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Ian Hamilton RP | ATL
Yankees' Ian Hamilton: Increasing intensity of throwing
Hamilton (lat) is scheduled to throw a high-intensity bullpen session Tuesday, per MLB.com.
Hamilton is recovering from the lat strain he suffered in mid-June. The righty reliever resumed throwing in early July but has yet to face live hitters. That could be his next step if Tuesday's session goes well, and Hamilton may be able to begin a minor-league rehab assignment within the next two weeks with a goal of rejoining the Yankees in late August or early September.
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Ben Joyce RP | LAA
Angels' Ben Joyce: Collects first save
Joyce picked up the save over the Mets on Saturday, hurling 1.1 perfect innings while striking out one batter.
Joyce entered the contest with two outs in the top of the eighth and a runner on third and was able to get Tyrone Taylor to ground out to escape the frame. The right-hander returned for the ninth and retired all three batters he faced, topping things off with a swinging strikeout of J.D. Martinez on a 104 mph fastball to end the game and secure his first save of the campaign. It stands to reason that the dazzling performance will earn Joyce more save opportunities moving forward, especially after Hunter Strickland coughed up multiple runs in the seventh of Saturday's contest to put the Angels behind late. The former has not allowed a run since June 11 against the Diamondbacks.
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Alex Faedo SP | TB
Tigers' Alex Faedo: Drawing opener assignment Sunday
Faedo will serve as the Tigers' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Royals.
Faedo will be making his third start of the season, but he's pitched just two and one innings in those outings and will likely be in store for a similar workload Sunday. Once Faedo exits the contest, left-hander Brant Hurter is expected to take over and serve as Detroit's bulk reliever in what will be his MLB debut.
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Kirby Yates RP | PIT
Rangers' Kirby Yates: Nails down save No. 20
Yates gave up two hits and struck out two over 1.1 scoreless innings Saturday to record his 20th save of the season in a 7-4 win over the Red Sox.
It's the first time since April 21 that Yates has worked more than one inning to notch a save, but the veteran right-hander hasn't seemed to care how many outs he needs to get the job done. He has yet to blow a save in 2024, and after four injury-plagued years he's managed to re-discover the form that saw him lead the majors with 41 saves in 2019 while earning NL Cy Young Award votes. Yates' 1.13 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 35.5 percent strikeout rate this season are also comparable to his 1.19 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 41.6 percent K rate from 2019.
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Dylan Lee RP | ATL
Braves' Dylan Lee: Sent to Triple-A
Atlanta optioned Lee to Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday.
The left-hander has been an effective bullpen piece for Atlanta this season with a 2.06 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 47:14 K:BB across 43.2 innings, but he'll be the odd man out Sunday to create roster space for the return of Max Fried (forearm), who was activated from the injured list ahead of his start Sunday against the Marlins. It should only be a matter of time before Lee is back in the big leagues.
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David Bednar RP | NYY
Pirates' David Bednar: Escapes with save No. 20
Bednar recorded his 20th save of the season in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks, giving up one run on two hits and one walk over one inning. He struck out two.
Entrusted with a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning, Bednar fanned the first two batters he faced before a Geraldo Perdomo double kicked off an Arizona rally that saw Alek Thomas come to the plate as the potential winning run, only to fly out. Bednar has been charged with a run in five of his last 10 appearances, but he's still converted all seven of his save chances during that stretch -- in fact, the right-hander hasn't blown a save since April 9.
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Hunter Bigge RP | TB
Rays' Hunter Bigge: Opening Sunday's game
Bigge will serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Sunday's game in Houston, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
After being acquired from the Cubs last Sunday as part of the three-player deal that sent Isaac Paredes to Chicago, Bigge was added to the Rays' 26-man active roster two days later. He's already turned in a pair of scoreless frames for Tampa Bay and has now given up just one earned run while striking out seven over his first 5.1 big-league innings, and he was dominant at the Triple-A level before that, accruing an 0.68 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 20:6 K:BB in 13.1 innings for the Cubs' affiliate in Iowa. Sunday will mark Bigge's first career start, but he's unlikely to cover more than inning or two before turning to game over to lefty Tyler Alexander, who is expected to operate as a bulk reliever.
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Emilio Pagan RP | CIN
Reds' Emilio Pagan: Makes first rehab outing
Pagan (lat) struck out one over one scoreless inning in his rehab appearance for Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.
Pagan kicked off a rehab assignment Saturday and is expected to make three to five more appearances in the minors before being activated. He landed on the 15-day injured list in June then was transferred to the 60-day IL a few weeks later. Pagan is eligible to be activated Aug. 8.
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Jason Foley RP | SF
Tigers' Jason Foley: Earns win in relief Saturday
Foley (3-3) allowed two unearned runs on one hit across two innings of relief to earn the win in extra innings Saturday against the Royals. He struck out one.
Foley didn't enter the contest until the top of the 10th inning, when he allowed the automatic runner on second base to score following a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly. He allowed the automatic runner to score again in the 11th, but the Tigers scored twice in the bottom half to give the righty the win. Foley has ceded some ninth-inning work to other relievers, though he's still clearly trusted in high-leverage spots and remains the team's top closer. He leads the Tigers by a wide margin with 15 saves this season.