Axford secured his 21st save in a 4-3 victory over the Padres on Thursday.

Axford secured his third straight save and has settled into a groove in the season's stretch run. His two whiffs on Thursday also made it 14 of 16 appearances for Axford with at least one strikeout dating back Aug. 3. After a disastrous stretch of four consecutive blown saves in the latter half of July that temporarily cost him the closer's job, Axford recent performances appear to have secured him the spot for the remainder of the season.

Axford worked around two hits and struck out two batters to record a scoreless ninth inning and earn his 18th save in Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the Braves.

Axford needed 29 pitches to retire the side, but he was nonetheless able to record his second successful save in as many chances since reclaiming closing duties. With a 4.43 ERA and 1.62 WHIP over 42.2 innings on the season and as a member of one of the league's weakest teams, Axford should be considered a low-end closing option the rest of the way.

Axford tossed a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation during Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Braves.

Since being reinserted into the closer's role on Aug. 18 and displacing Tommy Kahnle, Axford has seen just one save chance in his three appearances. Kahnle's ongoing struggles and the subsequent demotion of Justin Miller would appear to put Axford in good position to hang on to the ninth-inning gig the rest of the season, but with the Rockies owning the second-worst record in the MLB, save opportunities could be few and far between.

Axford was formally returned to the closer role Tuesday, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Four straight blown save opportunities at the end of July led to Axford's removal from the ninth-inning role, but manager Walt Weiss has liked what he's seen from the right-hander of late, saying Tuesday that Axford "looks like himself" again. The skipper is now confident reinserting Axford to the closer role, meaning Tommy Kahnle will be relegated back to setup duty, at least for the time being.

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher John Axford was reinstated as the closer on Tuesday, according to MLB.com.

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher John Axford was reinstated as the closer on Tuesday, according to MLB.com. Axford was removed from the role following four straight blown saves at the end of July, but manager Walt Weiss stated that he is looking like his former self after a string of successful outings.

Axford pitched a clean inning of mop-up duty in Thursday's loss to the Mets.

Axford allowed no baserunners during the appearance, the first time he's accomplished that since July 10. Over the month in between, Axford saw his ERA climb from 2.36 to 4.78 and blew all four save opportunities he received in that span before he was ultimately pulled from the closer's role. He'll likely see low-leverage work until he shows that he can better command his fastball.

Axford allowed a hit and a walk to complete a scoreless seventh inning in a loss against St. Louis on Friday.

The day Axford was removed from the closer's role, he got some work in the seventh and had his first scoreless outing in nearly three weeks. With that said, he still allowed two base runners and the struggles are far from over as he has allowed 18 base runners (9 hits, 9 BB) in his last six outings, spanning just 4.2 innings. He simply won't be able to reclaim the closer's role until he finds some control.

Axford is out as the Rockies' closer, at least for now, the Denver Post reports.

Manager Walt Weiss made the announcement prior to Friday's game, on the heels of Axford's fourth straight blown save opportunity. Axford said he understood the decision and acknowledged that it's probably for the best. A replacement was not named but Weiss mentioned Rafael Betancourt, Tommy Kahnle and Justin Miller as potential options to close moving forward.

Colorado Rockies pitcher John Axford has been removed from the closer role, according to the Denver Post.

Colorado Rockies pitcher John Axford has been removed from the closer role, according to the Denver Post. Axford blew his fourth straight save Thursday, and the team appears set to use a committee in the ninth inning.

Axford (3-5) blew his fifth save of the season Thursday against the Cardinals. He gave up two runs on two hits and three walks while recording only one out.

Axford walked Greg Garcia with the bases loaded and the game tied at eight in the bottom of the ninth to take his third loss in his last four outings. Since the All-Star break, Axford is 0-for-4 in save opportunities and has seen his ERA balloon up from 2.36 to 4.45. In five post break outings, Axford has given up a total of eight runs -- the same amount of runs he had allowed in the entirety of the first half of the season.

