MLB Player News

Brash allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 9-7 win over the Angels.

He allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base before settling down. Andres Munoz had converted the Mariners' first two save chances since they traded away Paul Sewald, but he'd pitched three of the last four days, allowing Brash to step up in a high-leverage spot. The 25-year-old righty has two saves and 15 holds this season while pitching to a 3.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 80:20 K:BB over 46.2 innings. Brash has the stuff to be an effective late-inning reliever, though he's still got some strides to make with his control.

Littell (2-2) earned the win Friday, allowing three hits and one walk over six scoreless innings against Detroit. He struck out one.

The Rays gave Littell a nice cushion early and he cruised, completing six frames on 74 pitches. It wasn't a dominant performance in terms of whiffs -- Littell induced just five swinging strikes -- but the right-hander was efficient and kept the ball on the ground. With Shane McClanahan moving to the 15-day injured list this week with forearm tightness, Littell would seem to be locked into the rotation as long as he keeps delivering solid performances.

Finnegan picked up the save Friday against the Reds. He struck out two in a perfect 10th inning.

After the Nationals took the lead against Alexis Diaz in the top of the 10th, Finnegan closed the door, firing 13 of his 15 pitches for strikes. The right-hander lost the closer job earlier this season, but Hunter Harvey is now on the injured list with an elbow injury and the Nationals have made it clear that they will be cautious with the oft-injured hurler. Finnegan, for his part, has looked a lot more worthy of save chances of late, allowing just two hits over eight straight scoreless appearances.

The Yankees optioned Ramirez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Friday's game.

A roster spot had to be freed up with Nestor Cortes (shoulder) returning Saturday. Ramirez has been highly effective with a 2.48 ERA so far this season, but he's going to be unavailable for a few days after covering 2.1 innings in Friday's loss to Houston, and the Yankees need all hands on deck over the remainder of the weekend. Expect Ramirez to be back with the club before too long.

Soriano will take the ball to start Saturday's game against the Rangers, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Soriano has been excellent in 11 appearances out of the Miami bullpen this season, posting a 1.98 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 27.1 innings, and he will be rewarded with his first career start in the big leagues. The 24-year-old has thrown as many as four innings in an appearance this season and will be well rested, but it's a stretch to think he could pitch deep enough into Saturday's game to qualify for a win.

Clase issued one walk in a scoreless inning Friday, striking out one and earning a save over the White Sox.

Clase worked around a two-out walk to finish off the 4-2 win for his 29th save of the year. He's turned in nine straight shutout frames, lowering his season ERA to 2.90 through 49.2 innings. Clase has converted five saves during that span after blowing two straight prior to the start of the scoreless streak.

Diaz (3-3) took the loss Friday against the Nationals. He allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits while striking out three without a walk over 1.2 innings.

After retiring the side in order in the ninth to preserve the tie, Diaz returned for the 10th but couldn't get through the extra frame as Lane Thomas smacked a two-run homer on the right-hander's 32nd pitch of the night. Reds manager David Bell asked a lot of his closer in this one and he fell a little short, but if anyone deserves a mulligan, it's Diaz. He still has just one blown save on the year compared to 32 successful save conversions.

Jackson was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Acquired from the Dodgers at the end of June, Jackson will now get his first opportunity with the Pirates, replacing Dauri Moreta (back) in the Pittsburgh bullpen. Jackson has pitched to a 3.38 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in five appearances with Indianapolis to date -- a significant improvement on the 5.86 and 1.54 marks he had with Oklahoma City prior to the trade.

Taylor was released by the Astros on Friday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Taylor's had trouble getting outs at Triple-A Sugar Land this season (5.15 ERA, 1.82 WHIP) and the team decided earlier this week to remove him from the 40-man roster. The southpaw made 51 appearances for the Astros in 2021, and he's held lefties to a .159/.260/.258 line in the majors, so he should land on his feet in another organization despite his struggles this year.

The Pirates placed Moreta on the 15-day injured list Friday with lower-back soreness, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

After giving up three runs on three hits and two walks over one inning Thursday against Milwaukee, Moreta will be sidelined for at least two weeks. The 27-year-old righty holds a 4.10 ERA and 1.20 WHIP on the season and figures to return in late August.