August 3, 2018
Miami Marlins — Things have not gone smoothly for Kyle Barraclough lately. Thursday marked his third consecutive blown save and second walk-off homer in two weeks. After the game, Don Mattingly didn’t want to make any knee-jerk decisions, but he promised to “talk about” changing things in the ninth. You’ve been warned. Handcuff yourself with Drew Steckenrider before it’s too late.
Hierarchy remains: Barraclough | Steckenrider | Conley.
Chicago White Sox — We finally have a White Sox save after the Joakim Soria trade. Did it offer any clarity on their bullpen situation? No. Five relievers combined for the final six outs! After Jace Fry and Juan Minaya recorded strikeouts with two men in scoring position in the eighth inning, Xavier Cedeno cleared the bases by allowing a three-run shot, putting him in line to take the loss. After the Sox retook the lead, he came back on and allowed a double before he was pulled. In came Jeanmar Gomez . . . who recorded one out, then got pulled. Luis Avilan was the last quality arm left, and he nailed down the final two outs for his first save. The usage suggests manager Rick Renteria was playing matchups (or picking names out of a hat), but we can’t ignore the save for Avilan. In the messy hierarchy he goes.
Updated hierarchy: *Fry | Cedeno | Avilan.
* = closer-by-committee
Atlanta Braves — Brad Brach pitched a clean eighth inning ahead of AJ Minter again Thursday, which is enough for us to drop the committee tag. Minter should hold onto the job until Arodys Vizcaino gets back, which could be a while.
Updated hierarchy: Minter | Brach | Winkler.
Texas Rangers — The Rangers’ 17-8 win over the Orioles was one of many lopsided scores Thursday, but it didn’t prevent a vulture save from being doled out. If you had bets on Eddie Butler (3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER to end Thursday’s win) picking up the first Rangers save since the Keone Kela trade, you should play the lottery.
Hierarchy remains: Leclerc | Claudio | Gearrin.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Alvarado — Sergio Romo has pitched in three straight games.
2. Drew Steckenrider — See above. At the very least, Barraclough may need some mental rest.
3. Adam Ottavino — Wade Davis has a low pitch count, but he’s gone in two of three and four of six, including a blown save on Thursday.
Saturday:
1. Ken Giles — Ryan Tepera has gone in two straight, so we might get a first peek at how the Blue Jays plan to use Giles.
