April 16, 2016
Atlanta Braves — Arodys Vizcaino certainly made it interesting — loading the bases in the eighth and allowing two more baserunners in the ninth — but at the end of the day, he had his first save and the Braves their first win in ten tries.
Hierarchy remains: *Vizcaino | Grilli | Johnson.
* = closer-by-committee
Minnesota Twins — Kevin Jepsen pitched well to earn a save in the Twins’ first victory of the season. After getting a second opinion on his shoulder injury, Glen Perkins has said he expects to return from the DL when he regains eligibility on April 26. Even Minnesota’s more conservative estimates have him returning in early May.
Hierarchy remains: Jepsen | May | Fien.
San Francisco Giants — It’s the DL for Sergio Romo, again, for another elbow injury. Hunter Strickland should move into the eighth, and lefty Josh Osich is probably the best-situated of the remaining Giants hurlers. Replacing Romo on the roster was young Derek Law, who did his dad one better by making it into his first game, then striking out the side.
Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Strickland | Osich.
Chicago White Sox — Chris Sale pitched a complete game shutout on Friday night, but Jake Petricka was ready to come in if Sale had needed help. We expected David Robertson to get the day off, but Petricka — who has always had control issues — was a bit of a surprise. He’s not in the hierarchy now, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Jones | Albers.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jason Grilli, Atlanta Braves — Arodys Vizcaino needed 35 pitches for Friday’s rocky four-out save, and he also threw 16 on Thursday. Grilli hasn’t pitched in days.
2. Jim Henderson, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia has pitched on four of the last five (and five of the last seven) days, and Addison Reed threw 20 pitches last night.