June 18, 2016
San Francisco Giants — Santiago Casilla was placed on paternity leave yesterday, and will miss the weekend series in Tampa Bay. Jeff Samardzija was excellent last night, so the bullpen was not needed. Casilla has three straight scoreless appearances, but is only a week removed from a rough stretch that saw him lose two games, blow a save and get pulled out of the 9th inning in favor of Javier Lopez. Casilla is still the top option in San Francisco, but this could be a chance for Cory Gearrin or Hunter Strickland to show Bruce Bochy that they can handle the final three outs if Casilla’s struggles return.
Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Gearrin | Strickland.
Washington Nationals — With Shawn Kelley unavailable, and Blake Treinen used to get out of a jam in the 7th, the save opportunity fell to Yusmeiro Petit. Petit worked around a leadoff single to close the game out for his second career save. Although he has pitched well recently, Petit is still a longshot for saves going forward, even with Jonathan Papelbon on the DL.
Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek has pitched in two straight, throwing 51 pitches.
2. Jim Johnson, Atlanta Braves –Arodys Vizcaino has pitched in 3 straight, and 4 of the last 5.