MLB Player News

Varland walked one and struck out one without being charged with a run in two-thirds of an inning Friday, recording his fifth hold of the season in a 3-2 win over the Orioles.

The right-hander was put in a bit of a tough spot, being brought in with nobody out and two runners on in the ninth inning to protect a 3-0 lead. Varland allowed one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly, and he was lifted for matchup purposes, as manager Blake Butera had southpaw Richard Lovelady face Gunnar Henderson instead, a move that nearly backfired. Varland remains the top high-leverage option in the bullpen for Washington and leads the team in both holds and saves (four), but his 4.32 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB through 16.2 innings show how much that's due to a lack of viable alternatives rather than his own performance.

Montgomery went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Friday against the Cubs.

Montgomery led off the second inning with his 12th home run of the season. He's gone deep in consecutive starts and also has three homers in his last five games. In that span, Montgomery has hit .316 with four RBI and five runs scored and remains a very strong source of power and counting-stat production.

Lovelady didn't allow a run but gave up a hit and a walk in one-third of an inning Friday to record his second save of the season in a 3-2 win over the Orioles. He struck out one.

Andrew Alvarez, who had already worked three scoreless innings of relief, came out for the ninth to try and complete a combined shutout, but he put the first two runners aboard before being lifted. Gus Varland then tried to close things out, but after a walk, a strikeout and a sacrifice fly, manager Blake Butera turned to Lovelady to get left-handed hitter Gunnar Henderson for the final out. Henderson instead singled home another run, but Lovelady finally fanned Adley Rutschman to escape the jam. The veteran southpaw has been more lucky than good since joining the Washington bullpen, posting a 0.82 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and 12:10 K:BB through 11 innings, but he's seen consistent high-leverage usage and has a win, two saves and three holds in 11 appearances.

Peterson is slated to pitch in bulk relief behind opener Huascar Brazoban during Saturday's game against the Yankees at Citi Field, Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News reports.

Peterson will work out of the bullpen for the fifth time in six appearances and for the third time in a row behind the right-handed Brazoban, who will likely work an inning or two before giving way to the lefty. The Mets have gotten far better results from Peterson while using him in relief this season and will likely continue to use him out of the bullpen when his future turns in the rotation come up. Peterson has posted an 8.10 ERA, 1.89 WHIP and 11.2 K-BB% across 23.1 innings in five starts and a 1.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 16.9 K-BB% across 16 innings in four relief appearances.

Littell (2-4) picked up the win in Friday's 3-2 victory over the Orioles, allowing two hits and two walks over five scoreless innings. He struck out three.

The 30-year-old right-hander put together his best performance of the season on 87 pitches (49 strikes), as Littell lasted at least five innings for the first time since April 22 and didn't serve up a homer for only the third time in nine trips to the mound. After a ghastly April, Littell has found a rhythm in May, posting a 2.13 ERA. 0.95 WHIP and 4:4 K:BB though 12.2 innings over three appearances, two of them as a bulk reliever. He'll look to keep rolling in his next turn through the rotation, which lines up to come at home next week against the Mets.

Burger went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 2-0 loss to Houston.

Burger, who was one of five Rangers to reach base against Houston pitching, stole his first base of the season and reached third base but was stranded there. He's not usually a threat on the basepaths and has one steal in each of the last four seasons. The streaky Burger remains a lineup regular despite a .224/.263/.385 slash line through 171 plate appearances.

Baz (1-5) took the loss Friday, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks over seven innings as the Orioles were downed 3-2 by the Nationals. He struck out four.

The right-hander produced his longest outing of the season and his first quality start on 108 pitches (69 strikes), but a lack of run support kept him out of the win column. Control remains Baz's biggest bugaboo, as he's issued at least three free passes in three straight starts and carries a 42:22 K:BB through 51.1 innings to go along with a 5.26 ERA and 1.52 WHIP. He'll try to build on this performance in his next trip to the mound, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in his old Tampa Bay stomping grounds.

Foscue started at second base and went 1-for-3 in Friday's 2-0 loss to the Astros.

Foscue's single was the lone hit off Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Foscue started for the first time in four games, as Ezequiel Duran covered shortstop for a slumping Corey Seager (0-for-27). Since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, Foscue is 3-for-14 with one home run and two RBI over seven games.

Soto was charged with his second blown save of the season Friday in an 11-9 extra-inning loss to the Phillies, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and two walks in the ninth inning.

With the Pirates holding an 8-5 lead, the southpaw was called in to get them across the finish line, but a Konnor Griffin error put the first batter aboard and things unraveled from there. It was the first time since April 10 that Soto has issued multiple walks, but he's been scored upon in back-to-back appearances, inflating his ERA on the season from 1.33 to 2.42 to go along with a 0.85 WHIP and 26:9 K:BB through 22.1 innings. His job security as the team's primary closing option likely didn't slip, however, as Dennis Santana failed to record an out while taking the loss in the 10th.

Anderson tossed four scoreless innings of relief in Friday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays. He allowed a hit and struck out one.

With Detroit having to resort to a bullpen game after Ty Madden took a 107.9-mph comebacker off his forearm in the third inning, Anderson was needed to cover the most innings in relief, and he was up to the task. It was the longest outing of the year for the righty, who's been good this month with a 2.70 ERA and 12 strikeouts across 10 innings. Overall, Anderson has a 4.67 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 27 innings this year, and he should stick in a long-relief role for the Tigers.