MLB Player News

Miller pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Cardinals to record his fourth save Wednesday, striking out two and walking one while not allowing any hits.

Miller entered the contest with a three-run lead in the top of the ninth and proceeded to walk the leadoff man before getting two of the next three batters to go down on strikes, both swinging. The right-hander needed only nine pitches to retire the final three batters and record his fourth save in as many chances. Miller has not allowed a hit over his last four appearances, posting a 9:1 K:BB over that stretch.

Gibaut (forearm) did not make a scheduled appearance for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday in order to be further evaluated, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Gibaut had thrown 25 pitches in a rehab appearance Tuesday and was scheduled to pitch again the next day. The Reds had targeted April 20 as a return for the right-hander, but manager David Bell said it will likely take longer now. The team will know more after Gibaut visits a doctor, and the pitcher could have his rehab assignment paused.

Bednar allowed three earned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out two across two-thirds of an inning Wednesday against the Mets.

Bednar hadn't pitched since Friday, so the Pirates got him work, even with a five-run deficit. He allowed three of the first four batters he faced to reach base and allowed an earned run, though he managed to end his appearance with a pair of punchouts. His poor line was made worse when Josh Fleming allowed a pair of inherited runners to score. Bednar's allowed at least one earned run in four of his seven appearances and has an ERA of 13.50.

Miller (3-1) allowed a run on two hits across an inning of relief to take the loss Wednesday against the Rangers.

After starting the season with seven scoreless innings, Miller has now allowed runs in both of his last two appearances, suffering a blown save and a loss in the process. The righty still has a 1.93 ERA, and despite the hiccup, he should remain one of the top bullpen options for the Tigers moving forward.

Fairbanks (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over one inning against the Angels. He didn't generate a strikeout.

Fairbanks entered the ninth frame with a one-run advantage but was unable to come away with his fourth save of the campaign. Instead, he surrendered a pair of runs before ultimately stranding a pair of Angels in scoring position by getting Logan O'Hoppe to fly out and end the inning. Fairbanks has endured a shaky start to 2024, having given up a run in five of his eight appearances. However, Wednesday's outing marked his first blown save of the season.

Garcia earned the save in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader versus Kansas City after allowing a hit and a walk over two scoreless innings.

Closer Michael Kopech and setup men Jordan Leasure and Steven Wilson all pitched in Wednesday's matinee, and Garcia was called upon for the multi-inning save in Game 2. It's just the second save of Garcia's career, and the scoreless outing brings his ERA down to 7.27 and WHIP to 1.62. The 24-year-old is pitching better of late with four straight scoreless appearances, though he likely has a lot more work to do in order to be in the mix regularly for high-leverage chances.

Holmes earned the save in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Blue Jays, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning.

Holmes has yet to allow an earned run through nine appearances this year and he improved to 7-for-8 in save chances, tying Kyle Finnegan and Ryan Helsley for the league lead. The 31-year-old Holmes is establishing himself as one of the better closing options in baseball, earning a firm grasp on the ninth-inning job in New York after pitching to sub-3.00 ERAs in each of his previous two campaigns.

Wesneski (1-0) tossed four scoreless innings of relief to earn the win Wednesday against the Diamondbacks. He allowed just one hit and struck out two.

Wesneski was summoned from Triple-A Iowa earlier in the day, and he quickly made an impact. The righty pitched well for Iowa, posting a 2.53 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 10.2 innings, and he has a chance to fill a long-relief role with the Cubs moving forward. Wesneski will have limited fantasy value unless he's able to enter the rotation at some point, which doesn't seem to be imminent.

Stephenson will miss the entire 2024 season due to an elbow injury, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports,

The Angels will announce more details regarding Stephenson's injury Thursday, but his elbow issue is apparently significant enough to rule him out for the remainder of the year. The 31-year-old righty had been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Salt Lake but was removed from his appearance Saturday after facing just one batter.

Alvarado picked up the save Wednesday, allowing one hit and no walks with one strikeout over a scoreless inning against Colorado.

After keeping the Rockies off the scoreboard in the ninth inning Wednesday, Alvarado has now turned in eight straight scoreless appearances (7.2 innings) since his nightmare five-run 2024 debut. While it'll still take some time to get Alvarado's ERA down to an acceptable number, fantasy managers can take solace in knowing that Alvarado has looked like himself since turning the page on his March 29 outing.