MLB Player News

Doval (3-1) earned the win in extra innings Friday against Atlanta after tossing a scoreless 11th inning.

Doval only needed seven pitches to get the job done en route to his third win of the season. He's yet to allow a run in six appearances this month, posting a 7:3 K:BB through 5.2 innings in that span.

Webb (4-3) was tagged with the loss Friday against San Francisco after allowing an unearned run while walking two across two-thirds of an inning.

Webb was tasked with pitching the 11th inning and ended just one out away from closing things out, but a sac fly from Kevin Gausman that scored Brandon Crawford changed the outcome of the contest. This was the first time Webb allowed a run since May 21, though, and for the most part, he's been a reliable arm for the Braves out of the bullpen.

Hader allowed one hit but tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his 32nd save of the year Friday against the Cubs.

Hader entered to pitch the ninth after the Brewers scored four runs in the eighth to take an 8-5 lead. Rafael Ortega reached on an infield single to leadoff but Hader was able to retire the next three batters in order to end the game. The 27-year-old has closed out 32 of his 33 save chances this year and has a 1.37 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 90:22 K:BB over 52.2 innings.

Smith blew a save opportunity Friday against the Giants after allowing one run across one inning. He struck out two in the outing.

Smith has now blown saves in two of three chances, but prior to that, he hadn't failed to capitalize on these opportunities since August, when he also recorded two blown saves in less than a week. The reliever gave up a run in two of his last five appearances but still owns a 2.57 ERA through seven innings this month.

Heasley (0-1) was lit up in his MLB debut Friday, allowing four earned runs over four innings in a loss to the Mariners. He gave up six hits, struck out five and walked none in the contest.

Heasley got the chance to make his big-league debut Friday after Brady Singer was put on the 10-day injured list for an unspecified reason. The 24-year-old gave up all four runs on a pair of homers by Jared Kelenic. The prized outfielder got to him for a two-run blast in the second and another in the fourth to give the Mariners a comfortable four-run cushion. Heasley made the jump from Double-A Northwest Arkansas to make the start, and it remains to be seen if he will pitch for the big-league club again in 2021.

Marte (0-1) was tagged with the loss Friday against the Athletics after allowing an unearned run while walking two across 0.2 innings.

Marte, who had been out nearly a month for undisclosed reasons, entered the game with one out in the sixth inning but was unable to get the job done due to some command issues. Aside from walking two of the four batters he faced, he only tossed six of his 18 pitches for strikes. Despite this shaky outing, Marte should remain in the Angels' bullpen for the remainder of the campaign.

Barnes allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two over a scoreless eighth inning in Friday's 7-1 win over Baltimore.

Barnes made his first appearance since coming off the COVID-19 injured list and was given a soft landing spot for the occasion. He had issues throwing strikes, running the count full on the first three batters and needing 28 pitches (16 strikes) to close out the inning. Barnes eventually escaped unscathed, but it wasn't the type of performance one expects from a closer. The Red Sox will likely utilize him in low-leverage situations until he can regain the form he showed over the first four months of the season.

Hoffman hasn't pitched in the last two weeks since getting shelled against the Tigers on September 3, when he gave up four runs and served up two homers over 1.2 innings.

The Reds have been carrying an eight-man bullpen and yet Hoffman hasn't been used at all. What's strange is that was basically Hoffman's only bad outing as a reliever -- in 18.0 previous innings of relief, he had a 1.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with a 24:7 K:BB. Nonetheless, manager David Bell hasn't had the confidence to use him during a tough stretch for the Reds.

Reyes was credited with his second hold in a win over the Padres on Friday. He fired 0.2 scoreless innings, issued a walk and recorded two strikeouts.

Reyes has seemingly embraced his new setup role after running into some trouble late in his tenure as closer, as he now has five consecutive scoreless appearances. While Reyes is not currently seeing save opportunities, that has been offset by him qualifying for a relative flurry of decisions, with the right-hander securing three wins and two holds over his last five trips to the mound.

Kittredge (9-3) was credited with the win in an extra-inning victory over the Tigers on Friday, firing a perfect 10th inning during which he recorded a strikeout.

Kittredge preserved a 4-4 tie with an ultra-efficient frame in which he got seven of his nine pitches into the strike zone. He was then rewarded with the victory courtesy of Brett Phillips' game-winning three-run home run in the home half of the 10th. The veteran right-hander's season win total is easily a career best, and the fact he's been able to combine it with seven saves, six holds, a 1.55 ERA and 0.90 WHIP has made him a fantasy goldmine as far as non-full-time closers go.