Carlos Marmol tossed a scoreless ninth for his 13th save of the season in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Cardinals. Daniel Descalso started the inning with a single and Tyler Greene stole second base after entering the game as a pinch-runner, but Marmol was able to retire the final three batters he faced without incident. Believe it or not, the erratic right-hander has converted 11 straight save opportunities since regaining the closer role in mid-June. It's still awfully tough to trust him, though.

Carlos Marmol got two outs in a 4-0 game Friday for a save against the Astros. Probably even the most strident "closer's mentality" believers would agree with us that anyone could have gotten the job done in this one. Paul Maholm had the Astros baffled all day, but the Cubs still opted to pull him after a paid of hits in the ninth. Marmol came in, struck out J.D. Martinez, hit Chris Snyder with a pitch and then got Chris Johnson on a lineout to end it. It was his fourth save since he returned to the closer's role two weeks ago.

Carlos Marmol picked up his fifth save of the season in Tuesday night's win over the Mets. Marmol allowed a leadoff walk to David Wright in the ninth inning of a two-run game but managed to rack up two strikeouts and induce a fly out to secure the victory. He's about as shaky as a closer can get, but the righty still holds fantasy value.

Pitching with the Cubs down by four runs, Carlos Marmol retired just one of the three batters he faced Saturday and gave up a run to the Diamondbacks. The Cubs were just trying to get Marmol some work since they haven't been generating save chances. Once he struggled, instead of letting him try to pitch himself out of it, they took him out to ensure that he'd still be available Sunday. He'll probably get the save chance if one arises.

Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless ninth Tuesday to earn his fourth save against the White Sox. Marmol struck out a batter but walked another. Cubs manager Dale Sveum reinstated Marmol into the closing role last week, a decision that made sense on a lot of levels, not the least of which was Chicago's vested interest in trading him next month. Perhaps Marmol will be able to rebuild his trade value to the point that another organization will take him (and a portion of his 2013 salary) on at the deadline. The Dominican Republic native has posted four consecutive scoreless outings.

Pitching around a Luis Valbuena error, Carlos Marmol turned in a scoreless ninth inning for a save Friday against the Red Sox. With Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz due up to start the eighth, manager Dale Sveum opted to bring in James Russell then and was rewarded with a perfect inning. That left Marmol for the ninth. He gave up a single with one out and then watched Valbuena commit an error on a grounder that might have turned into a game-ending double play. Marmol went on to strike out Daniel Nava, walk Scott Podsednik to load the bases and then induce a game-ending grounder from Dustin Pedroia. It was his first save since May 2, and it'll probably lead to more opportunities going forward, though no one should think about dropping Russell just yet.

Despite two walks, Carlos Marmol pitched a scoreless innings Wednesday in his first appearance back from the DL. The Cubs didn't really want to use Marmol in a close game his first appearance back, but they also didn't want him sitting around for days on end after he was activated Monday. Therefore, he was used in a one-run game today. He got the job done, even though just eight of his 17 pitches were strikes. He'll need to string together a few good outings before he becomes a candidate for saves.

Carlos Marmol (hamstring) threw two wild pitches Sunday in a rehab appearance at Triple-A Iowa. Marmol struck out three in a scoreless inning of work but still had real problems with his command. It's not clear when he might be activated from the disabled list.

Carlos Marmol (hamstring) tossed a scoreless inning Friday in his first minor league rehab appearance with Triple-A Iowa. Marmol allowed one hit and a walk while striking out one. He threw nine out of 16 pitches for strikes. The rehabbing right-hander is expected to make one more appearance Sunday before coming off the disabled list. He will not return to the closer role upon his return.

Carlos Marmol (hamstring) played catch Wednesday for the first time since landing on the disabled list. It's not clear when he'll start throwing from a mound, but Cubs manager Dale Sveum anticipates Marmol being ready for activation in 10 days. "I should be ready to go," Marmol said. "The way I've been working, I think I'll be fine." Marmol figures to be used in low-leverage situations initially upon activation.