September 5, 2018
Tampa Bay Rays – Well, Sergio Romo was finally spotted on a Major League mound Tuesday night. With the tying run on deck in the ninth inning, Romo replaced Adam Kolarek and retired the next two batters to preserve a 4-0 win and record his 19th save of the season. After the game, Kevin Cash said the reason for Romo’s absence was that the matchups weren’t right. Jose Alvarado, who had recorded two of the Rays’ last three saves, was used in the sixth inning to protect a 1-0 lead in a move also dictated by matchups. We’ll keep Alvarado atop the Tampa hierarchy for now, but that could change if Romo becomes a late-innings regular again.
Hierarchy remains: *Alvarado | Romo | Roe.
* = closer-by-committee
St. Louis Cardinals – The Vulture Save Watch predicted a Jordan Hicks appearance on Tuesday night, but it was not a traditional save chance for Hicks. The Cardinals entered the ninth inning with an 11-5 lead, but the Nationals cut the deficit to 11-8 and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs before Hicks came on to close out the win. As we said yesterday, Bud Norris’ next outing is huge for him if he wants to keep seeing save chances. Meanwhile, Dakota Hudson came through in a big spot last night as he shut down the heart of the Nats’ order in the seventh inning to keep St. Louis ahead by two.
Hierarchy remains: *Norris | Hicks | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Dodgers — Kenley Jansen may miss the Dodgers’ upcoming series in Colorado, which is where he showed symptoms of an irregular heartbeat less than a month ago. We’ll keep an eye on this, especially if Dave Roberts gives any indication if he has a specific plan for the ninth inning if Jansen skips the trip to Denver.
Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Maeda | Alexander.
Texas Rangers – Jose Leclerc has arguably been the best reliever in baseball since taking over as the Rangers’ closer. In 12 appearances since the trade deadline, Leclerc has allowed only one hit and zero runs while striking out 22 batters. Dating back to June 20, Leclerc has given up just two earned runs and eight hits in his last 26 outings (26.2 IP). He won’t be pitching in October, but Leclerc could play a big role in the fantasy playoffs if he keeps pitching like this.
Hierarchy remains: LeClerc | Martin | Claudio.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Adam Ottavino/Seung Hwan Oh – Wade Davis has pitched in two straight and three of four. Ottavino has also gone in three of four, so Oh may get a chance if the Rockies want to give Ottavino the night off as well.
Tomorrow
None.
