Santana earned the save in Saturday's 3-1 win over Atlanta, allowing one hit and no walks with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
Santana was called upon to protect a two-run lead in the ninth and did so on 19 pitches. The 29-year-old has bounced back from a blown save Wednesday with back-to-back scoreless outings and has now held opponents off the board in 10 of his past 11 appearances. For the season, he's 16-for-19 in save chances with a 2.18 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 60:17 K:BB across 70.1 innings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Blows third save
Rotowire
Santana gave up a run on two hits in 1.1 innings Wednesday to blow his third save of the season in a 4-3 extra-innings win over the Reds. He struck out two without walking a batter.
The right-hander got taken deep by Tyler Stephenson in the ninth inning to tie the game at 2-2, only for the Pirates to pull out the win in the 11th. Santana may not have a classic closer's arsenal, averaging 94.8 mph on his fastball, but he's been very effective this year in a high-leverage role, recording four wins, 15 saves and 12 holds with a 2.24 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 58:17 K:BB through 68.1 innings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Notches 15th save
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Santana allowed a walk in a scoreless inning Tuesday while earning a save over the Reds. He struck out one batter.
Santana forced a game-ending double play after issuing a one-out walk to Elly De La Cruz. It was Santana's 15th save in 17 chances, and he's now converted nine straight dating back to early August. During that stretch, he's produced a stellar 1.00 ERA over 18 frames. Santana now owns a 2.15 ERA with a 56:17 K:BB through 67 innings for the year.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Converts 14th save
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Santana earned the save in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Athletics, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Santana was tasked with preserving a team shutout and needed just 10 pitches to close it out. The 29-year-old has now converted eight straight saves dating back to Aug. 8 while allowing only two earned runs over 17 appearances in that span. For the season, he's 14-for-16 in save chances with a 2.18 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 55:16 K:BB across 66 innings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Snares 10th save
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Santana picked up the save Wednesday against St. Louis, allowing one walk and no hits with one strikeout during a scoreless ninth inning.
Santana shut the door on the Cardinals to close out the Pirates' 2-1 win, walking Thomas Saggese with two outs before getting Pedro Pages to ground out. It was a bounce-back effort for Santana, who surrendered a run and took the loss Monday in St. Louis. That run is the only one he's allowed in his past eight innings of work. Santana has converted on 10 of his 12 save chances this season and has a 2.37 ERA and 0.91 WHIP.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Closes out win
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Santana allowed one hit and one walk while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning Sunday against the Rockies.
Santana entered the game in the ninth inning to protect a four-run lead. He allowed a double and a walk with two outs but managed to turn in his sixth consecutive scoreless outing. Santana briefly struggled after taking over the closer role, but he has converted four of his last five save chances while striking out eight across his last 10 appearances.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Picks up fourth win
Rotowire
Santana (4-4) allowed one hit across 1.1 scoreless innings to earn the win Friday against the Cubs.
Santana has been inconsistent since inheriting the closer role from David Bednar, but he delivered Friday. He entered the game with a runner on first base and the score tied at 2-2 before getting out of the inning when Ian Happ was caught stealing. The Pirates took the lead in the top of the ninth inning, and Santana then faced the minimum three batters in the bottom of the frame due to another caught stealing. He now has four scoreless appearances in his last six outings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Bounces back for seventh save
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Santana earned the save in Friday's 3-2 win over the Reds, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Santana was called on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and needed just eight pitches to close it out. It was an encouraging rebound after the 29-year-old blew his first save chance since taking over as the Pirates' closer Wednesday. On the season, he's 7-for-9 in save opportunities with a 2.52 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 40:11 K:BB across 50 innings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Picks up second win
Rotowire
Santana (2-1) blew the save but earned the win against the Cubs on Friday, striking out one batter across 1.2 innings without allowing a run, hit or walk.
Santana was brought out of the bullpen for the eighth inning with runners on the corners. He was able to force a fielder's choice groundout against Dansby Swanson, but that allowed Kyle Tucker to score from third base to tie the game at 1-1. Santana returned to the mound for the ninth and kept the Cubs off the board, and he was credited with the win after the Pirates scored in the top of the 10th. Santanta has a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 25:5 K:BB across 30 innings this season.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Works in setup role
Rotowire
Santana didn't allow a baserunner or record a strikeout in one scoreless inning to record a hold Tuesday against the Reds.
The Pirates have had very few save chances of late, as they've gone 4-14 in May. Despite the limited opportunities, Santana seemed to have the upper hand over David Bednar for the closer role, but he entered Tuesday's game in the eighth inning to face the bottom of Cincinnati's order while ceding the ninth to Bednar. Positively, Santana managed to work his fourth consecutive scoreless appearance, though he doesn't appear to be in line to earn every save chance in Pittsburgh for the time being.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Clean ninth inning
Rotowire
Santana allowed one hit with no walks and no strikeouts across a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday against the Mets.
