May 21, 2015
Cleveland Indians – Zach McAllister pitched the eighth inning ahead of Cody Allen last night. Despite taking a loss on Monday, he has found himself pitching in higher-leverage spots as of late mainly due to his ability to make hitters miss with a 10.8 K/9 ratio. Manager Terry Francona recently praised McAllister and his usage suggests that he may get a crack at save opportunities if Cody Allen, who allowed another run on Wednesday, is unavailable.
Updated hierarchy: Allen | Shaw | McAllister.
Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson converted his first save opportunity as the head of the Texas committee. It wasn’t as smooth as he would have liked, as he gave up a double and an intentional walk, but he got the job done. It was a true committee leading up to the ninth, as utility pitcher Ross Ohlendorf was used in the eighth, combining with Alex Claudio and Tanner Scheppers to hold the Red Sox scoreless. Manager Jeff Banister was happy with his bullpen’s performance, and guys like Scheppers and Tolleson seem to be buying in to the committee. Still of interest is where Neftali Feliz, who had thrown 23 pitches on Tuesday, fits in all of this, and we may find out on Thursday if the Rangers have a late lead. For now, it appears that a cavalcade of pitchers will be used ahead of Tolleson on any given night.
Hierarchy remains: *Tolleson | Feliz | Scheppers.
* = closer-by-committee
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland is feeling better after dealing with a stiff neck on Tuesday and is once again ready for regular duty in the ninth inning.
Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians – Cody Allen has appeared in two straight, tossing 38 pitches.
