June 30, 2012
Toronto Blue Jays – Darren Oliver pitched the 8th inning ahead of Casey Janssen on Friday, his fourth consecutive 8th inning hold. The ageless lefty is having the best season of his career, sporting a 1.59 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. Hierarchy change: Darren Oliver to Set-up, Francisco Cordero to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedTOR |Janssen |Oliver |Cordero |Santos |6/30/12 |Santos (DL) |
Texas Rangers – With both Joe Nathan and Mike Adams unavailable, the Rangers called on young Tanner Scheppers in the 9th inning yesterday. Scheppers was an unexpected choice, as he’d struggled so far this season since being called up in early June. But the righty is a former first round pick, and despite some early road bumps (his current ERA is 9.31), he’s been pitching in some high-leverage spots. Hierarchy change: Tanner Scheppers to 2nd in line, replacing Robbie Ross.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedTEX |Nathan |Adams |Scheppers |Nathan |6/30/12 |Uehara(DL) |
Baltimore Orioles – Matt Lindstrom got the final out of the 7th inning on Friday, and eventually earned the win in his second appearance since returning from the DL. The hard-throwing righty has a 1.80 ERA on the season, and given his past closer experience, he’d likely be the guy the Orioles went to if Jim Johnson and Pedro Strop were unavailable. Hierarchy change: Matt Lindstrom to 2nd in line, replacing Darren O’Day.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedBAL |Johnson |Strop |Lindstrom |Johnson |6/30/12
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jared Burton, Minnesota Twins – With with the Twins employing a true platoon, Jared Burton could get the save opp if there’s a righty-heavy ninth inning due up.
