MLB Player News

Rangel will serve as a bulk reliever in Saturday's game against the Mets, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Rangel allowed just one run in five innings while following Tim Mayza out of the bullpen Monday, so the Phillies will aim to recreate that success by having the two pitchers work together again Saturday.

Mayza will serve as the opening pitcher in Saturday's game against the Mets, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Mayza worked as the opener for Alan Rangel on Monday, and the two pitchers are now set to work in tandem again Saturday. Mayza will presumably remain in the game for an inning or two before Rangel enters to handle the bulk of innings out of the pen.

Munoz struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to pick up his 15th save of the season in Friday's 3-1 win over Cleveland.

Munoz struck out Kyle Manzardo and Brayan Rocchio to lead off the final frame before inducing a groundout from Kahlil Watson to end the game. With a 4.91 ERA through 29.1 innings, the 27-year-old hasn't been as reliable this year compared to past seasons, but he's now thrown five consecutive scoreless innings and earned a save in each of his last five appearances.

Quantrill is slated to start Saturday's game against the Blue Jays in Toronto.

Quantrill will be making his second start in five days, though he'll likely be limited to around 2-to-3 innings after covering two frames and tossing 34 pitches as an opener in front of Jose Corniell in Tuesday's loss to the Marlins. Corniell has since been demoted to Triple-A Round Rock, but Winston Santos hasn't been used following his call-up from Double-A Frisco on Wednesday and could end up covering multiple innings behind Quantrill on Saturday.

Rangel is slated to start Saturday's game against the Mets at Citi Field.

Rangel is set to receive another turn through the Philadelphia rotation, this time as a traditional starter after previously pitching in bulk relief Monday after being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 28-year-old righty excelled while working behind opener Tim Mayza in a 4-1 loss to the Nationals, striking out four over five innings while yielding one earned run on five hits and no walks. Over two extended relief appearances with the big club this season, Rangel owns a 9:0 K:BB in eight innings, but his numbers over a much larger sample at Triple-A have been less impressive (3.99 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 15.6 K-BB% in 70 innings).

Latz walked one batter in a scoreless ninth inning to secure the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Blue Jays.

Latz walked Brandon Valenzuela to lead off the ninth but was able to regain his composure and force the next three batters he faced to fly out, ending the Blue Jays' comeback effort. Latz now owns a sparkling 1.85 ERA and 0.67 WHIP through 39 innings on the year and has converted 16 of his 18 save chances.

Moran (elbow) will make at least one more rehab appearance before being activated, MLB.com reports.

Moran kicked off a rehab assignment Thursday, when he allowed one hit and struck out two over a scoreless inning (17 pitches) for Triple-A Worcester. Relievers on rehab assignments usually don't need much more than one or two appearances, so Moran could return early next week.

Helsley struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Friday to record his eighth save of the season in a 3-1 win over the Nationals.

The right-hander dispatched the visitors on 12 pitches (nine strikes) to pick up his first save since coming off the IL in mid-June. Helsley got tagged for five runs in 1.2 innings in his first two appearances after recovering from elbow inflammation, but he seems to be shaking off the rust, topping out at 100.4 mph with his fastball Friday in his second straight scoreless outing. On the season, Helsley has converted eight of nine save chances while posting a 4.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 20:9 K:BB in 14.1 innings.

Alvarez (1-1) took the loss Friday as the Nationals were downed 3-1 by the Orioles, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out five.

The 27-year-old didn't pitch poorly, although he needed 88 pitches (53 strikes) to record 13 outs, but Alvarez didn't get much help as the Nats' offense was held in check by Trevor Rogers. Alvarez has yet to complete five innings in any of his 10 big-league appearances (five starts) this season, making him tough to roster in fantasy formats any time he gets a traditional start rather than working behind an opener, but over 21 innings in June he's produced a 3.00 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 25:10 K:BB.

Senzatela blew the save Friday against Minnesota, allowing one run on three hits and no walks while striking out one during the ninth inning.

The Rockies rallied for seven runs across the eighth and ninth innings to set up the save opportunity, but Senzatela was unable to maintain the one-run advantage. After a dominant start to the campaign that saw him give up just four earned runs over his first 32 innings, the veteran right-hander has posted a 5.56 ERA while blowing all four of his save chances in his past nine outings, though he's also picked up four wins during that span. Jimmy Herget, who secured a save Wednesday versus Boston, took the loss after giving up the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th, so Senzatela should remain in the closer mix for now.