MLB Player News

Romano gave up two hits and struck out three in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his league-leading eighth save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Astros.

A leadoff single by Yuli Gurriel put some pressure on Romano, but the Toronto closer answered the challenge. His saves streak now stands at 31, with his last blown opportunity coming more than a year ago, and Romano's 1.13 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 9:2 K:BB through eight innings to begin 2022 are elite.

Jansen walked one and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his fourth save of the season in a 3-0 win over the Marlins.

The former Dodger had a shaky first appearance with Atlanta, but since then Jansen has looked like his usual lock-down self, reeling off five straight scoreless appearances with a 7:1 K:BB while converting all four of his save chances. The 34-year-old has topped 30 saves in seven straight full campaigns, and he seems well on his way to ringing up an eighth.

Melancon (0-2) took the loss during a 6-5 defeat against the Mets on Friday, allowing an unearned run on two hits in one inning.

After Arizona tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, Melancon was brought in to keep the game tied and got the first two Mets out before surrendering two hits that put him in line for the loss. The 37-year-old has pitched better than his 0-2 record indicates as he's permitted just one earned run in six innings, though his two strikeouts are uninspiring and don' stand to rise considerably given Melancon's history.

Diaz (1-0) got the win during Friday's 2-1 victory over the Diamondbacks, blowing the save by allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts in the ninth inning.

Pitching for the second straight night and for the third time in four days, Diaz retired the first two batters in the ninth before serving up a game-tying home run to Daulton Varsho. New York rallied with a run in the top of the tenth to take the lead and put Diaz in line for his first victory of the season. Despite the slip up, Diaz possesses a 2.57 ERA with 12 strikeouts in seven innings and should be locked into the closer role.

Martinez (0-2) took the loss during Friday's 6-1 defeat at the hands of the Dodgers, allowing two runs on four hits and five walks with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings.

Martinez was able to keep Los Angeles off the board early despite traffic on the bases but was done in by two solo homers in the fifth inning, which prompted his removal. After pitching well in his first start of the season, the 31-year-old has now surrendered six runs in 9.2 innings with nine walks over his last two starts. He'll look to rebound against Cincinnati on Thursday.

Perez allowed a hit and struck out one to earn a hold in Friday's 5-3 win over the Angels.

Perez has two holds through six appearances this season. He's covered five innings without allowing a run -- he's only given up four hits with a 6:1 K:BB. The Orioles' bullpen began the season with few defined roles, which has allowed Perez to step up as a high-leverage arm early in the season, a role he'll likely maintain as long as he continues to produce positive results.

Lopez allowed a hit and struck out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-3 win over the Angels.

Lopez was able to navigate around a leadoff single to Mike Trout in the ninth inning, with the right-hander converting his third save of the season. He's kept runs off the board in six of his seven appearances this season while emerging as the Orioles' top high-leverage arm. Lopez owns a 2.25 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 11:4 K:BB and a 1-1 record through eight innings.

Zimmermann (1-0) allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts in six innings, earning the win Friday versus the Angels.

Zimmermann covered five scoreless innings, but he ran out of steam a bit at the end. He exited with no outs in the seventh inning after Anthony Rendon's two-run blast brought the Angels within two runs. The Orioles' bullpen was able to maintain the lead, earning Zimmermann his first win of the season to go with a pair of no-decisions through three starts. He's been very effective with a 1.20 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB across 15 innings, and per the team's PR department, the southpaw's 14-inning scoreless streak to begin the season was the longest by a Baltimore pitcher since Jim Palmer in 1978, which is good company to be keeping. Zimmermann is projected to face the Yankees next week.

Bednar allowed one hit but struck out three across a scoreless inning to earn a hold Friday against the Cubs.

Bednar entered the game in the eighth inning with a 4-2 lead. He surrendered a leadoff hit, but he struck out the next three batters he faced. Bednar has made consecutive appearances pitching in high-leverage situations, rather than in the ninth inning to collect a save. As the team's best reliever, that usage makes sense. However, it also means that Chris Stratton is likely to pick up saves on occasions when Bednar is used earlier in the game.

Graveman (0-1) allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk while striking out one across 1.1 innings to take the loss Friday against the Twins.

Graveman entered the game in the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead. He retired the first two batters in order before surrendering a ground-rule double to Ryan Jeffers and a walk to Luis Arraez. Both runners came around to score on an error by Jose Abreu, which ultimately saddled Graveman with the loss. After holding opponents scoreless across his first 5.2 innings of the season, Graveman has now surrendered four runs (two earned) across his last two appearances.