May 30, 2016
Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle picked up his first save in over a month after Ryan Madson was used to get the heart of the order in the 8th inning. Doolittle has looked sharper lately, but he’s still not going to get too many opportunities to close, as even he admitted after the game. This was a matchup play, and while Doolittle might see another chance here or there, Madson remains the man in Oakland.
Updated hierarchy: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
New York Mets – Two consecutive rough outings have doubled Jeurys Familia’s ERA — he gave up a four-run lead on Friday and then allowed two go-ahead runs to score last night. He’s still actually perfect in save opportunities because neither of those were blown saves, and the Mets seem to think it’s not a mechanical issue. But Familia’s strikeout rates are down this season and a few more bad outings might open the door for Addison Reed.
Hierarchy remains: Familia | Reed | Henderson.
Milwaukee Brewers – We figured that the Brewers would stay away from Jeremy Jeffress yesterday, but we were wrong about who would close in his place. Rather than being moved to the 9th, Tyler Thornburg stayed in his traditional spot, finishing off the 8th inning. Blaine Boyer then came on and gave up three hits and two runs in the 9th, but managed to hold on for the save. If anything happens to Jeffress long term, Thornburg (or the soon-to-return Will Smith) would be more likely than Boyer to assume the closer role, but yesterday’s game proved that Boyer is in the mix for one-off opportunities.
Updated hierarchy: Jeffress | Thornburg | Boyer.
Boston Red Sox – The Vulture Save Watch was right about this one, though — with Craig Kimbrel getting the afternoon off, Koji Uehara picked up his first save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Uehara | Tazawa.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia may get a day off to clear his head, especially with the Mets playing the earliest game of the day after hosting Sunday Night Baseball.
2. Gavin Floyd, Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna has pitched in four of the last five and Joe Biagini threw two innings last night.