April 28, 2021
Cincinnati Reds — Sean Doolittle came through in a big way for the Reds on Tuesday, throwing a perfect ninth inning to record his first save since game one of the 2019 World Series. Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone both threw a lot of pitches on Monday and Amir Garrett can’t be trusted right now, so no surprise that Doolittle got the call. Antone is the best reliever the Reds have at the moment, but it remains to be seen how consistently he’ll pitch the eighth and ninth innings, or if he’ll eventually move to the rotation. He’s certainly worth rostering given his numbers, that’s for sure.
Updated hierarchy: *Sims | Doolittle | Antone.
* = closer-by-committee
Detroit Tigers – Gregory Soto pitched a perfect ninth inning to close out Tuesday’s win. Soto has recorded the Tigers’ last two saves, while Bryan Garcia hasn’t seen the ninth inning since his save on April 14. We’ll slide Soto to the top of the hierarchy ahead of Jose Cisnero, who pitched the eighth on Tuesday, and Garcia.
Updated hierarchy: *Soto | Cisnero | B.Garcia.
* = closer-by-committee
Boston Red Sox — Matt Andriese was impressive on Tuesday night, pitching a perfect eighth inning against the Mets’ 9-1-2 hitters. Alex Cora loves the way Andriese is throwing the ball right now, and the versatile righty has certainly pitched his way on to our hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Barnes | Ottavino | Andriese.
Tampa Bay Rays — The asterisk won’t be returning today, as Diego Castillo closed out Tuesday’s win despite allowing a leadoff homer in the ninth. It’s still mayhem in the innings leading up to the ninth, but at least Castillo seems to have returned to his usual role.
Hierarchy remains: Castillo | Springs | Thompson.
Colorado Rockies – After Daniel Bard blew a save in the ninth inning, Carlos Estevez came on in the 10th to earn the save after Colorado retook the lead in the top half of the frame. Estevez hasn’t really factored into the Rockies’ high-leverage plans, but neither has Yency Almonte, who was curiously absent from last night’s action. Robert Stephenson has put together five straight scoreless outings, and while he doesn’t have a hold yet, he’s probably a better option than Almonte is right now.
Updated hierarchy: Bard | Givens | Stephenson.
Minnesota Twins — Prior to Tuesday’s game, Rocco Baldelli said that Alex Colomé will be moved into a lower-leverage role for now. We’ll expect to see more of Tyler Duffey in the late innings while Colomé tries to get right.
Updated hierarchy: *Rogers | Robles | Duffey.
*closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants – The Giants traded Wandy Peralta to the Yankees yesterday, which means we get to officially welcome Camilo Doval to the hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: McGee | Rogers | Doval.
Cleveland Indians – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, Emmanuel Clase got a night off and James Karinchak picked up his second save of the year with a perfect 1.1 innings of work.
Hierarchy remains: *Clase | Karinchak | Wittgren.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Dodgers — Dave Roberts confirmed late last night that Victor Gonzalez went on the IL for vaccine-related reasons. He could be back as early as today.
Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Treinen | Gonzalez.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Ryne Stanek (HOU) – Ryan Pressly has made back-to-back appearances.
2. Bryan Garcia (DET) – Gregory Soto (39 pitches) and Jose Cisnero (38 pitches) have both thrown on two straight days.
Tomorrow
1. Blake Treinen (LAD) – Kenley Jansen got yesterday off after throwing in two of three, but a lengthy appearance today may call for another off day on Thursday.
2. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – If Alex Reyes pitches today, that will be two straight and three of four.
3. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – Same goes for Matt Barnes.
4. Mychal Givens (COL) – Ditto for Daniel Bard.