Axford blew his fourth save Monday against the Cubs as Kris Bryant took him deep for a walk-off two-run home run.

It was just the third home run Axford has served up in 2014, but Axford has now blown his past three save opportunities and allowed runs in his last four outings. His ERA has jumped from 2.60 to 3.90 in that span. LaTroy Hawkins was traded Monday night, and it doesn't seem like there's an obvious replacement coming for Axford as closer, but his grip on the job -- and his stuff -- seems to be loosening.

Axford (3-3) blew a save Friday, but picked up a win in a 6-5 win over the Reds. He struck out two and allowed a solo home run.

Axford allowed a first pitch dinger to slugger Joey Votto, but was fortunate to pick up a win thanks to a walk-off wild pitch by Ryan Mattheus. This is now three straight outings with a run allowed and the dominant early season form has seemingly escaped Axford. With the Rockies out of contention, Axford's name has been spit around in trade speculation, so it remains to be seen if he's the closer for the rest of the season. The next pitcher in line would likely be veteran LaTroy Hawkins, who started the season as the Rockies' closer.

Axford picked up his second win of the season Monday against the Rangers when teammate Ben Paulsen delivered a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Axford was uncharacteristically shaky during his appearance, walking two batters and allowing a game-tying, run-scoring double to Adrian Beltre that completed the Rangers' comeback from a 7-0 deficit. The right-hander was charged with his second blown save as a result, but fantasy owners will likely be plenty content that he was able to pick up the win as a consolation prize.

Axford pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his 16th save of the season in Friday's triumph over the Braves.

Axford was pitching for the fifth time in six games Friday, so it's possible he'll be rested Saturday if another save situation materializes. He hasn't faltered yet under the stress of the increased workload, as he lowered his ERA to 2.36 for the season with Friday's scoreless effort.

Axford pitched a scoreless ninth inning Thursday against the Braves and whiffed two batters to collect his 15th save of the season.

Axford took the loss a night earlier against the Angels after conceding a run on three hits and a walk over one inning, but he was able to quickly redeem himself. He showed impeccable mastery of the zone Thursday, with 10 of his 14 pitches going for strikes. Axford has suffered the occasional hiccup over the last month, but he's unquestionably been the Rockies' top reliever this season, as his 2.45 ERA would suggest.

Axford worked around a pair of hits to throw a scoreless ninth inning Sunday against the Diamondbacks, earning his 14th save of the season.

After returning from a personal absence Saturday, the 32-year-old was called right back into action and was able to come through. Axford, now firmly entrenched as the Rockies' closer, has blown just one save on the season and has a 2.28 ERA.

Axford (personal) was activated from the temporary inactive list Saturday, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Axford has been away from the team since Tuesday tending to a personal concern, but his return signals the return of the Rockies' closer. If he takes the mound Saturday in Arizona, the outing would mark his first since June 25, when he locked down his 13th save of the season.

Axford (personal) has returned to the Rockies, but has not been formally activated from the , Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Axford went on the list Tuesday, but his absence from the team could be a relatively short one. He's not listed on the lineup card, so he likely won't officially rejoin the team Friday, but it's unclear whether or not he's just visiting the team or could be activated within the next few days.

Axford (personal) was placed on the temporary inactive list Tuesday, Nick Groke of the Denver Post reports.

He was conspicuous by his absence from Tuesday's lineup card, and the team later made his placement on the inactive list official. It's uncertain when exactly Axford may return to the Rockies, but it looks like this will open the door for LaTroy Hawkins to return to the closer role for a few days. Yohan Flande and Justin Miller were added to the bullpen, with Christian Bergman (shoulder) also deactivated.

Axford is not on the lineup card for Tuesday's game against the A's, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Yohan Flande has joined the team with Axford deactivated for undisclosed reasons. Look for another update when the team provides additional information. LaTroy Hawkins has posted a 1.35 ERA in June and would seem like the top candidate to fill in as closer.