• David Bednar earns win with scoreless ninth
    David Bednar tossed a scoreless inning with one strikeout to earn the win against the Rockies on Saturday.

    Advice: Bender entered in the top of the ninth with the game scoreless. He tossed a clean frame, striking out one batter to send it tied to the bottom of the ninth. The Pirates would walk it off, giving Bednar the win. It a positive sign for the closer after giving up runs in each of his last three outings. Rotoworld Today, 3:31 pm
     
  • Locks down sixth save
    Alvarado earned the save in Friday's 4-3 win over the Giants, allowing one hit while logging a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

    Advice: Alvarado allowed a leadoff single before setting down the next three Giants, closing out the one-run victory for his sixth save of the season. After giving up five runs in his first outing of the year, Alvarado's allowed just one run in his subsequent 13 innings. The left-hander lowered his ERA to 3.95 with a 1.24 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB on the campaign. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 8:16 pm
  • José Alvarado notched sixth save for Phillies
    José Alvarado threw a scoreless ninth in a one-run game for his sixth save Friday against the Giants.

    Advice: Alvarado gave up five runs on Opening Day and remained wild for a spell after that, but he’s walked just one in his last nine appearances and given up one run in 14 appearances. He’s recorded six of the Phillies’ 11 saves for the year, and he could maintain something close to that ratio going forward. Rotoworld Yesterday, 7:46 pm
  • Slated for mound work
    Whitlock (oblique) will throw a bullpen session Saturday, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

    Advice: Saturday will mark the first time Whitlock has thrown off a mound since landing on the injured list April 17 with a strained left oblique. Assuming all goes well, he will likely throw another few sessions before moving onto throwing against live hitters, at which point the Red Sox may decide to send the right-hander out on a rehab assignment. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 3:09 pm
    Garrett WhitlockBOS - SP,RP
    L, 1-3 @MIN
     
  • Garrett Whitlock to throw bullpen on Saturday
    Garrett Whitlock (oblique) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday.

    Advice: The fact that the 27-year-old hurler has been cleared for mound work is obviously an encouraging development. If all goes well with Saturday’s session, we should get a clearer picture on a plan for when the Red Sox anticipate him being able to return. Rotoworld Yesterday, 2:57 pm
    Garrett WhitlockBOS - SP,RP
    L, 1-3 @MIN
     
  • Strikes out side for 10th save
    Finnegan picked up the save over the Rangers on Wednesday, striking out the side in a perfect ninth inning.

    Advice: The right-hander took over in the bottom of the ninth with a 1-0 lead and ran right through the Rangers lineup, retiring all three batters on swinging strikeouts to secure his 10th save of the season, tying him with Ryan Helsley, Robert Suarez and Clay Holmes for the league lead. Finnegan has successfully converted each of his last nine save attempts and hasn't allowed a hit over his last eight appearances (spanning eight innings), posting a 9:1 K:BB over that stretch. Wednesday also marked his first time this season in which he struck out the side. Rotowire.com Thursday, 3:55 am
     
  • Kyle Finnegan strikes out the side for 10th save
    Kyle Finnegan struck out the side in a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save against the Rangers on Wednesday.

    Advice: Finnegan was called on to close out the game with a one-run lead over the Rangers in the ninth inning. He shut the door on Texas, striking out the side on 13 pitches for his tenth save of the season. Rotoworld Wednesday, 7:27 pm
     
  • Carlos Estévez gives up two homers in taking loss
    Carlos Estévez took his second blown save and a loss after giving up three runs and two homers in the ninth Tuesday against the Mariners.

    Advice: The good news for Estévez is that, with Robert Stephenson out for the year and José Soriano in the rotation, he has no competition at the moment. Still, his stuff is definitely down from last year, and he hasn’t shown much improvement there from the beginning of the spring. It’s unlikely that he’ll be replaced right away, but Soriano might eventually supplant him if Chase Silseth rejoins the rotation. Rotoworld Tuesday, 11:34 pm
  • Has nightmare ninth
    Estevez (0-1) blew the save and took the loss Tuesday, allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts over two-thirds of an inning against Philadelphia.

    Advice: Each of the three hits against Estevez went for extra bases, with Nick Castellanos hitting a solo homer and Johan Rojas bringing in Bryson Stott -- who reached on a ground-rule double -- on a two-run homer to give the Phillies the lead. Estevez has now surrendered one or more runs in three of his last four appearances, a stretch that ballooned his ERA from 0.00 to 6.23 and resulted in a pair of blown saves. While his closing job seems to be safe for now, Matt Moore and Luis Garcia would be the names to know if Estevez begins to cede ninth-inning work. Rotowire.com Tuesday, 10:22 pm