MLB Player News

Green struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his eighth save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Yankees.

Facing the top of New York's order, Green needed 16 pitches to sit down Alex Verdugo, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in a very impressive performance. The right-hander appears set as the Blue Jays' closer for the rest of the season unless Jordan Romano is able to make a late return from arthroscopic surgery on his elbow, and Green has earned the role by posting a 1.84 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 14.2 innings since the beginning of July while converting all six of his save chances.

Holmes is slated to start Saturday's game against the Marlins.

Holmes had made his first 10 MLB appearances out of the Atlanta bullpen, but he was called upon for a start in Monday's game against the Brewers. He took a no-decision in Atlanta's 8-3 loss, covering five innings and striking out eight while allowing just one run on three hits and no walks. The performance was enough to earn Holmes a second turn through the rotation, but he could be at risk of heading back to the bullpen as soon as next week if both Max Fried (forearm) and Reynaldo Lopez (forearm) are ready to make starts.

Ortiz escaped with a no-decision in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Diamondbacks, coughing up six runs on six hits -- including three home runs -- and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

All three long balls came in the first inning, as Ketel Marte, Joc Pederson and Josh Bell went back-to-back-to-back as part of a five-run frame. It's the first time since June 21 that Ortiz has served up multiple homers, and over six appearances between those two games he'd posted a 1.71 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 27:6 K:BB through 31.2 innings. With Jared Jones (lat) inching closer to a return though, Ortiz likely can't afford more meltdowns if he wants to hang onto his spot in the rotation. He's scheduled to make his next start at home next week against the Padres.

Puk allowed one run on three hits over one-third of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.

Puk entered to clean up a mess made by Kevin Ginkel in the sixth inning but couldn't prevent the Pirates from taking the lead. Both Puk and Ginkel were speculated as options to close out games after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald would no longer be the club's closer. Ryan Thompson eventually closed out the win after Arizona retook the lead, but Lovullo, who did not specifically name a replacement for Sewald, trusts all three of those relievers.

Ginkel allowed three runs on one hit, one walk and a hit batsman over two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 9-8 win over the Pirates.

Ginkel entered in the sixth inning with Arizona up 6-3 and by the time he and A.J. Puk finished the frame, the Diamondbacks were down 7-6. This came on the day that manager Torey Lovullo announced Paul Sewald would no longer be the team's closer, which led to speculation about both Ginkel and Puk as options to close games. Ryan Thompson eventually closed the win, but Lovullo never mentioned a specific player as Sewald's direct replacement. The manager has a number of arms he trusts, including Ginkel.

Miller (3-1) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Friday against the Cardinals. He struck out one.

Chicago starter Javier Assad only lasted four innings in this one, which opened the door for Miller to pick up his third win in relief this year. The righty has emerged as a nice bullpen option for the Cubs, posting a 2.06 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 36 strikeouts across 39.1 innings. He's still likely behind both Hector Neris and Porter Hodge in the pecking order for saves, though with Mark Leiter traded to New York, Miller could at least see a bit more high-leverage work moving forward.

Thompson allowed one run on two hits in one inning Friday, recording the save in a 9-8 win over Pittsburgh.

Thompson was given the first save opportunity after manager Torey Lovullo announced earlier in the day that Paul Sewald was being removed from the closer job. It was the second straight save converted by Thompson, who closed out Wednesday's win when Sewald couldn't. Lovullo could also use Kevin Ginkel or A.J. Puk in save situations, but those two pitched earlier in the game Friday, combining to give up four runs in the sixth inning.

Vodnik walked one and struck out one in a scoreless and hitless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-2 win over the Padres.

All five of Vodnik's saves this year have come since July 6. He's on a four-inning scoreless streak currently, picking up two saves with a 4:2 K:BB in that span. The right-hander has a 3.70 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 53:25 K:BB over 58.1 innings this season. He may not be a full-time closer, but Vodnik appears to be at least at the head of a committee that will likely also see high-leverage work for Tyler Kinley and Justin Lawrence.

Kerkering will serve as the Philles' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Mariners, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Kerkering has opened a game once already this season, during which he posted a scoreless inning against the Athletics. He'll now be asked to do the same versus Seattle, giving bulk reliever Kolby Allard one less matchup against the Mariners' top three hitters.

Urena (3-6) took the loss Friday against the Red Sox, allowing seven runs on eight hits and no walks over four innings. He struck out two.

The veteran right-hander made his first start since June 5, firing 69 total pitches in this outing. Despite entering with an impressive 2.84 ERA over 31.2 innings across six starts this season, Urena was knocked around by the Red Sox, yielding three extra-base hits en route to a season-worst seven runs. With Max Scherzer (shoulder) hitting the injured list Friday, Urena likely sticks in the Texas rotation for the time being. He lines up to face the Yankees on the road in his next start.