Ryan Brasier grabs another save for the Red Sox

April 13, 2019

Boston Red Sox — Boston turned to Matt Barnes to get the last out of the seventh inning — and he had to do it twice, striking out Hanser Alberto on a wild pitch, then striking out Jesus Sucre to achieve a robust 54 K/9 for the game. Boston added a couple runs, but Tyler Thornburg gave them back in the ninth, and the save was left for Ryan Brasier. Barnes and Brasier are splitting high-leverage work so far, but Brasier now has the last three saves, so we’ll move him up in this committee. Brandon Workman, who pitched a clean eighth inning last night, has a perfect ERA on the season, and has seen the late innings more frequently recently.

Updated hierarchy: *Brasier | Barnes | Workman.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago White Sox – Mother Nature stayed perfect in save opportunities last night, and gave the credit to Nate Jones, who got the last out of the sixth inning before rain forced an early end to the game.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Herrera | Jones.

New York Yankees — Dellin Betances suffered a setback in a simulated game yesterday; he’ll get a cortisone injection and be out for at least 6 weeks. The Yankees have 12 players on the IL, but their bullpen has been mostly unaffected, so they’ll be careful not to rush Betances back.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Britton | Ottavino.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Tony Watson — An 18-inning marathon forced all of San Francisco’s relievers into use, but for Will Smith, it was also three in a row. Watson is the best rested of the SF hierarchy, but Sam Dyson is the best rested overall.
2. Alex Wilson — Josh Hader threw 38 pitches last night, and may need a day to recover. 

Sunday:
1.  Joakim Soria — Today would be three in a row for Blake Treinen.
2. Keone Kela/Richard Rodriguez — Today would be back to back and three of four for Felipe Vazquez, Kela and Rodriguez. Whoever doesn’t pitch today would likely get the ball on Sunday.
3. Craig Stammen — Today would be back to back and three of four for Kirby Yates.
4. Joe Biagini — Ken Giles threw 26 pitches on Thursday, so another long outing could earn him a day off on Sunday.