MLB Player News

Blach (0-1) took the loss against San Diego on Wednesday, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks without striking out any batters over five innings.

Blach tossed an inning in relief in his season debut debut Monday, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him go five frames and throw 76 pitches two days later. The left-hander looked like he could be headed for an early exit after giving up four first-inning runs, but to his credit, he finished off his outing with four straight scoreless frames. It's unclear how Blach will be used by the Rockies moving forward -- last season, 13 of his 20 appearances for the team came in a starting role, while he made just one start across 24 outings in 2022.

Suarez earned a save against the Rockies on Wednesday, striking out one batter in a perfect inning.

Suarez needed just seven pitches (five of which were strikes) to set the Rockies down in order and preserve a three-run San Diego victory. The right-hander extended his streak of scoreless outings to nine and lowered his sterling ERA to 0.77. Suarez has been one of the league's best closers so far this season with nine saves (tied for first in MLB).

Payamps recorded the save in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Pirates, striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.

The Pirates made things interesting in the ninth, getting the tying and go-ahead runs on base on a pair of Milwaukee errors. However, Payamps got Jared Triolo to fly out before striking out Andrew McCutchen to seal the 3-2 victory, notching his fourth save of the year. The 30-year-old Payamps has three saves in his last four outings as he lowered his ERA to 3.72 with a 0.62 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB through 9.2 innings. Payamps appears to be the current favorite for saves but is hardly locked in as Milwaukee's closer, with Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill also in the mix.

Diaz earned the save in Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Phillies, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.

After allowing three runs and blowing a save in his first outing this year, Diaz has converted his subsequent five save opportunities, allowing just one run while striking out 10 over his last nine appearances. His ERA is down to 3.48 with a 1.16 WHIP across 10.1 innings this season.

Jax pitched a perfect ninth inning and struck out one to pick up his third save of the season Wednesday against the White Sox.

Jax seems to have taken hold of the closing job in place of Jhoan Duran, who's in the midst of a rehab assignment after suffering an oblique injury late in camp. Jax has twirled back-to-back perfect innings for a pair of saves and owns a 2.70 ERA with a 14:3 K:BB over 11 appearances (10 innings), but his run in the ninth inning will likely come to an end soon with Duran nearing activation.

Criswell (1-1) earned the win Wednesday over the Guardians, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out three over five scoreless innings.

Criswell was impressive in his second start this year, as he held the Guardians scoreless through five innings while throwing just 72 pitches en route to his first victory. The 27-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA to 2.38 on the season with a 1.15 WHIP and 7:2 K:BB across 11.1 innings. The Red Sox will likely continue to stretch out Criswell as a starter with Brayan Bello (lat), Nick Pivetta (elbow) and Garrett Whitlock (oblique) all on the IL. Criswell is currently lined up for a home matchup with the Giants early next week.

Henriquez will be optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The 23-year-old reliever was selected from St. Paul on Monday to add depth to Minnesota's bullpen, but he will head back across the Mississippi River on Thursday to make room for Simeon Woods Richardson. In his first big-league stint of the season, Henriquez struck out two batters across two scoreless innings during his lone appearance.

McArthur earned the save Wednesday against Toronto, allowing one hit and no walks with two strikeouts over a scoreless inning.

McArthur converted on his sixth consecutive save chance, keeping the Blue Jays off the scoreboard after entering the game with the Royals ahead by one run. He's rebounded from a rocky start to 2024 and hasn't allowed a run since April 3 (eight appearances), with 11 strikeouts over 9.2 innings in that stretch.

Neris allowed a solo home run but still managed to secure the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Astros. He struck out one.

Neris started the frame by allowing a home run to Jose Altuve, but he rebounded to retire the next three batters and earn his second save of the season. With Adbert Alzolay out of the closer's role following four blown saves, Neris figures to see plenty of endgame opportunities in the near future for the 15-9 Cubs. If the veteran pitches well, he could hold onto the job for the rest of the season.

Iglesias blew the save Wednesday against the Marlins, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and no walks across one inning. He struck out one.

Iglesias was given two runs of cushion in the ninth but allowed three consecutive singles to open up the frame. With the bases loaded and no outs, a hard-hit groundball by Josh Bell ricocheted off Matt Olson into Atlanta's dugout, allowing two runs to score. The outing snapped Iglesias's streak of seven straight appearances with a save and it was just his second outing allowing a run in 10 appearances.