April 6, 2016
Detroit Tigers — The Tigers revamped their beleaguered bullpen in the offseason and it came to fruition on Tuesday as starter Shane Greene picked up his first career save. Just as the organization drew it up! Francisco Rodriguez was horrible in his Detroit debut, allowing three runs on four hits to set the stage for Greene in the 13th inning. No need to panic with 161 games to go, but it was not a pretty Opening Day for K-Rod, nor was it pleasant for Mark Lowe either, as he gave up a run in the eighth.
Hierarchy remains: Rodriguez | Lowe | J. Wilson.
Atlanta Braves – After a rough Opening Day outing for Jason Grilli, manager Fredi Gonzalez said that Arodys Vizcaino will be his top bullpen option. The problem is that Gonzalez is only concerned about Vizcaino facing the “tough part of the order.” So while he no longer leads the committee at the moment, Grilli is not out of the running for some cheap saves depending on matchups.
Updated hierarchy: *Vizcaino | Grilli | Johnson.
* = closer-by-committee
Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome didn’t relinquish the lead in the Rays’ committee on Tuesday, although he did get some help from the Chase Utley Rule. Colome also threw 34 pitches over two innings, so don’t expect him to pitch on Wednesday.
Hierarchy remains: *Colome | Farquhar | Cedeno.
* = closer-by-committee
San Diego Padres — Kevin Quackenbush worked the seventh with the Padres trailing 3-0 on Tuesday. If the Padres ever do get a lead this season, manager Andy Green said that we can expect Brandon Maurer to protect it in the eighth inning ahead of Fernando Rodney.
Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Maurer | Quackenbush.
Arizona Diamondbacks – Tyler Clippard made his Diamondbacks debut with Arizona trailing in the seventh inning. Daniel Hudson was warming in the eighth as the Diamondbacks took a sizable lead, and eventually came on to protect Clippard’s victory. We’ll swap Hudson and Clippard for now and will closely monitor how the duo is used ahead of Brad Ziegler in the early weeks of the season.
Updated hierarchy: Ziegler | Hudson | Clippard.
New York Mets – Jim Henderson, who had last appeared in the majors on May 1, 2014, threw a perfect seventh inning with two strikeouts in a 2-0 win over the Royals. Manager Terry Collins said he doesn’t want to overuse Henderson, but you can expect to see him take the mound more frequently in the seventh inning.
Updated hierarchy: Familia | Reed | Henderson.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Danny Farquhar/Xavier Cedeno, Tampa Bay Rays — Alex Colome threw 34 pitches over two innings last night, so we’ll see who Kevin Cash prefers next in his committee.