April 21, 2018
St. Louis Cardinals — Okay, we can’t keep pretending that Greg Holland is at the top of this bullpen when he never sniffs a save chance. We’ll adjust when and if he gets a role commensurate with his paycheck, but for now, Bud Norris and his five saves have earned the slot. The Cardinals have a lot of good late-inning options behind those two, but Tyler Lyons has three eighth-inning holds in his last three appearances, so we’ll give him the nod.
Updated hierarchy: *Norris | Holland | Lyons.
* = closer-by-committee
Baltimore Orioles — With a two-run lead over the Indians, Darren O’Day converted the save opportunity. Brad Brach hadn’t pitched in three days, so this wasn’t a traditional vulture save. After the game, Buck Showalter said that he liked the matchups for O’Day, and wanted to give him a chance to bounce back after a rough outing on Wednesday. These comments, coming after Brach pitched the seventh on Tuesday, mean this should be considered a committee at least until Zach Britton returns in about a month. Meanwhile, Richard Bleier pitched two perfect innings ahead of O’Day for his third hold of the year (0.61 ERA). Bleier has earned a place in the hierarchy over Mychal Givens.
Updated hierarchy: *Brach | O’Day | Bleier.
Philadelphia Phillies — Hector Neris picked up his third save last night, with Adam Morgan and Luis Garcia getting him the ball. The roles in the Philadelphia pen seem solid enough to pull the committee asterisk.
Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Morgan.
Houston Astros — Ken Giles pitched the ninth inning with a lead for the first time since April 9th. Sure, it was a 10-run lead, but with Giles hurting, it had to be a relief for his owners to see him put together a clean inning. The next save opportunity will provide some clarity in Houston, but with Chris Devenski so valuable in a more flexible role, we think Giles still has the inside track to keep the closer’s job if he can stay healthy.
Hierarchy remains: *Giles | Devenski | Peacock.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Joe Jimenez — Shane Greene threw 38 pitches in Friday’s doubleheader and has gone in four of the last five games.
2. Archie Bradley — Brad Boxberger had a rough outing last night, and he has pitched in three straight.
Sunday:
1. Sergio Romo — An appearance today would be four out of five for Alex Colome.
2. Addison Reed — If Fernando Rodney pitches today, it will be three out of four.
