Scott McGough hits the IL; Camilo Doval roughed up

September 18, 2023

San Francisco Giants – Camilo Doval entered the 9th with a 5-run lead and promptly got into a mess of trouble, allowing 4 runs while only logging two outs, eventually departing with the tying run on first base. Taylor Rogers came on to get the 1-out save, his second of the season. Don’t you just love when your closers pitch in non-save situations?

Hierarchy remains: Doval | Ty.Rogers | Ta.Rogers.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers’ top arms needed a rest, and fortunately, some early offense and a strong bulk outing by Ryan Yarbrough allowed them to turn to struggling rookie Gavin Stone for the final out of the 6th inning. Stone proceeded to turn in by far the best outing of his young career — it was, in fact, the first of his 7 career appearances whereby he didn’t allow a run — and recorded the game’s final 10 outs for his first save.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Scott McGough was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation on Sunday; expect Miguel Castro to get more holds in his absence.

Updated hierarchy: Sewald | Ginkel | Castro.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Jordan Weems – Kyle Finnegan has gone back to back and Hunter Harvey has gone in two of three, including 30 pitches yesterday.
2. Beau Brieske – Alex Lange and Jason Foley have gone back to back.

Tomorrow
1. Brusdar Graterol/Caleb Ferguson – If Evan Phillips or Brusdar Graterol go today, it’s three of four.
2. Giovanny Gallegos/John King – If Ryan Helsley or Giovanny Gallegos go today, it’s back to back.
3. Danny Coulombe/Shintaro Fujinami – Same for Yennier Cano and Danny Coulombe.

Miami’s Tanner Scott notches save, further cementing role as Marlins closer

August 28, 2023

Miami Marlins – As we alerted, David Robertson was removed from the closer’s role before Sunday’s game, and the new closer, Tanner Scott, pitched well Sunday to earn his third save of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Scott | Nardi | Puk.

Texas Rangers – Will Smith notched a clutch strikeout against the only batter he faced to finish off the eighth inning in Sunday’s game, leaving Aroldis Chapman to handle the ninth inning in a save situation. Chapman did not deliver, though, allowing the tying run to send the game to extras. The Rangers eventually lost, which is something happening a lot lately. Texas has lost nine of 10, and the struggles in the late innings are a big part of it. It appears manager Bruce Bochy is starting to play the matchups again in the ninth inning, so we’ll slap on the committee tag with Smith still in the lead role, for now. 

Updated hierarchy: *Smith | Chapman | Sborz.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Erik Swanson was placed on the injured list with thoracic spine inflammation. Expect Yimi Garcia and maybe Tim Mayza to vie for saves when the Jordans (Romano and Hicks) aren’t available.

Updated hierarchy: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Boston Red Sox – Manager Alex Cora said Kenley Jansen was available to pitch Sunday. The Red Sox lost, so there was no save situation and Jansen did not play, but he should be presumed to be available moving forward.  

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley resumed a rehab assignment on Sunday after his first one was paused over concerns about continued forearm discomfort. New imaging came back clean, allowing his return to action, though there is no timetable for his return to the majors. For what it’s worth, he did not pitch well in the rehab outing, allowing a couple of runs

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – The Vulture Save Watch projected a day off Sunday for Pete Fairbanks, but instead of turning to Colin Poche, manager Kevin Cash went with Jason Adam for the third time in four games. Adam nailed down his 12th save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Paul Sewald did not pitch Sunday, as forecast by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Ryan Thompson who earned the save in his first game for Arizona, not Kevin Ginkel, who had already pitched Friday and Saturday. 

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Adam Ottavino has gone in two straight.
2. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – Yennier Cano has also gone in two in a row.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – Same as above for Jhoan Duran.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) – Evan Phillips has pitched in three of four.
5. Jordan Hicks (TOR) – Jordan Romano threw 36 pitches to record five outs Sunday and could need a breather.

Tuesday:
1. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – Miami is off Monday but new closer Tanner Scott might need a second day of rest after pitching Saturday and Sunday.
2. Trevor Stephan (CLE) – If he goes Monday, that would be two straight and three of four for Emmanuel Clase.
3. Matt Brash (SEA) – A Monday outing would be three of four for Andres Munoz.

Bautista to IL and a Late Night Balk.

August 27, 2023
Baltimore Orioles – As we alerted yesterday, Felix Bautista has been placed on the IL with “some degree of injury” to his UCL. The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but any UCL injury is likely to keep Bautista out for the rest of the regular season. Yennier Cano, already one of the best relievers in the game, got the save chance in Bautista’s spot last night, and is an immediate must add in any league where he is available. Meanwhile, the Orioles called up DL Hall to take the roster spot, and he immediately got an 8th inning save. The Orioles are fortunate to have a few good options going forward, but Cano is clearly at the top of this hierarchy. 

Updated hierarchy: Cano | Fujinami | Coulombe.

