MLB Player News

Quijada picked up the save in Friday's 2-0 victory over the Royals. He surrendered one hit but didn't allow a run while striking out two over one inning.

Quijada has converted the last two save opportunities for the Angels. The lefty has four saves in eight appearances and has yet to allow a run. Quijada's main competition for saves, right-hander Carlos Estevez, pitched a perfect eighth. Quijada may be the saves leader now, but the Angels will likely play matchups all season.

Yarbrough (0-2) took the loss Friday against the Angels. He allowed two runs on three hits over four innings, striking out one without walking a batter.

Yarbrough entered the game in the third inning and hit Zach Neto with a pitch before allowing a two-run shot to Chad Wallach. He settled down and only allowed one more baserunner, but those two runs accounted for the only offense in the game. Yarbrough has struggled in his first season in Kansas City, posting a 7.62 ERA in 13 innings.

Lopez (0-2) blew the save and took the loss Friday against the Rays, giving up a game-winning home run to Brandon Lowe. However, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol after the game said he still has confidence in Lopez, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

It was an ugly outing for Lopez as he gave up two home runs and three hits without recording an out in a 7-6 loss. While the right-hander has the confidence of his manager for now, he may not have a firm grip on the closer job. He entered the game with a 6.23 ERA, and it ballooned to 9.35 after his second blow save in five chances. However, he does have a 15:5 K:BB in 8.2 innings.

Finnegan picked up the save Friday against the Twins. He didn't allow a run on one hit and one walk in one inning.

Finnegan allowed the first two batters of the inning to reach, but a soft lineout and a double play gave the right-hander his fourth save of the season. Finnegan allowed seven runs in his first three outings of the season but has rebounded by not allowing a run over his last five innings, lowering his ERA to 8.59.

Jansen picked up the save in Friday's 5-3 victory over the Brewers. He didn't allow a hit or a walk while picking up two strikeouts.

Jansen is off to an incredible start to 2023. He has not allowed a run in seven innings and has five saves and one win in his seven outings. Jansen fanned the first two hitters he faced Friday and now has a 11:2 K:BB and a sparkling 0.86 WHIP on the season.

Pivetta (1-1) earned the win Friday, allowing three runs on seven hits and one walk over 5.2 innings against the Brewers. He struck out seven.

Pivetta rebounded nicely after giving up six runs to the Angels in his last start. The 30-year-old delivered his longest outing of the season Friday, and he picked up two strikeouts in the sixth inning before being lifted out one short of a quality start after his only walk of the night. Pivetta's seven punchouts pumped him up to a 23:9 K:BB and helped lower his ERA to 4.58 in 19.2 innings.

Bednar struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his seventh save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Reds.

The right-hander needed only eight pitches (seven strikes) to dismiss Cincinnati's 6-7-8 hitters. Bednar's had an outstanding start to the season, and through 10 innings he's posted a 0.90 ERA and 12:1 K:BB while tying Toronto's Jordan Romano for the major-league lead in saves.

Perez signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Friday, Chris Hillburn-Trenkle of Baseball America reports.

Perez was released by the Nationals late in March. The left-handed reliever has pitched in the majors over the last two seasons and owns a career 5.87 ERA over 14 appearances with Cleveland and Washington. He provides some organizational depth and has a chance to help the Oakland bullpen before the end of the 2023 campaign.

Pressly walked one batter in a scoreless inning against Atlanta on Friday. He struck out one and earned a save.

Making his ninth appearance of the season, Pressly finally got his first save chance. He converted it despite throwing just 11 of 22 pitches for strikes. He's now sporting a 5.40 ERA with an 8:1 K:BB through 8.1 frames and has turned in three straight scoreless outings since coughing up three runs April 11.

Curtiss was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse by the Mets on Friday, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.

It's a bit of a surprise that it's Curtiss getting the demotion to make room for Joey Lucchesi, but the Mets will keep arms like Edwin Uceta and Jeff Brigham on the roster as multi-inning options. Curtiss figures to be back in the majors before too long.