MLB Player News

Vasquez (2-0) earned the win Saturday against the Athletics, striking out two while allowing one hit, one walk and one unearned run over two innings.

Vasquez entered the game with the score tied in the bottom of the 10th and intentionally walked Esteury Ruiz to lead things off before needing just seven pitches to retire the next three batters. The lefty reliever returned in the 11th, this time with a one-run lead and proceeded to cough up the game-tying run on an RBI double from Carlos Perez. However, Kyle Schwarber came right back for Philadelphia in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single, giving the 29-year-old his second win of the season. Vasquez has struck out two in each of his last two appearances and lowered his ERA to 1.62 on the season with Saturday's effort.

Alzolay picked up the save Saturday against Baltimore. He struck out two over a scoreless inning while walking one and not allowing any hits.

Alzolay entered the game to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and got the first two batters to go down swinging before issuing a walk to Austin Hays. However, he made short work of Adley Rutschman in the next at-bat, getting him to ground out on a four-seamer to end the contest. It marked Alzolay's fourth save this season, and he has not allowed a run over eight appearances since May 21.

Hicks struck out the side in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his first save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Mets. He also hit a batter and threw a wild pitch.

Giovanny Gallegos was expected to step into the closer role for the Cardinals while Ryan Helsley (forearm) was on the shelf, but instead Gallegos worked the eighth inning Saturday against the middle of the Mets' order while Hicks handled the ninth. The save was his first since 2019, as injuries and a failed conversion to starting took him out of the team's high-leverage mix, but it seems the flamethrowing right-hander will get another chance to help lock up wins for St. Louis. After a bumpy first month of the season, Hicks has a 3.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 28:11 K:BB through 18 innings since the beginning of May.

Puk walked one batter in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his ninth save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Nationals.

The lefty has yet to allow an earned run since returning from the IL on June 7, and Saturday's walk was the first Puk had issued since May 4. His breakout 2022 with Oakland was clearly no fluke, and the 28-year-old now sports a 2.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 25:4 K:BB through 20.2 innings on the season while converting nine of 10 save chances.

Chapman (2-2) allowed a run on a hit and two walks while striking out three in one inning to earn the win Saturday over the Angels.

Chapman struggled versus the heart of the Angels' order, but he limited the damage to an RBI single from Mike Trout. The Royals then rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to get the walk-off win. Chapman has given up just two runs over his last 10.2 innings with a 23:11 K:BB over that span. While the elevated walk rate is concerning, he continues to be effective in a high-leverage role for a Royals team that rarely has a lead to protect. He's pitched to a 2.96 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 44:17 K:BB through 24.1 innings this year while adding two saves, seven holds and two blown saves.

McGough allowed a hit but didn't give up a run over two-thirds of an inning to earn the save in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Guardians.

Kyle Nelson started the ninth inning in a non-save situation but put two runners on base. McGough allowed one of those runners to score but had no additional trouble finishing off the contest. With two saves in his last four appearances, McGough appears to be continuing his ascent up Arizona's leverage ladder. He's been charged with just one unearned run over his last 15 innings while posting a 20:4 K:BB in that span. For the season, the 33-year-old has a 2.68 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 42:12 K:BB, two saves and 12 holds through 37 innings. Miguel Castro, who picked up the win Saturday, and Andrew Chafin remain the most likely candidates for saves.

Beck allowed three hits and a walk while striking out two over four shutout innings to earn the save in Saturday's 15-0 win over the Dodgers.

This was a smooth outing with plenty of cushion for Beck, who helped the Giants spare their bullpen after they used eight pitchers in Friday's 11-inning contest. This is the second time Beck's gone three-plus innings to earn a save this season. He's been an effective long-relief option for San Francisco with a 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 30:6 K:BB over 35.1 innings in his first big-league season. He also has a win and a hold through 14 appearances.

Hamilton (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset on Sunday.

Hamilton will likely need to make a handful of rehab appearances at the Double-A level before having a chance to rejoin the New York bullpen. The right-hander has been out since the middle of May with his right groin strain. He was pitching effectively with a 1.23 ERA and 30:9 K:BB over 22 innings in his 16 appearances.

Hader allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Rays.

After a blown save to close out May, Hader has pitched five straight scoreless innings in June while earning four saves in that span. The closer has been scored on in just four of 28 appearances while pitching to a 1.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 39:12 K:BB over 27.1 innings. He's 17-for-20 in save chances on the year and once again looks like one of the best relievers in baseball.

Smith gave up two hits and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his 12th save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

The veteran reliever converted his eighth straight save chance, a stretch that dates back to May 8 in which he's posted a 2.40 ERA and 18:2 K:BB through 15 innings. Smith has solidified the back of the Texas bullpen this season, reaching double-digit saves for the fourth time in his career, and his rebound this season may be the product of more than a little luck -- despite a career-low 23 percent groundball rate and career-high 41 percent flyball rate, his 5.7 percent HR/FB% is less than half his 2022 mark.