MLB Player News

Smith was charged with a blown save in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Mets, allowing an unearned run on one hit and two walks while striking out two in the ninth inning.

After walking Jared Young to lead off the ninth, Smith had New York down to their final out before giving up a double to Jorge Polanco, followed by a walk to Marcus Semien to load the bases. It looked like Smith would escape with the save after A.J. Ewing grounded to second base. However, Brayan Rocchio failed to field the ball cleanly, allowing the tying run to score and sticking Smith with his fifth blown save this season. Coming into the day, Smith had turned in seven straight scoreless innings, though he's had some trouble with his command of late with seven walks in his past 4.1 frames. Overall, Smith has converted 30 saves this season, posting a 2.41 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 73:18 K:BB across 52.1 innings.

Kerkering threw a clean sixth inning with no strikeouts to pick up a hold Wednesday against the Nationals.

Wednesday's hold marked Kerkering's 13th of the campaign. The right-hander has been a quality high-leverage arm in Philadelphia's bullpen for the most part despite a lack of save chances, posting a 3.27 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 48:25 K:BB across 44 innings with a lone save in three opportunities during 2026.

Duarte earned the save in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning win over the Guardians, working around a walk in a scoreless inning.

After the Mets took the lead in the top of the 10th, Duarte was called upon to close out the game in the bottom half. After walking Chase DeLauter with one out, Duarte settled in to record the final two outs, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base to earn his second major-league save and his first since 2023. Duarte has been sharp out of the bullpen in his brief stint with New York, allowing just two runs on seven hits through his first 14.1 innings. He could find himself in a high-leverage role down the stretch after the Mets traded away Luke Weaver, A.J. Minter, Huascar Brazoban and Brooks Raley ahead of the trade deadline.

Cruz secured the save Wednesday against the Twins, throwing a clean ninth inning. He struck out one.

With Alex Lange having surrendered 16 runs over his past 10 outings, Cruz is making inroads on claiming a larger share of the Royals' save opportunities going forward. Over 28 innings since the beginning of June, Cruz boasts a 2.25 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 28:6 K:BB. Each of the right-hander's three saves on the season have come since July 22 as well, making Cruz someone to consider for fantasy managers in need of saves while Kansas City continues to wait on Carlos Estevez (shoulder) to get healthy.

Megill struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Pirates.

Megill picked up his second save in as many days and his third since the start of August. The right-hander threw seven of 12 pitches for strikes to get this conversion, making him the 12th reliever to reach 20 saves this season. He's maintained a 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 51:11 K:BB through 43.1 innings on the year. Aaron Ashby or DL Hall would be the top options for an ancillary save chance since the Brewers' bullpen is likely to be shorthanded Thursday, as Megill, Antonio Senzatela and Abner Uribe have all pitched consecutive days.

Fuentes secured the save Wednesday against the Marlins, throwing 1.1 clean innings. He struck out two.

Closer Raisel Iglesias wasn't sharp in Tuesday's outing against Miami, giving up a pair of runs, which perhaps prompted Atlanta to turn a different direction for Wednesday's save situation. Although Fuentes has emerged as a real weapon out of the bullpen after scuffling to a 13.85 ERA last regular season, he doesn't appear to be a legitimate threat to Iglesias' closer role. Through 48.1 innings, Fuentes sports a 2.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 61:15 K:BB with 12 holds plus two saves in five chances.

Bradford didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Giants, allowing five hits and two walks over 4.1 scoreless innings. He struck out five.

After missing the entire 2025 season while recovering from an elbow injury that required an internal brace procedure that June, Bradford was brought along slowly after some renewed soreness in April and finally began ramping back up in July before being activated from the IL on Wednesday. He looked sharp in his season debut, albeit against a vulnerable opponent, and tossed 50 of 70 pitches for strikes before being lifted. The Rangers will also get Jordan Montgomery (elbow) back later this month, and Jack Leiter (ankle) could return in September, but Bradford made a strong early case to stick in the rotation. He'll look to get stretched out enough to pick up his first MLB win since Sept. 18, 2024 in his next outing, which is set to come on the road early next week against the Angels.

Varland (4-4) picked up the win Wednesday, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning as the Blue Jays downed the Astros 5-4 in 10 innings.

Called in to keep the game tied at 3-3, Varland fired 12 of 17 pitches for strikes and fanned Jeremy Pena to end the frame before Ernie Clement launched a game-winning, two-run homer in the top of the 10th. It was Varland's first win since June 9, but only because he's been so effective as the closer -- over 20 appearances and 22 innings since then he's converted all 13 of his save chances with a 2.05 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 28:6 K:BB.

Zeferjahn allowed a solo home run but also retired two batters via strikeout to earn a hold in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

Zeferjahn allowed a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani, which happens to even the best pitchers. The hard-throwing righty rebounded from that small blemish to tally two more strikeouts, bringing his season-long total to 77 across 53.1 innings. Zeferjahn has now recorded a hold in each of his first two appearances since joining the Cubs at the trade deadline, working ahead of Jacob Webb on both occasions. That seems to indicate that Webb has the inside track on the closer role, at least until Daniel Palencia (elbow) returns, but Zeferjahn has the stuff to be effective in the ninth inning if the Cubs decide to go in that direction at some point.

Webb tossed a scoreless ninth inning to record the save in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

After starter Shota Imanaga allowed just one run in his five innings of work, Chicago's middle relievers allowed five runs in three innings. Webb then managed to slow down the imposing Los Angeles lineup for his sixth save of the season. The righty has pitched well with a 2.49 ERA and 56 strikeouts across 50.2 innings this year, and he's done a good job since stepping into the closer role. However, Daniel Palencia (elbow) is due back soon, and the Cubs also picked up Ryan Zeferjahn at the trade deadline, which clouds the back end of Chicago's bullpen a bit moving forward. At the very least, Webb has earned the opportunity to keep seeing high-leverage work, possibly as part of a closer committee.