Bullpen Report: Navigating the Final Month

The baseball season has flown by and just like that we are in the home stretch. You hear all the time that the season is a sprint and not a marathon, but as someone who ran cross country in high school, I can tell you that even long races become a sprint towards the end. […]

Andrew Kittredge Notches Sixth Save

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Andrew Kittredge struck out two over a scoreless inning to earn the save during Friday's 5-3 win over the Minnesota Twins. He entered the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. The 31-year-old allowed one base runner but made quick work of the Twins by retiring three batters on nine pitches […]

Carlos Estevez Grabs Fourth Save Of The Season

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Carlos Estevez earned the save on Friday when he worked a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. Daniel Bard lost his closer job in late August, which has opened the door for the 28-year-old Estevez to earn some saves. He had a difficult task on Friday […]

Evan Marshall Strikes Out Two In Rehab Appearance

Chicago White Sox reliever Evan Marshall (forearm) threw a scoreless inning in his fourth rehab game, striking out two, and has now thrown four scoreless innings during his rehab assignment. Marshall was placed on the injured list on June 30 with a right flexor pronator strain and hasn't been back since. It shouldn't be much […]

Rowan Wick Converts Second Save

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Rowan Wick recorded his second save of the season in Friday's victory versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wick blew his first save of the season on Thursday, but bounced back with three strikeouts in a quick 1-2-3 inning to secure a Cubs victory. Wick has now been called upon for the last […]

Alec Mills Records No-Decision On Friday

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Alec Mills went 5 2/3 innings in Friday's no-decision versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mills cruised through the first four innings, but got hit hard in the fifth and sixth innings. Mills would end up allowing seven hits, five runs (two earned), zero walks and struck out six. Mills opened the year […]

Paolo Espino Whiffs Five Phillies In No-Decision Thursday

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Paolo Espino delivered another decent start versus the Phillies on Thursday as he allowed just two earned runs across 5 1/3 innings. Espino collected five strikeouts in his latest serviceable outing for the rebuilding Nats. The 34-year-old journeyman is yet to complete six innings as a starter, so he's on the […]

Tyler Rogers Earns Fifth Win Of Season Thursday

San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Tyler Rogers picked up his fifth win of the season in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Brewers. Rogers entered the game in the eighth inning with the game tied at one and struck out the side. The Giants then scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning, making […]

Garrett Richards Logs Three-Inning Save At Rays

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Richards tossed three shutout innings to collect the save in a 4-0 win at Tampa Bay on Thursday. Richards allowed one hit and one walk while picking up four strikeouts in his second save this season. Fantasy managers shouldn't rush out and add the former starter, however, as this […]

Keegan Thompson Struggles In Latest Start

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Keegan Thompson struggled in Thursday's start versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. Thompson was only able to make it through 1 2/3 innings and allowed four hits, three runs, two walks and struck out three on the evening. The young pitching prospect was great out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the […]

Closers and Saves Report - Week 23 Waiver Wire

The playoffs are coming! The playoffs are coming! Well, not the real playoffs, yet. We still have some time before those. But fantasy playoffs are starting up in some leagues next week while others are already in their first playoff week, so every single little statistic starts to matter more and more. Head to head […]

Emmanuel Clase Earns 20th Save

Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase recorded his 20th save of the season but did allow two hits and an earned run in the bottom of the ninth in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. The earned run marked Clase's first earned run since July 16th. He earned AL reliever of the month […]

Yency Almonte Serves Up Three Runs In Relief

Colorado Rockies reliever Yency Almonte took the loss on Thursday when he surrendered three runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings of relief in a 6-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Chi Chi Gonzalez started this game and lasted 3 2/3 innings before handing the ball over to Almonte. The Rockies held a brief […]

Sergio Romo Collects Second Save Of Season Thursday At Detroit

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless ninth inning on Thursday to collect the save against the Tigers. It was Romo's second save of the series as Lou Trivino (back) has been sidelined with back spasms. Romo seems to be the closer-of-choice in Trivino's absence as the former Giant has been good in […]

Ian Kennedy Nails Down Save No. 22 Thursday At Washington

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ian Kennedy pitched around a one-out single to collect his 22nd save of the season Thursday afternoon at the Nationals. It was a nice bounce-back effort by the veteran reliever after he suffered a blown save in his previous outing. Kennedy hasn't been great for the Phillies as he has a […]

