June 25, 2016
Texas Rangers – In a bit of a surprise, it was Jake Diekman who was brought in to protect a 3 run lead instead of Sam Dyson. Diekman couldn’t convert the save, and was pulled after getting 2 outs. Matt Bush replaced him and immediately gave up the a home run to tie it, and later gave up the winning run on a wild pitch. After the game, Jeff Banister said that Dyson was fine, but needed a break after pitching on 12 of the last 20 days. This probably solidifies Dyson’s role in the bullpen, but if Banister continues to rest his top players we could see Diekman pick up a few more vulture saves.
Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Diekman | Bush.
Boston Red Sox – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Koji Uehara picked up a save after his counterparts on the Rangers failed to get the job done. Uehara pitched a clean 9th inning to pick up his 2nd save of the year.
Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Uehara | Tazawa.
St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal was handed a 1 run lead in the 9th inning, and took the loss after giving up 3 runs without recording an out. This ballooned his ERA to 5.63 on the year, and an absurd 14.14 in June. Rosenthal’s struggles this year have been blamed on a lack of work, and this is only his 3rd blown save on the year, but the fire under his seat is red hot, with at least some speculation that he is already finished as the closer. Mike Matheny has been committed to Rosenthal through his struggles this year, but gave a pretty reserved non-answer when asked about his role going forward, saying he needs to “figure it out.” Seung Hwan Oh pitched the 8th ahead of Rosenthal, and Kevin Siegrist was seen warming up before the walkoff homer by Adam Lind. Oh has been excellent recently, giving up only 1 run in his last 14 outings, and based on his recent use and his righthandedness we think he might have a slight edge over Siegrist if a closer change happens. But Siegrist is certainly no slouch and has gotten his share of 8th inning opportunities this year as well, so a committee could be in order. Regardless, this may be the last chance you have to grab them before Matheny makes a change official.
Updated hierarchy: Rosenthal | Oh | Siegrist.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Hunter Strickland, San Francisco Giants – Both Santiago Casilla and Cory Gearrin have gone three straight.
2. Zach Duke, Chicago White Sox – Both David Robertson and Nate Jones have gone in back to back games and have appeared in five of the last six.
3. Jason Motte, Colorado Rockies – Carlos Estevez has gone in back to back games and four of five.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland A’s – Ryan Madson has gone back to back and three of four.
5. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has gone in three of the last four, and his outing last night spanned two innings as he entered in the 8th to get the final four outs.
