MLB Player News

Jax (2-5) picked up the win Friday, giving up two runs on four hits in five innings during a 5-2 victory over the Nationals. He struck out five without walking a batter.

The right-hander sevrved up solo shots to CJ Abrams in the second inning and Luis Garcia in the third, but Jax otherwise kept Washington's hitters at bay over 69 pitches (47 strikes) as he collected his first win since April 18. He's lasted five innings in three straight starts as he continues his adjustment to a rotation role, but as of yet he hasn't recorded an out in the sixth inning in any of his 10 starts this season or thrown more than 72 pitches, usage which limits his fantasy appeal. Jax will take a 3.67 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 46:18 K:BB through 49 innings into his next outing, which is set to come at home next week against the Royals.

Mikolas (2-6) took the loss Friday as the Nationals were downed 5-2 by the Rays, giving up five runs on nine hits and a walk over six innings of relief. He struck out two.

A three-run homer by Jonathan Aranda in the third inning and a solo shot by Jonny DeLuca in the eighth bookended Mikolas' night as the bulk reliever and accounted for most of the damage off the right-hander. It's the second time in four June outings that he's been tagged for five or more runs, but Mikolas blanked the opposition over 11.2 innings in his other two appearances this month. The volatile veteran will take a 5.47 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 43:17 K:BB and 1.95 HR/9 through 74 innings into his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home next week against the Phillies.

Fairbanks worked a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his 10th save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Giants. He didn't strike out a batter.

The right-hander needed 17 pitches (12 strikes) to coax weak contact out of Drew Gilbert, Daniel Susac and Luis Arraez to wrap things up. Fairbanks hasn't blown a save since May 16 in his first appearance back from a stint on the IL, and since that game he's converted all five of his chances while posting a 4.09 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB in 11 innings.

Gibson (1-2) picked up the win Friday, striking out one in 1.2 perfect innings of relief in a 4-3 victory over the Giants.

The Marlins went with a true bullpen day Friday, as none of their eight pitchers recorded more than five outs, and Gibson was not only the most effective of them, he was still the pitcher of record when his team took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning. The 28-year-old southpaw held a brutal 14.73 ERA after his second big-league appearance of the season May 21, but since then he's delivered a 2.70 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 8:4 K:BB over 10 innings while mainly working in lower-leverage spots.

Alvarado (3-1) earned the win in relief Friday against the Angels after tossing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. He did not issue a walk.

Alvarado pitched the ninth and 10th innings for the A's and delivered excellent results, throwing 13 of his 21 pitches for strikes and only allowing one baserunner. Even though his 5.00 ERA doesn't inspire confidence, a 1.17 WHIP and 3.26 FIP suggest he's been unlucky. Alvarado has four holds, two saves and a 22:7 K:BB across 18 innings in 16 appearances this season. Since returning to the majors June 6, he's posted a 1.08 ERA with 13 strikeouts and no walks across six outings and 8.1 innings.

Sabrowski allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out one over one-third of an inning in Friday's 9-3 loss to the Astros.

Sabrowski entered in the eighth inning with the Guardians down 7-3. He's emerged as a trusted arm in high-leverage situations but was given a low-leverage spot in first appearance after coming off the injured list earlier Friday. When he went on the IL on May 20 with left elbow inflammation, Sabrowski had a 1.17 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 39 strikeouts and 13 walks over 21 innings.

Senzatela (7-0) earned the win Friday against the Pirates after tossing a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one.

Senzatela continues to have an outstanding season out of the Rockies' bullpen, lowering his ERA to 2.23 with this scoreless outing. It was also a bounce-back performance from the veteran, who had given up runs in three of his previous four appearances. Senzatela has posted career-best marks in ERA and WHIP (1.07) out of the bullpen this season across 22 outings and 40.1 innings.

Johnson (elbow) allowed one run on two hits and struck out one over one inning for Triple-A Louisville on Friday.

Johnson began a rehab assignment Friday, throwing 17 pitches (13 strikes). He was originally expected to begin the assignment Thursday, but it was pushed out a day. Johnson is not expected to need much more than one appearance and could rejoin Cincinnati this weekend.

Montgomery (2-2) was tagged with the loss and his second blown save of the season Friday against the Rockies. He allowed two runs on three hits over two-thirds of an inning, striking out one.

Montgomery entered the game with the Pirates holding a 3-2 lead and one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. He retired TJ Rumfield with a groundout, but back-to-back singles from Tyler Freeman and Cole Carrigg set up Braxton Fulford, who gave the Rockies the lead with the game-winning hit -- a two-run double on a line drive to center. Montgomery then struck out Ezequiel Tovar, but the damage was already done. The 26-year-old southpaw has been inconsistent of late. He was on a run of four consecutive scoreless outings before this game, but he's also given up multiple runs in three of his last seven appearances. He has a 7.94 ERA and 2.29 WHIP across six outings (5.2 innings) since the beginning of June.

Jansen tossed a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout to earn the save in Friday's 4-3 win over the White Sox.

Jansen needed only 10 pitches to put Chicago down in order and secure his eighth save of the season in 12 chances. The veteran righty has now made two scoreless appearances with three strikeouts since returning from a brief stint on the injured list due to right pelvic inflammation. It looks like the reset helped get Jansen back on track after a rough patch earlier in the year, and he should remain locked in as Detroit's closer.