September 3, 2015
Minnesota Twins – A day after Glen Perkins picked up his 32nd save of the year, he may or may not have pulled landscaping duty and was unavailable with a back strain. Kevin Jepsen took the 9th in his absence and continues to pitch well bouncing between being a set-up man and a closer. Perkins is getting an MRI and may be out for a few days, but the injury is not considered serious. The Twins clearly want him to be the closer when he is healthy, and the team is still in the thick of the wild-card race.
Hierarchy remains: Perkins | Jepsen | May.
Colorado Rockies — Justin Miller, who was recalled from Triple-A prior to Wednesday’s game, was used to protect a three-run lead in the 8th inning, then stayed on for the 9th to pick up his first save after the Rockies scored two more in the bottom half of the frame. Miller was recently optioned on Aug. 23 and doesn’t project to factor in the Rockies’ late-inning plans.
Hierarchy remains: Axford | Oberg | Diaz.
Seattle Mariners – Manager Lloyd McClendon has taken a lot of flak from us this year. From sticking with Fernando Rodney as the closer for too long, to using Fernando Rodney when he couldn’t get anybody out, McClendon has taken a lot of the blame for Seattle’s bullpen woes. We need to give credit where credit is due though. In a tie game, as the visitors, McClendon used Carson Smith for the highest-leverage out of the night to that point. When Logan Kensing got in trouble in the 8th, McClendon didn’t hesitate to bring in closer Tom Wilhelmsen to get out of the jam. McClendon left him in for the 9th after Seattle scored three more runs, and he picked up a five-out save. Using your best pitchers in the most important spots, regardless of what their “role” in the bullpen is, that’s how you get the most out of your team! Maybe if McClendon had been doing this all along, Seattle wouldn’t be 10 games back in its division.
Hierarchy remains: Wilhelmsen | Smith | Kensing.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Jepsen, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins may miss a couple days to get his back checked.
2. Shawn Kelley/Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres – Craig Kimbrel has 52 pitches to his credit over the last two nights, and Benoit threw 31 on Wednesday.
