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Stats

Ben Joyce blows save, takes loss in 10th

Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Player Stats

Ben Joyce gave up a pair of unearned runs to take a blown save and a loss in the 10th Friday against the Rangers.

The Angels scored the automatic runner in the top of the 10th to make it a save situation. Joyce went on to retire the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the 10th, but he then gave up a game-tying double to Wyatt Langford. After an intentional walk of Brandon Nimmo (why?), Joyce gave up a hard shot down the third base line. Denzer Guzman made a nice grab, only to throw wildly to second base and allow the winning run to score. It was correctly ruled a single, but both runs ended up unearned. This shouldn’t hurt Joyce’s standing as the favorite for saves in the Halos’ pen.

- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Devers' season ends early with core muscle injury

Rafael Devers was placed on the 60-day injured list with a core muscle injury, ending the Giants slugger's season early in the middle of an offensive tear.

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Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

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Ben Joyce pitched around two walks in the ninth for his fifth save Monday against the Mariners.

With two outs, J.P. Crawford hit a liner down the first base line that might have gone for extra bases under normal circumstances. However, the Angels were playing the lines with the tying run on first base, and it turned into an easy grab for Vaughn Grissom. Joyce allowed single runs in his previous two appearances, resulting in a blown save Saturday. Still, he’s been fine in accruing a 3.38 ERA in 13 1/3 innings overall.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce gave up one run to blow the save against the Nationals on Saturday.

Joyce was summoned to close out Saturday’s game against the Nationals in the ninth inning with a one-run lead. He issued a leadoff walk, then gave up the tying run on a base hit before closing out the inning to send the game to extras. The 25-year-old right-hander is 4-for-6 in save chances with a 3.65 ERA and a 15/7 K/BB ratio across 12 1/3 innings.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce allowed one run in the ninth inning against the Red Sox on Wednesday to record his fourth save of the season.

Joyce was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and wound up being charged with a run after Nate Eaton tagged him for an RBI single following a one-out walk from Jarren Duran. The hard-throwing 25-year-old reliever appears to have a lock on the closing role in Los Angeles for the final few weeks of the season.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce allowed three runs over 2/3 innings in a loss to the Phillies on Friday.

Joyce isn’t charged with the blown save, if you’re looking for a positive, because he came in to pitch in the eighth, and all three runs were charged to him after he exited the game. So instead, he gets a loss and a hold. Weird sport. Joyce didn’t give up a hit, but he walked a pair and hit another with all three runners crossing on a grand slam by Edmundo Sosa allowed by Peralta. Joyce should continue to get save looks — the few the Angels will provide, anyway — but there’s just a lot of volatility in his profile because of his command problems.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to convert the save against the Astros on Tuesday.

Joyce was summoned in the ninth inning with a two-run lead to close out the game against the Astros. He pitched a clean inning, striking out two batters to secure the win and record his third save of the season. Joyce now has each of the last three saves for the Angels, seemingly taking over the closer role.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save Saturday against the Royals.

Joyce edged out Jacob Misiorowski for the hardest pitches of the night, topping out at 104.5 and 104.4 mph. Misiorowski couldn’t do better than a measly 104.2 mph. Expect Joyce to keep getting save chances for the Angels when things line up properly. However, they shouldn’t be using him on back-to-back days in his first month back from shoulder surgery, and they’re probably going to have only so many leads over the final six weeks.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Ben Joyce hurled a scoreless ninth inning to get a save against the Rangers on Wednesday.

Joyce threw three pitches over 100 mph, including one that clocked at 103.4. The flamethrower has his first save of 2026, and while the Angels won’t provide a ton of chances for reasons that aren’t Joyce’s fault, it seems very likely he’ll see more over the final 40 or so games.
José Fermin

LAA Relief Pitcher #65

José Fermin allowed three hits and one run on his way to a save against the Marlins on Friday.

Honestly, Fermin had no business coming away with this save. He faced five batters and let up three hits as the Marlins pushed him to the brink in the ninth inning. The key reason he escaped his own mess is because Jose Siri made a perfect throw to nail Javier Sanoja at home plate to end the game. This was Fermin’s first save of the season as Ben Joyce pitched the eighth inning in his second outing off the injured list, so pay attention to how this role develops.
Samy Natera Jr.

LAA Relief Pitcher

Samy Natera Jr. closed out the Orioles for his second save of the season on Thursday.

The left-hander has been lights out this year, with 38 strikeouts and an 0.88 WHIP in 25 innings pitched over 21 appearances. Ben Joyce pitched yesterday and the Angels would probably rather have Natera available for heavy left-handed parts of the order, but Natera is pitching so well that he might be the man to roster if Joyce can’t establish himself as the closer after a long layoff. Even right-handers are hitting just .152/.220/.304 against Natera.
Ben Joyce

LAA Relief Pitcher #44

Angels activated RHP Ben Joyce from the 60-day injured list.

Joyce, who was last seen in the majors 18 months ago, is finally back from shoulder surgery after posting a 5.06 ERA and a 12/8 K/BB in 10 2/3 innings during a rehab stint. He averaged 101.3 mph with his fastball during his Triple-A appearances, so that’s not going to be an issue. Command might be. He’s probably the favorite to lead the Angels in saves the rest of the way, but it might be a bumpy ride, especially for these next few weeks.

