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Stratton earned a save against the Athletics on Thursday by retiring both batters he faced.

Advice: Regular closer James McArthur was deployed in a high-leverage situation in the seventh frame and ended up with the victory despite allowing two hits and two walks over one inning of work. That left the door to a save chance open for Stratton, who entered Thursday with three saves on the season but none since May 20. Stratton got the job done against Oakland in a tough spot, as he entered with two runners on base and just one out. The right-hander could see a few additional ninth-inning opportunities along the way, though McArthur remains the favorite for saves for the Royals. Rotowire.com 2 minutes ago

Jeremiah Estrada took a blown save but ended up with a win after allowing two runs in the ninth Thursday against the Brewers.

Advice: In Estrada’s defense, he really should have Christian Yelich struck out to begin the ninth, which probably would have led to a scoreless frame. Instead, he allowed two runs after surrendering two runs on a walk to Yelich and two hits. It was quite curious that the Padres decided to use Estrada and avoid Robert Suarez tonight. Both had worked the previous two days, but Suarez threw fewer pitchers in those outings, had, unlike Estrada, gone four straight days without working previously and is the older of the two by eight years. If we were the Padres, we’d consider Estrada the more important reliever of the two going forward. Suarez, though, is in the second year of a five-year, $46 million contract. Rotoworld 33 minutes ago

Phillips earned a save against the Rockies on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.

Advice: Phillips cruised to the save on 11 pitches, punching out two of the three batters he faced. It was the fifth straight scoreless and hitless outing for the closer, who has allowed an earned run in only two of his 21 appearances this season. Phillips is 12-for-12 in save chances this season -- he's the only MLB closer with that many saves who remains perfect in save opportunities. Rotowire.com 37 minutes ago

Flexen allowed one run on five hits and three walks while striking out six batters over six innings in a no-decision against Houston on Thursday.

Advice: This was a nice bounce-back for Flexen after he allowed six runs (four earned) over 3.1 innings against Arizona in his previous start. The right-hander completed six frames Thursday for the first time since early May and finished with just his third quality start of the season. Flexen has had a tough time in his first campaign with the White Sox, posting a 5.03 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 73.1 frames. Rotowire.com Today, 10:47 pm

Fairbanks (2-3) earned the win Thursday, allowing one run on two hits over two innings against the Twins. He struck out one.

Advice: Fairbanks was not needed to start the ninth due to the Rays holding a four-run lead, but a leadoff homer followed by the next two runners reaching base necessitated the call to Fairbanks. After inducing a couple of quick outs, Jose Miranda tagged him for a two-out game-tying homer that sent the game to extras. Once the Rays regained the lead in the 10th, Fairbanks stayed on to close out his own victory. The blown save was the second of the season for Fairbanks, who ran the gamut during the series with the Twins, suffering the loss on Tuesday followed by the blown save and subsequent win on Thursday. Rotowire.com Today, 8:06 pm