitches. The right-hander picked up his third save over the past four days and is now an outstanding 28-for-29 in save conversions on the season. Yates has been dominant in his first campaign as Texas' closer, posting a 1.32 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 79:24 K:BB over 54.2 innings.

Jansen (lat) struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 7-5 win over the White Sox.

Jansen was dealing with a lat injury that made him unavailable to pitch Friday, two days after a four-run meltdown versus the Mets. He wasn't heavily tested in Saturday's contest, as he required just seven pitches (six strikes) to retire the side for his 26th save in 30 chances this season. Jansen is at a 3.62 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:18 K:BB through 49.2 innings, though he had allowed seven runs over 4.2 innings across his previous six appearances before his clean outing Saturday.

Bivens will start Sunday's game against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bivens will be making his second MLB start, with each of his last 13 appearances with San Francisco coming out of the bullpen after he tossed five innings and allowed one run in a no-decision during his start against the Dodgers on June 30. Despite being deployed in relief lately, Bivens should be relatively stretched out after he tossed four innings and 54 pitches in his most recent appearance in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks. Landen Roupp and Tristan Beck are candidates to piggyback or work multiple innings behind Bivens if the right-hander isn't able to offer the Giants as much length in a starting role as expected.

Chapman (5-5) took the loss and blew the save against the Nationals in Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader, allowing four runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two batters over two-thirds of an inning.

Chapman entered in the ninth frame after Pittsburgh scored twice to take a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. The veteran fireballer retired two of the first three batters he faced but then allowed back-to-back singles followed by back-to-back doubles as Washington plated four runs. Before Saturday, Chapman had converted both of his save opportunities since David Bednar was moved out of the closer role, but Saturday's blow-up may allow Dennis Santana -- who picked up a save Monday and has fired 12 straight scoreless outings -- to get additional ninth-inning looks.

Kittredge (4-4) allowed a hit and a run while striking out one over one scoreless inning to earn the win Saturday over the Mariners.

Kittredge kept the game scoreless in the top of the eighth inning, and the Cardinals broke through in their half of the frame with a two-run home run by Pedro Pages. Kittredge extended his scoreless streak to nine innings, a span in which he's allowed four hits and two walks while striking out seven over nine innings. The setup man has a 2.98 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 56:18 K:BB with one save and 32 holds over 60.1 innings this season.

Helsley allowed a hit and struck out three over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Mariners.

Helsley was able to make Pedro Pages' two-run home run in the eighth inning stand as the winning hit. Helsley blew his last save chance Tuesday versus the Brewers, but that was by allowing the initial runner to score in the 11th inning. He has not given up an earned run since Aug. 6, going 8-for-9 in save opportunities while yielding just eight hits and three walks with 16 strikeouts over 12 innings since that date. For the year, Helsley has a 2.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 71:23 K:BB with 43 saves in 47 attempts over 60.2 innings.

Ortiz (6-5) took the loss in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader against Washington, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out two batters over 5.2 innings.

Ortiz was originally scheduled to start Friday, but his outing was pushed back a day due to a weather-related postponement. The right-hander wasn't at his sharpest against Washington, as only 58 of his 100 pitches were strikes and he departed with two outs in the sixth inning trailing 4-0. Ortiz fell one out shy of recording his third straight quality start, however. He'll look to bounce back in his next start, which is tentatively slated to be at home against Kansas City.

Finnegan notched a save in each game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Pirates, allowing one run on three hits and a walk in Game 1 and pitching a perfect frame with two strikeouts in Game 2.

Finnegan struggled a bit in the matinee, allowing four of the first five batters he faced to reach base to allow a run to cross the plate and load the bases with one out. He was able to escape the jam, however, by getting Bryan De La Cruz to ground into a game-ending double play. Finnegan tossed 23 pitches in that outing, but that didn't stop Nationals manager Dave Martinez from going to him again with the team up by two runs in the ninth inning of the nightcap. This time Finnegan got the job done with ease, retiring the side in order on 19 pitches. With the pair of saves, Finnegan is up to 36 on the season, third most in the majors.