Brad Hand Claimed Off Waivers By Mets

The New York Mets have claimed relief pitcher Brad Hand off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto designated Hand for assignment on Tuesday. A trade deadline acquisition by the Blue Jays, the veteran has pitched to a 4.21 ERA, a 4.87 FIP, 47 strikeouts, and 21 walks in 51.1 innings this season. He joins […]

Lou Trivino Expected To Be Available On Thursday

Oakland Athletics closer Lou Trivino (back) is expected to be available out of the bullpen for Thursday's game against the Detroit Tigers, according to Athletics manager Bob Melvin. Trivino has been sidelined for about a week due to a back injury. He's dealt with back spasms for the past few days, but the injury appears […]

Aroldis Chapman Picks Up 25th Save

New York Yankees relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman notched his 25th save of the season in Wednesday's win over the Angels. Chapman needed just 11 pitches to work an easy ninth, firing eight for strikes and picking up a strikeout in the process. The lefty has righted the ship since the league's crackdown on sticky substances, […]

Packy Naughton Struggles In Starting Debut

Los Angeles Angels left-hander Packy Naughton (0-1) didn't impress in his first career start, only lasting 3.2 innings against the New York Yankees during Wednesday's 4-1 loss. He let up six hits, leading to three runs while adding two walks and two strikeouts. With injuries to four of the Angels starters, they may keep Naughton […]

Gregory Soto Records His 17th Save

Detroit Tigers closer Gregory Soto recorded his 17th save of the year in Wednesday's 8-6 win over the Oakland Athletics. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing no hits and no walks while striking out two. The Tigers had a rough stretch over the second half of August, which led to Soto only recording one […]

Lou Trivino Continues To Be Out Due To Back Spasms

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Lou Trivino (back) hasn't pitched since last Thursday's game against the New York Yankees. Over the past week, he has been dealing with a back issue. On Wednesday, Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters that Trivino wasn't available out of the bullpen for Wednesday's game and a few games prior as […]

Joe Kelly Earns Second Save

Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Kelly secured his second save of the season on Wednesday versus the Atlanta Braves. Kelly was called upon with closer Kenley Jansen unavailable for the evening. Kelly worked a clean 1-2-3 inning with three groundouts. Jansen should be available when the Dodgers return to action on Friday versus the […]

Liam Hendriks Records 31st Save

Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks recorded a save for the second day in a row versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. Hendriks went 1 2/3 innings to record the final five outs and allowed one hit with two strikeouts. The All-Star has hit some bumps in the road during the second half of the […]

Pete Fairbanks Tagged With The Loss

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Pete Fairbanks (3-5) allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out three over one inning during Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox. He was tagged with his fifth loss of the season. The 27-year-old entered the game in the ninth inning and surrendered the go-ahead RBI single […]

Logan Allen Has Solid Night

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Logan Allen allowed three runs (two earned) across 6 2/3 innings pitched while striking out three in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Kansas City Royals. While this marks two consecutive quality starts for Allen since being called up from AAA last week, he is still not trustworthy enough to stream, even […]

Drew Rasmussen Throws Four Strong Innings

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen didn't walk anyone and allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out five across four innings during Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox. He did not factor into the decision. The 26-year-old limited Boston to one earned run and exited the game after 74 pitches. […]

Adam Ottavino Saves 11th Game Wednesday

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Adam Ottavino saved his 11th game of the season Wednesday, setting down the three Tampa Bay Rays he faced in order with two strikeouts. With Matt Barnes removed from the closer role temporarily, and now out with COVID, Ottavino is the clear top option in the Boston bullpen. He should […]

Paul Sewald Locks Down Four-Out Save Wednesday

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Paul Sewald locked down a four-out save against the Houston Astros Wednesday, striking out three batters and allowing two hits. He now has eight saves for the year to go with a 2.45 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 79 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings. Manager Scott Servais called him the team's MVP, […]

Adbert Alzolay Records First Save

Chicago Cubs pitcher Adbert Alzolay tossed the final four innings of Tuesday's victory the Minnesota Twins to record his first career save. He allowed one hit, zero runs, zero hits and struck out five. Alzolay was activated earlier in the day from the 10-day injured list and was thrown straight into action. Manager David Ross […]

Joe Barlow Tagged For Five Runs

Texas Rangers relief pitcher Joe Barlow was unable to shut the door against the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday. He wasn't even able to get through an inning before allowing five runs (two earned) with two walks in the 9-5 loss. It was partly Barlow's fault for walking two batters, but after that the Rangers defense […]