MLB Player News

Fairbanks picked up the save Sunday against Baltimore, allowing one hit and no walks with three strikeouts across a scoreless ninth inning.

Fairbanks pounded the strike zone, as 12 of his 14 pitches were strikes. The 30-year-old has racked up eight consecutive scoreless innings, with two hits and no walks allowed during that stretch. He's 23-for-25 in save opportunities this season and has a 2.74 ERA and 1.08 WHIP across 42.2 innings.

Kimbrel (6-4) took the loss Sunday against Tampa Bay, allowing one run on no hits and three walks (one intentional) across one inning. He struck out two.

Kimbrel entered Sunday's contest in the eighth inning with the score tied 1-1 but couldn't keep the Rays off the board, winding up with the loss. He struggled to find the strike zone early, walking leadoff hitter Brandon Lowe on six pitches and walking Christopher Morel on four pitches a batter later. Kimbrel couldn't hold either baserunner, with Lowe immediately taking second, before a double-steal left Morel and Lowe in scoring position. Looking for a double-play ball, Kimbrel intentionally walked Josh Lowe. However, Curtis Mead delivered the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly. Kimbrel has surrendered at least one run in four of his last seven appearances and hasn't generated a save since July 7. The Orioles have looked elsewhere during the ninth inning in the wake of the 36-year-old's inconsistency, as Seranthony Dominguez picked up the save Saturday even though Kimbrel hadn't pitched in three days.

Triple-A Durham placed Sterner on its 7-day injured list Saturday with an unspecified injury.

Sterner hasn't pitched since Aug. 3 due to an unspecified injury or illness. The right-hander made appearances out of the Tampa Bay bullpen on May 31 and June 4 but has otherwise spent the 2024 season at Durham, producing a 3.76 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 45:16 K:BB in 40.2 innings.

Lambert (thumb) allowed two hits and a walk while striking out three over 2.1 scoreless innings in Sunday's 9-8 win over Atlanta.

Lambert bruised his thumb in an appearance versus the Mets on Thursday, but he was able to return in short order. Sunday marked just his third scoreless outing in seven appearances since the All-Star break, as Lambert remains in a long-relief role. For the season, he has a 5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 47:24 K:B through 55 innings over 25 appearances (three starts).

Vodnik allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 9-8 win over Atlanta.

Vodnik erased a leadoff single with a double play and then struck out Travis d'Arnaud to make the Rockies' eighth-inning rally stand for the win. Vodnik has kept runs off the board in seven of his last eight outings, though the exception in that span was a three-run meltdown versus the Mets. He's now up to eight saves while posting a 3.92 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 56:27 K:BB through 62 innings this season.

Foley did not appear in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants, with Will Vest earning the save instead.

Foley last pitched Friday and before that Wednesday, so he seemingly should have been available for the save opportunity Sunday. Instead, Vest was used and earned his first save of the season. Foley leads the Tigers with 15 saves, but he's also struggled a bit recently, as he has a 5.68 ERA and 1.74 WHIP since the beginning of July. Foley has a tenuous hold on the closer role, and with six Detroit relievers now having saves this year, it's a fairly murky bullpen situation at this point.

Vest worked around a walk to pitch a scoreless ninth inning and secure the save in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Giants. He struck out one.

Vest blew a save in his last appearance Thursday when he allowed two runs while retiring only two batters. The veteran righty bounced back with a better performance Sunday to earn his first save of the season. Jason Foley leads Detroit with 15 saves, but he wasn't used in Sunday's game after last pitching on Friday. Six players on the Tigers now have saves this year after Vest recorded his first, making this a murky bullpen at best currently.

Clase allowed two hits and a walk while striking out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Twins.

Clase allowed multiple baserunners for the first time since July 9. He loaded the bases with no outs, then got Willi Castro to strike out and Trevor Larnach to ground into a double play to end the threat. The save was Clase's 35th of the season, keeping him comfortably in second in the majors behind only St. Louis' Ryan Helsley (37). Clase doesn't often give up much either -- he has a 0.66 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 47:7 K:BB through 54.1 innings this season. Since he's pitched consecutive days, he may not be available for a save opportunity Monday versus the Cubs, which could lead to a rare chance for Cade Smith, Scott Barlow or Hunter Gaddis.

Bernardino was optioned to Triple-A Worcester after Sunday's game against the Astros, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Bernardino allowed four runs across 1.1 innings during Sunday's loss and is being sent down in favor of a fresh arm. The left-hander has a 3.83 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with 40 strikeouts over 40 innings in 43 appearances with Boston this season and could rejoin the big club down the stretch.

Walston (elbow) struck out five and allowed two hits and no walks over 3.2 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Reno on Sunday.

According to Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com, manager Torey Lovullo said July 26 that the Diamondbacks were undecided on what Walston's role might look like upon the left-hander's return from the 15-day injured list, but Walston's usage Sunday implies that he'll be built back up as a starter. With Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly both beating him back from the IL, the Diamondbacks don't have a rotation spot available for Walston at the moment, though the complexion of Arizona's pitching staff could change by the time Walston is ready for activation. Walston posted a 2.84 ERA and 11:9 K:BB across 12.2 innings in three outings (two starts) for Arizona before landing on the IL on June 6 with a left elbow strain.