MLB Player News

Sousa secured the save in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Rockies, allowing one run on three hits and no walks in the ninth inning. He struck out one.

Closer Josh Hader was presumably unavailable after notching the save in Tuesday's victory over Colorado, opening up a rare save opportunity for Sousa. Through 32.1 frames, Sousa has emerged as a weapon out of Houston's bullpen with a 1.95 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 40:7 K:BB. The southpaw has also converted each of his three save chances to go with two holds this year, but he should continue to serve primarily as a middle reliever and setup man going forward.

The Phillies optioned Johnson to Triple-A Lehigh Valley following Wednesday's doubleheader against the Padres.

Johnson pitched two shutout innings and struck out two batters in the Phillies' 6-4 loss to the Padres on Wednesday in the first game of the day, lowering his ERA to 2.25 through four big-league frames. He'll head back to the minors now that his duties as the 27th man for the twin bill are complete, but he remains an option to return to Philadelphia down the line as a multi-inning reliever.

Hoffman earned the save in Wednesday's 11-9 win over the Yankees, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.

Hoffman was called upon to protect a two-run lead and closed out a back-and-forth contest on just 14 pitches. Since June 1, the 32-year-old has allowed only two earned runs across 13 appearances while converting seven of eight save chances. For the season, he's 20-for-24 in save opportunities with a 4.71 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 50:10 K:BB over 36.1 innings.

The Padres optioned Marinaccio to Triple-A El Paso following Wednesday's doubleheader with the Phillies.

Marinaccio will return to the minors without appearing in either of Wednesday's games. The 30-year-old righty owns a 4.70 ERA and 1.39 WHIP through 30.2 innings at the Triple-A level this season but could return to San Diego later in the summer if the big club needs a fresh bullpen arm.

Uceta collected the save in the Rays' 6-5 win over the Athletics on Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits while striking out three batters.

After striking out the side in the eighth, Eric Orze was brought out for the ninth to protect the Rays' four-run lead, as Pete Fairbanks was unavailable after pitching the last two days. Orze was quickly pulled after yielding a solo homer to Max Muncy and a double to Austin Wynns, which prompted Uceta's insertion into Wednesday's game. Uceta gave up a single to four of the next five batters, but he managed to protect Tampa Bay's lead by striking out the last two batters he faced. Uceta has coughed up at least one earned run in three of his last five outings but has also collected 14 strikeouts over that span. He sits at a 5.20 ERA and 1.40 WHIP across 36.1 innings this season.

Diaz earned the save in a 7-3 win over the Brewers in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader, striking out three across 1.1 perfect innings.

Diaz was called upon in the eighth inning after the Brewers got the tying run to the plate with two outs. He'd strike out Jake Bauers to retire the side before setting Milwaukee down in order in the ninth, securing his 16th save in 17 chances this year. Diaz has turned in eight straight scoreless appearances (7.2 innings), allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out 10 in that span. His ERA is down to 1.91 with a 0.91 WHIP and 49 strikeouts across 33 innings this season.

Spence (2-4) took the loss against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out five across five-plus innings. He did not issue a walk.

Spence was in control through the first five innings, with his lone blemish coming in the second when he gave up an inside-the-park home run to Jake Mangum. Spence entered the sixth looking to collect his first quality start of the season, but things quickly got out of hand after giving up a solo homer to Josh Lowe before yielding a two-run long shot to Yandy Diaz just two batters later. Spence has given up four earned runs in two of his last three outings, and in his six starts he sports a 3.64 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 23:7 K:BB across 29.2 innings. He is slated to start against Atlanta at home next week, which might be his last turn in the rotation before the All-Star break.

Latz (undisclosed) struck out three and allowed two hits and no walks over three scoreless innings en route to earning a save in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Orioles.

In his previous appearance during Sunday's 6-4 loss to the Orioles, Latz was lifted after 2.1 innings due to an apparent injury, but the Rangers felt comfortable enough with his health to turn to him in an extended relief outing two days later. Latz needed 43 pitches to record his nine outs and was credited with the first save of his career. The left-hander previously made a pair of starts in June but will likely work out of the bullpen moving forward following Nathan Eovaldi's recent return from the injured list.

The Giants optioned Seymour to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Seymour tossed a scoreless inning during his MLB debut Sunday but followed it up by giving up four runs (two earned) over three frames Tuesday. He's now heading back to Sacramento in favor of Mason Black.

The Diamondbacks designated Nelson for assignment Wednesday.

The D-backs needed to make room on the 40-man roster after signing Jake Woodford to a big-league deal Wednesday, and Nelson will end up as the odd man out. The 28-year-old has struggled in the minors this year, giving up 16 earned runs in just 18 innings at Triple-A Reno while striking out 12 batters and walking eight.