He didn't get a save because the Pirates held a four-run lead, but he entered the game following David Bednar. Santana has now pitched in the ninth inning in four consecutive appearances, picking up a save and a win in that span. Given that, Santana appears to be the top choice for saves in Pittsburgh for the time being.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Nabs save despite two earned runs
Rotowire
Santana collected his fifth save of the season Friday against Atlanta, allowing two runs on three hits in the ninth inning. He did not record a walk or a strikeout.
It was a low-scoring affair Friday, and Santana was brought in to protect the Pirates' three-run lead in the ninth inning. He was on the back foot immediately after giving up a triple, and after yielding two runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, he was able to close things out by getting Ozzie Albies to fly out to center field. This was far from a convincing performance from Santana, who is competing with David Bednar for saves in Pittsburgh. Santana has a 2.35 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 9:3 K:BB across 15.1 innings this season.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Works eighth inning Friday
Rotowire
Santana gave up a hit in a scoreless eighth inning Friday to record his fourth hold of the season in a 3-0 win over the Dodgers.
The Pirates had said they were going to give David Bednar another look as the closer at some point, and that moment may have arrived -- Bednar pitched a scoreless ninth Friday for his second save of the year. Santana should remain in a high-leverage role given his 1.46 ERA and 0.89 WHIP through 12.1 innings, but his 7:3 K:BB hasn't matched the dominance Bednar is capable of when he's in top form.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Gets high-leverage work
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Santana threw a scoreless eighth inning without allowing a baserunner to record a hold Sunday against the Yankees.
Santana looked to be in line to be the Pirates' closer after David Bednar was demoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday. However, he entered the game in the eighth inning Sunday to face the top of the Yankees' order, including Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge. Ryan Borucki blew the save in the ninth inning, and the rest of the Pittsburgh bullpen has been shaky, leaving Santana as the likeliest option for saves moving forward. However, his usage Sunday illustrates that he could be used in highest-leverage spots rather than being saved exclusively for the ninth inning.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Could be in line for save chances
Rotowire
Santana might see save chances for the Pirates following the demotion of David Bednar to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Santana was excellent for the Pirates last season after being claimed off waivers, posting a 2.44 ERA and 50:11 K:BB over 44.1 innings while notching one save. He hasn't allowed a hit or a run in his first two appearances in 2025, holding a 3:2 K:BB in 1.1 frames. Colin Holderman could also be in the saves mix for Pittsburgh, although he's struggled this season in yielding three runs on four hits and three walks over three innings.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Loses arbitration case
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Santana lost his arbitration hearing against the Pirates on Saturday and will make $1.4 million in 2025, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
After being claimed off waivers from the Yankees in June, Santana emerged as a reliable high-leverage reliever, posting a 2.44 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over 44.1 innings with Pittsburgh. Despite his drastic turnaround, he will make $700,000 less in 2025 than the $2.1 million he filed for at the arbitration deadline. The 28-year-old figures to remain a high-leverage arm heading into the new season, and he could take over as the primary closer if David Bednar is unable to bounce back from his disappointing 2024 campaign.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Moves past arm injury
Rotowire
Santana (arm) struck out two over two scoreless innings of relief in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Mets. He gave up two hits and no walks.
Santana was making his third appearance out of the bullpen since he was lifted from a June 24 relief outing versus the Reds after being struck in the right arm by a line drive. He was held out of action for a week and has given up two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks over four innings through his first three appearances of July.
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Pirates' Dennis Santana: Struck by line drive
Rotowire
Santana left Monday's game against the Reds after being hit by a line drive and has been diagnosed with a right arm contusion.
Santana was unable to continue after being struck on his pitching arm, but he appears to have avoided a significant injury. He'll be considered day-to-day moving forward.
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Yankees' Dennis Santana: Logs second save of career
Rotowire
Santana earned the save Sunday against the Blue Jays, allowing no hits and no walks over 1.2 scoreless innings. He struck out two.
Santana was given another opportunity Sunday after allowing two runs in his first appearance of 2024 on Friday and delivered a five-out save. The reliever had his contract selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on April 5, but considering his career 5.18 ERA, Santana will likely be at the back end of the Yankees' bullpen and see minimal high-leverage work moving forward.
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Yankees' Dennis Santana: Receives NRI from Yankees
Rotowire
Santana signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees on Wednesday that includes an invitation to spring training, Jessica Kleinschmidt of The Comeback reports.
The 27-year-old holds a career 5.17 ERA and 140:79 K:BB over 149.2 innings covering parts of six seasons at the big-league level.
