MLB Player News

Jansen notched a save against the Dodgers on Wednesday, retiring all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

Jansen gave up a tiebreaking solo homer to Shohei Ohtani in the ninth frame Tuesday, breaking a 20-appearance scoreless streak. The veteran closer was right back on the mound against his former club Wednesday, this time with the task of protecting a one-run, ninth-inning lead. Jansen came through, retiring Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith on a combined 10 pitches. Jansen has now converted 23 of 24 save opportunities on the campaign, putting him on track for his highest save conversion rate since he went a remarkable 41-for-42 in save chances with the Dodgers in 2017.

Topa recorded the save in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Yankees, striking out one and allowing one hit and no walks in two scoreless innings.

Topa finished off the Yankees to net his second save of the season, working multiple frames for the first time since July 26 versus the Nationals. The 34-year-old right-hander is operating in tandem with Cole Sands for Minnesota's closer gig after the Twins shipped out Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax at the trade deadline, though Sands has given up five runs over six appearances this month. Topa, on the other hand, has pitched seven shutout frames to open August, improving his ERA to 3.55 and his WHIP to 1.30 to go with a 44:13 K:BB for the year.

Akin (4-2) earned the win despite blowing a save against the Mariners on Wednesday, retiring both batters he faced while allowing one inherited run to score in the ninth inning.

The southpaw was summoned to face lefty Dominic Canzone with one out and the tying run on third in the ninth after Yennier Cano struggled to start the frame. Akin recorded two outs on just two pitches but was ultimately charged with a blown save when Canzone tied the game on a sacrifice fly. While Cano's usage to start the inning suggests interim manager Tony Mansolino is willing to play late-game matchups, Akin owns a 3.50 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 43:23 K:BB across 43.2 innings and should remain the favorite for save opportunities with Felix Bautista (shoulder) sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Abreu picked up the save Wednesday against Boston, striking out two while allowing two hits and no walks in a scoreless ninth inning.

With All-Star closer Josh Hader (shoulder) on the injured list, Abreu was called upon to protect a three-run lead and secured his first save of the season. The hard-throwing right-hander has been Houston's top setup man in 2025 -- he has 25 holds this year -- so he stands out as the team's favorite for saves while Hader is on the shelf. Abreu has a shiny 1.64 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 81:25 K:BB across 55 innings this season.

Palencia picked up the save Wednesday against Toronto, striking out one in a clean ninth inning.

Palencia nailed down his 16th save of the season, and it was a nice bounce-back showing after he gave up one run in each of his previous two outings. The 25-year-old right-hander has a fairly clear path to Chicago's closer gig the rest of the way, and his rest-of-season outlook benefitted tremendously after the Cubs didn't add any elite bullpen pieces prior to the trade deadline. Palencia has a 1.69 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 46:11 K:BB over 42.2 innings.

Kopech (knee) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Kopech will be pitching in a competitive setting for the first time since he landed on the injured list July 1 due to a torn meniscus, which required surgery. The Dodgers haven't revealed how many minor-league appearances the 29-year-old will need before being activated, though he could be ready to rejoin the Los Angeles bullpen by the end of the month.

Maton (2-4) was stuck with the loss and a blown save in Wednesday's 6-4 defeat against Arizona. He allowed four runs on two hits and a walk while striking out three over 1.1 innings.

With the Rangers protecting a one-run lead, Maton managed to strike out Tyler Locklear for the final out in the eighth inning. However, it was a different story in the ninth -- after striking out the first two batters in the frame, Maton gave up a solo home run to James McCann. He'd proceed to hit a batter and issue a walk before Ketel Marte launched a go-ahead, three-run blast. Maton had allowed just one home run this season before Wednesday and had given up one run on two hits in his first five innings with the Rangers. Despite the hiccup, Maton figures to share closing duties with Robert Garcia down the stretch. His ERA sits at 3.02 with a 1.10 WHIP and 55 strikeouts across 44.2 innings between Texas and St. Louis this year.

Estevez (4-5) took the loss Wednesday, giving up one run on two hits and one walk in the ninth inning as the Royals fell 8-7 to the Nationals. He struck out one.

The Kansas City closer entered a tie game in the top of the ninth and couldn't hold the visitors at bay, serving up a one-out double to Luis Garcia and an RBI single to Daylen Lile. Estevez has 30 saves on the season, one shy of the career high he set with the Angels in 2023, but he's struggled to find consistency since the beginning of July -- over his last 17.2 innings, he's posted a 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB while blowing three of his 11 save chances.

Saalfrank delivered a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record the save in a 6-4 victory over the Rangers.

With Jalen Beeks unavailable after pitching Tuesday and Kyle Backhus working in the seventh inning, it was Saalfrank who got the call for the save after Arizona took the lead with four runs in the top half of the ninth inning. The left-hander got the job done, setting down the top of the Rangers order to earn his first major-league save. The 27-year-old Saalfrank has been impressive since rejoining the Diamondbacks in early July. He's allowed just one run while striking out nine in his first 14 MLB innings this year, establishing himself as a high-leverage option down the stretch.

Vodnik didn't record a strikeout in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to earn the save in a 6-5 win over St. Louis.

Vodnik earned the save for a second straight day -- he set the Cardinals down on ten pitches Wednesday after recording five outs on 27 pitches in Tuesday's victory. With Seth Halvorsen (elbow) sidelined, the 25-year-old Vodnik looks to be the preferred ninth-inning option for Colorado, despite coming into the day with a 9.00 ERA in his previous eight innings. Overall, Vodnik sports a 3.72 ERA with a 1.54 WHIP and 38 strikeouts through 36.1 innings this season.