MLB Player News
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Julian Fernandez RP | WAS
Dodgers' Julian Fernandez: Poised for promotion
The Dodgers will call up Fernandez from Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Monday's game in Milwaukee, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Fernandez has collected a 4.08 ERA and 32:10 K:BB over 28.2 inning this season with Oklahoma City. The 29-year-old's only big-league experience came back in 2021, when he permitted eight runs over 6.2 frames in six appearances for the Rockies. Fernandez is not on the Dodgers' 40-man roster, which is currently full, so the club will need to free a spot.
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Brendon Little RP | TOR
Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Secures 16th hold
Little gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless eighth inning Sunday to record his 16th hold of the season in a win over the Angels. He struck out one.
The 28-year-old southpaw was a first-round pick of the Cubs back in 2017, and that talent has finally shown through this season in a high-leverage relief role. Little's 16 holds leads the Blue Jays by a wide margin -- Yariel Rodriguez is second with 10 -- and has him sixth in the American League, six back of Houston's Bryan Abreu. Little backs up that setup success with a 2.18 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 58:27 K:BB through 41.1 innings.
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Chase Lee RP | TOR
Tigers' Chase Lee: Improves to 4-0
Lee (4-0) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Sunday's 7-2, extra-inning victory over Cleveland. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one.
Lee retired the last two batters of the eighth inning and then worked the ninth, which set him up for the win when the Tigers erupted for six runs in the top of the 10th. The righty has been effective in his rookie season, posting a 2.05 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 28 strikeouts across 30.2 innings. Lee has also managed to give Detroit some length out of the bullpen, as he's retired four or more batters 11 times through his 25 appearances to date.
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Jordan Wicks SP | CHC
Cubs' Jordan Wicks: Picks up first hold
Wicks tossed 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to earn a hold in Sunday's 11-0 win over the Cardinals. He allowed three hits and struck out two.
The Cubs jumped out to a big lead early in the contest, so starter Matthew Boyd was pulled after only five innings and 87 pitches. That opened the door for Wicks, who was effective in the middle part of the game to record his first hold of the season. The lefty had just been recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, and this was his first appearance in the majors since April 20. Wicks worked as a starter for the Cubs each of the last two years as well as this season in the minors, but it appears he may settle into a long relief role for the time being.
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Cade Smith RP | CLE
Guardians' Cade Smith: Returns from back spams
Smith (2-3) has returned from back spasms and picked up the loss in Sunday's game against Detroit. He allowed six runs (four earned) on five hits and an error over a third of an inning.
Smith came on to pitch the 10th inning after closer Emmanuel Clase's wild pitch in the ninth allowed the tying run to score. Smith, who had ceded just one regular-season home run during his MLB career, was taken deep twice in the final frame. Back spasms limited his availability over the final week of June.
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Graham Ashcraft RP | CIN
Reds' Graham Ashcraft: Works scoreless frame
Ashcraft walked one and struck out two over a scoreless inning in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Phillies.
Ashcraft, fresh off the injured list Friday, had a pair of scoreless outings over the weekend. Both appearances were in the seventh inning, as Ashcraft maintains a late-game role out of the Cincinnati bullpen. He has a 3.96 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP with 41 strikeouts and 15 walks across 36.1 innings.
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Bryce Jarvis RP | ARI
Diamondbacks' Bryce Jarvis: Mops up Sunday's loss
Jarvis allowed three hits and two walks while striking out two over four scoreless relief innings in Sunday's 4-0 loss to the Royals.
Jarvis was summoned from Triple-A Reno when the Diamondbacks placed Ryan Thompson (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list Sunday. The former was a starter for the Aces and should get similar long relief opportunities going forward while up with the club.
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Hayden Birdsong P | SF
Giants' Hayden Birdsong: Gets away with wildness in win
Birdsong (4-3) allowed one run on three hits and five walks while striking out six over five innings to earn the win Sunday over the Athletics.
Birdsong continues to have trouble with walks, but the Athletics weren't able to punish him for it. This ended a stretch of five starts without a win for the right-hander -- a span in which he had a 7.54 ERA over 22.2 innings. He's at a 4.11 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 68:33 K:BB across 65.2 innings through 20 appearances (nine starts) this season. Birdsong is tentatively projected to make his next start at home versus the Dodgers, who figure to be much more capable of capitalizing if his command is lacking.
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Robert Suarez RP | ATL
Padres' Robert Suarez: Earns 25th save
Suarez struck out two in a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Rangers.
Suarez's outing was drama-free, a welcome sight after he had allowed three runs over his last 2.1 innings, which resulted in one blown save. He's been a little shaky since mid-June, but it hasn't cost him his closer role despite the talent present in the Padres' bullpen. Suarez is 25-for-28 in save chances while adding a 3.82 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 40:12 K:BB across 37.2 innings this season.
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Seth Halvorsen RP | LAD
Rockies' Seth Halvorsen: Earns eighth save
Halvorsen walked a batter during a scoreless inning and earned a save against the White Sox on Sunday.
Halvorsen worked around a two-out walk to close the 6-4 win. He's now converted eight of his 11 save chances this season and has five saves in his last eight appearances. Halvorsen dropped his season ERA to 4.04 with a 32:16 K:BB across 35.2 innings. He's given up two earned runs over his last 10 innings and has recorded the only two saves on the roster since July 1.