Boston Red Sox – Boston was still without Kenley Jansen, but in a back and forth battle that saw Chris Martin and Josh Winckowski called in to put out fires earlier, the 9th inning of a 3 run game fell to John Schreiber. Schreiber made it interesting, loading the bases for Mookie Betts with 2 outs, but the scripted ended wasn’t meant to be. A long flyout earned Schreiber his first save on the year. Jansen isn’t yet back with the team, but will be soon, and while Schreiber got the save yesterday, the highest leverage spot fell to Martin. No changes to the hierarchy as we expect Jansen to be back soon. 

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Cincinnati Reds — Rule 5.07(a)(2) states: “Preparatory to coming to a set position, the pitcher shall have one hand on his side; from this position he shall go to his set position as defined in Rule 5.07(a)(2) without interruption and in one continuous motion” Nabil Crismatt apparently didn’t do that with a runner on third in the 11th inning, so the Reds took the lead on a balk, and called on Lucas Sims to close the game out. He stranded the ghost runner to pick up his 3rd save of the season. Sims continues to be a solid choice for the Reds but no way he is supplanting Alexis Diaz, even with Diaz’s shaky performance last night. 

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Sims | Gibaut.

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Chris Martin (BOS) — Martin only threw 4 pitches yesterday and Kenley Jansen may not be available again today.
  2. Colin Poche (TB) — Pete Fairbanks has pitched in 3 of 4 and Jason Adam has pitched in 2 of 3.
  3. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) — Paul Sewald threw 26 pitches last night in a blown save, and 28 pitches on Thursday, so he may get an afternoon off.
  4. Reynaldo Lopez (LAA) — Carlos Estevez has pitched in 3 of 4.

For Monday:

  1. Hunter Harvey (WAS) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Kyle Finnegan.
  2. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) — Same for Adbert Alzolay.

Felix Bautista leaves game with arm discomfort

August 26, 2023

Baltimore Orioles – Felix Bautista got the first two outs of the 9th inning but then left the game with arm discomfort.  Manager Brandon Hyde hopes he will be ok today but we will keep an eye on this and alert you if Bautista will miss an extended period of time.  Danny Coulombe recorded the one out save yesterday, but Yennier Cano would likely see the bulk of the save chances if Bautista is forced to go on the IL.

Hierarchy remains: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

Washington Nationals — Kylie Finnegan got the day off after pitching in two of three, including a 31 pitch save on Thursday.  Hunter Harvey filled in and picked up his 10th save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Finnegan | Harvey | Thompson.

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks had a six run lead heading into the 9th inning but Justin Martinez made a mess of things by giving up a grand slam to cut the lead to two.  Paul Sewald had the night off so Kevin Ginkel got the call and he struck out both batters that he faced for his 4th save of the season.  Score another one for the Vulture Save Watch. 

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) – Felix Bautista could be unavailable about leaving yesterday’s game
2. Chris Martin (BOS) – Boston is going to try and stay away from Kenley Jansen for a few days while he recovers from a hamstring injury.
3. Matt Brash (SEA) – Andres Munoz has pitched in three of four, including a 26 pitch outing yesterday.
4. Colin Holderman (PIT) – David Bednar has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Caleb Ferguson (LAD) – Evan Phillips has pitched in two straight while Brusdar Graterol threw 31 pitches yesterday.

Sunday
1. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) – If Paul Sewald pitches today, it will be two of three and four of six, including two 28 pitch outings.
2. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – If Adbert Alzolay pitches today, it will be three of four.
3. Reynaldo Lopez/Matt Moore (LAA) – If Carlos Estevez pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Reynaldo Lopez.
4. Bryan Abreu/Hector Neris (HOU) – If Ryan Pressly pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Bryan Abreu.

Two days, two saves for Matt Brash

August 18, 2023

New York Mets – With Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley getting the day off, the Mets used Drew Smith to get out of a tight spot in the 7th inning. That left the save chance to Trevor Gott, who converted for his first of the season.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners – As we suspected, Andres Munoz got another night off, allowing Matt Brash to collect his second save in as many nights. Munoz should slot back in to the highest-leverage role going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Munoz | Brash | Topa.

Arizona Diamondbacks – We figured that almost every relevant reliever would get the night off here, but we didn’t think that Justin Martinez, who prior to last night had a 13.50 ERA across 4.2 innings, would be the one getting the 9th inning. But good on you, Justin, who struck out three in his 1.1 innings of work to pick up his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Hunter Harvey – Kyle Finnegan has gone back to back.
2. Kevin Ginkel – Paul Sewald pitched in four out of five from Saturday to Wednesday and might need a second day off.

Tomorrow
1. Brooks Raley/Drew Smith – Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley have seen heavy workloads lately; if either goes today they’re probably off tomorrow.
2. Brusdar Graterol – If Evan Phillips goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Austin Cox – Same for Carlos Hernandez.