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Brandon Woodruff

MIL Starting Pitcher #53
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Brandon Woodruff (shoulder) is throwing from 105 feet.

As of now, the plan is for the Brewers to “re-evaluate him for mound readiness at the end of September.” While it’s great that Woodruff is building back up, the fact that he is not pitching off a mound and won’t even be evaluated until the end of the month makes it seem unlikely he will pitch meaningful innings this postseason. Perhaps if the Brewers are able to advance, he could give them some innings out of the bullpen or as an opener, but it remains to be seen how effective he will even be.
- Eric Samulski

Source: Adam McCalvy

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Randy Rodríguez

SF Relief Pitcher #73
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Randy Rodríguez (elbow) will pitch in the Arizona Fall League.

Rodríguez is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed last September. He has apparently done well with his rehab and should be 100 percent for the start of the 2027 season, so the Giants want to get him some live innings over the fall and winter. There is a chance he could be the team’s closer next season.
- Eric Samulski

Source: Alex Pavlovic

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Johan Oviedo

BOS Starting Pitcher #29
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Johan Oviedo (elbow) will start for Triple-A Worcester on Thursday

Oviedo has been on the 60-day injured list since March with a right elbow strain but has been inching closer to a return. His start on Thursday will be as an opener for John Holobetz, so Oviedo is unlikely to pitch more than one inning, but he does have a few weeks to present himself as a potential bullpen option for the Red Sox in the playoffs.
- Eric Samulski

Source: Tommy Cassell

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JR Ritchie

ATL Starting Pitcher
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Braves recalled RHP JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett

Ritchie will come up to take Reynaldo Lopez’s spot on the roster and likely start on Wednesday against the Cubs. Ritchie has a 4.50 ERA and a 53/36 K/BB ratio across 58 innings with the Braves this season and would not be a recommended streaming option for this one.
- Eric Samulski

Transaction

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Reynaldo López

ATL Starting Pitcher #40
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Braves placed RHP Reynaldo López on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation

This move was reported overnight and is now official. López had shoulder surgery previously, which cost him most of the 2025 season, so we’ll have to wait and see whether this discomfort he’s feeling will lead to another surgery. As of now, it’s hard to count on López helping the Braves much in October.
- Eric Samulski

Transaction

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Reynaldo López

ATL Starting Pitcher #40
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Reynaldo López will go on the injured list with shoulder discomfort after losing to the Cubs on Monday.

López gave up five runs in just three innings against the Cubs. With Bryce Elder also down and A.J. Smith-Shawver getting sent to the pen, the Braves are running low on starters. López, though, seemed like he was going to be more of a bullpen option in October anyway.
- Matthew Pouliot

Injury

Source: Mark Bowman

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Corbin Carroll

AZ Right Fielder #7
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Corbin Carroll had a walkoff two-run homer in the ninth to give the D-backs an 8-7 win over the Marlins on Monday.

Carroll’s homer off Jack Ralston barely stayed fair down the right field line. He also had an RBI single on a blooper to left in the fifth. It was a nice way to shake off a rough start to the month that had seen him go 5-for-33 with a 14/0 K/BB in his last nine games. A loss tonight would have been devastating to Arizona’s postseason chances with the Padres winning. As is, the D-backs are 2 1/2 games behind San Diego, 3 1/2 games behind the Phillies and four games behind the Cubs with 11 to play. They’ll have to overtake one of the three in order to secure a berth.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Corbin Burnes

AZ Starting Pitcher #39
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Corbin Burnes pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed five runs Monday versus the Marlins.

Making his second start since Tommy John, Burnes allowed three runs in the second and then back-to-back homers to Jakob Marsee and Javier Sanoja in the fourth before eventually departing down 5-4. His cutter was a pretty steady 93 mph early in the game, but it fell off to 91.5 mph in the fourth and fifth. If the regular season were extended by a month, Burnes might be a viable mixed-league starter in October, but the only way we’d know for sure is if the D-backs advance. Burnes should face the Yankees on Sunday.
- Matthew Pouliot

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Juan Morillo

AZ Relief Pitcher #62
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Juan Morillo struck out three of the four batters he faced in the ninth Monday and picked up a win over the Marins.

Morillo kept Arizona’s deficit at one in the top of the ninth and was credited with the win after Corbin Carroll’s walkoff homer. Morillo blew his last save chance Tuesday, but that’s really been his only misstep in months. He has a 2.28 ERA in 59 1/3 innings, and while the D-backs don’t have a closer, he’s probably the team’s best bet for saves the rest of the way.
- Matthew Pouliot

Recap

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Sandy Alcantara

MIA Starting Pitcher #22
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Sandy Alcantara yielded four runs in five innings Monday in a no-decision against the Diamondbacks.

Alcantara outpitched Corbin Burnes and left with a one-run lead that later increased to three runs, but Arizona was able to come back from there. This makes four straight starts in which Alcantara has given up at least four runs, taking his ERA from 3.38 to 3.86. At least he did rebound some with six strikeouts tonight, matching his total from his three previous starts combined. He’ll face the Padres next.
- Matthew Pouliot

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