Neshek pitched a scoreless eighth inning Sunday against the Blue Jays to earn his ninth hold of the season.

The 34-year-old reliever hasn't allowed a run since April 24, a span of nine appearances during which he's earned three wins and four holds. Neshek holds a 2.93 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and a 14:0 K:BB over 15.1 innings this season.

Neshek earned his eighth hold of the season Thursday against Toronto.

Neshek's eight holds rank second in the AL behind Joe Smith of the Angels, who has nine. The 34-year-old right-hander also has a .200 BAA, three wins and a 14:0 K:BB ratio over 14.1 innings this season.

Neshek earned his third victory of the season in relief Thursday against the Angels.

Neshek (3-0) held the Angels scoreless over two-thirds of an inning to lower his ERA to 4.09 this season.

Neshek earned his second win of the season in relief Sunday against Seattle.

Neshek (2-0) struck out a pair of Mariners during his perfect frame and now holds a 12:0 K:BB ratio over 10.1 innings this season.

Neshek earned his first win of the season in relief Monday night against San Diego.

Neshek needed only six pitches to retire both Matt Kemp and Justin Upton via ground outs to end the Padres' rally in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a rebound performance after he blew a save opportunity in his last relief appearance Friday against Oakland.

Neshek faltered in a chance to pick up the save Friday night in the 11th inning, instead giving up two runs on a Marcus Semien homer, retiring two batters and then giving up another hit, ultimately giving way first to Tony Sipp and then Chad Qualls to close out the game.

Neshek was only getting a chance to close the game because Luke Gregerson first blew the save in the 10th inning. In fairness to both Neshek and Gregerson, it had started to rain late in the game, making it tougher for each pitcher to locate their pitches.

Neshek struck out the side Tuesday against the Mariners to earn his fourth hold of the season.

Neshek entered the game in the eighth inning in relief of Astros starter Collin McHugh and caught Austin Jackson and Robinson Cano looking before Nelson Cruz struck out swinging. Through seven relief appearances for the Astros this season, the 34-year-old has a 3.86 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 10:0 K:BB ratio over seven innings.

Neshek earned his third hold of the season despite allowing a home run Sunday against the Angels.

Albert Pujols took Neshek deep in the eighth inning, but the 34-year-old reliever struck out a batter during an otherwise scoreless appearance. Through six relief appearances with the Astros, Neshek has a 4.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 7:0 K:BB over six innings.

Neshek earned his first hold of the season with a scoreless inning of relief Friday against the Rangers.

Neshek struck out a batter during his scoreless frame and needed only seven pitches to retire Elvis Andrus, Rougned Odor and Robinson Chirinos in order.

Neshek is set to open the year in a setup role, with Luke Gregerson named the Astros' closer Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Despite his tremendous success with the Cardinals last season (1.87 ERA, 0.79 WHIP), Neshek seemed like the clear No. 3 candidate for the closer role behind Gregerson and the incumbent Chad Qualls entering camp. While Neshek didn't lose ground during Grapefruit League play (1.50 ERA, 0.67 WHIP), he didn't make up much either, with both Gregerson (1.59 ERA) and Qualls (0.00 ERA) faring extremely well also. It's still uncertain who will handle primary setup duties.

Neshek, who is in the mix to close out games for the Astros this season, has a 3.00 ERA and 4:1 K:BB over three Grapefruit League innings thus far.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch isn't ready to announce his closer, but Neshek's dominance in a setup role for the Cardinals last season makes him an intriguing option. Of the three veteran candidates who are competing for the ninth inning role, Neshek is the dark horse, however, with Chad Qualls (0.00 spring ERA) and Luke Gregerson (2.25 ERA) likely ahead of him in the pecking order. A persistent foot injury bothered Neshek earlier this spring, but an MRI revealed nothing more than soreness and he's been pitching for the Astros in Grapefruit League games since.

Neshek (foot) is expected to pitch in Thursday's exhibition game against the Tigers, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.

Neshek underwent an MRI earlier this week to address a persistent foot injury, but the scan showed he was dealing with nothing more than soreness. Evidently, he's shown some improvement over the last few days, so he should get back on the mound Thursday and enjoy an otherwise normal spring training.

Neshek (foot) is expected to pitch in Thursday's exhibition game against the Tigers, MLB.com's Brian McTaggart reports.

Neshek underwent an MRI earlier this week to address a persistent foot injury, but the scan showed he was dealing with nothing more than soreness. Evidently, he's shown some improvement over the last few days, so he should get back on the mound Thursday and enjoy an otherwise normal spring training.

Neshek (foot) underwent an MRI on his foot Tuesday and the results came back clean, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Neshek was experiencing discomfort in his foot Monday, and team doctors believed it could be the start of a stress fracture in his fifth metatarsal. However, the MRI revealed no structural damage, and Neshek believes the pain may have been caused by using new cleats. When I went in yesterday, I asked em and they said possibly it could be surgery, which freaked me out but it's not the case," Neshek said. "It's relatively minor. Just take a few days to heal it up." Neshek said he may have to miss 7-to-10 days at the most.

Neshek pitched out of a bases-loaded jam Sunday during a scoreless inning of relief in his 2015 Grapefruit League debut against the Braves.

"They put me to work there," Neshek said after the game. "You had five months off and that's my first appearance, and you're hoping just to throw the ball over the plate. I was very pleased. I felt awesome out there. These early ones, you just want to hope your control is there and you can hit some of your shots and then grow from that. I was more than thrilled with my outing." Neshek is scheduled to make his next spring appearance Thursday against the Tigers.

Neshek has agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Astros on Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The Astros also added Luke Gregerson in another free agent signing to bolster their bullpen. Neshek likely won't become the closer, but he'll likely have a high-leverage role.

Neshek pitched a perfect ninth inning Tuesday against the Pirates to secure his fifth save of the year.

With Trevor Rosenthal pitching the last two days, Cardinals' manager Mike Matheny went to Neshek for the save and Neshek didn't disappoint. While he wont get a lot of saves, his ERA (1.37), WHIP (0.66) and K:BB ratio (61:7) are second to none.

Neshak came on in the ninth inning for the Cardinals to pick up his fourth save of the season against the Padres, giving up one run on two hits while striking out one hitter.

With how well Neshak has pitched this season, the Cardinals are not afraid to go to him giving closer Trevor Rosenthal some rest. Neshak has been dominant on the season with an ERA sitting at 0.88 on the year. He may snag a couple more saves down the stretch, but Rosenthal is still the guy in St. Louis.

Neshek pitched a perfect ninth inning versus Boston on Thursday to record his third save of the season.

Trevor Rosenthal had pitched in the previous two games, and has been used frequently in general in August, so St. Louis turned to Neshek for the save Thursday. He's been fantastic in middle relief for the Cardinals this season, posting 17 holds and a 0.76 ERA and 0.59 WHIP in 47.1 innings.

Pat Neshek earned his second career save Tuesday in the Cardinals' victory over the Mets.

Neshek was called on to stymie the Mets' ninth-inning rally after Jason Motte allowed a long solo home run and a double to lead off the frame. Neshek now has a 0.92 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, and 29/4 K/BB ratio in 29 1/3 innings this season. He's next in line for saves behind Trevor Rosenthal.