June 5, 2017
Chicago Cubs – After pitching Friday and Saturday, Wade Davis got the night off on Sunday. What was a bit surprising was that CJ Edwards stayed in his usual 8th inning slot, while Koji Uehara stepped in to fill the 9th. Uehara, of course, has the edge in terms of experience, but it’s unclear if this is a situation where Uehara would jump Edwards to fill the role long-term, should anything happen to Davis. We will monitor their usage going forward, but you could make an argument for either player as the handcuff right now.
Updated hierarchy: Davis | Edwards | Uehara.
Washington Nationals – Koda Glover came on to get the last out of the 8th, but he melted down in the 9th, allowing the first five hitters to reach base (4 singles and a walk). Shawn Kelley came on and gave up a grand slam, scoring all the inherited runners, but then settled down and got the last two outs to pick up his fourth save. Glover has been great, and had a decent excuse for last night in that the Nationals had a very long turn at bat in the top of the 9th, so he probably got a bit cold. His job should be safe for now.
Hierarchy remains: Glover | Kelley | Albers.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jacob Barnes – Corey Knebel threw 25 pitches yesterday, and has pitched in four of the last six.
Tomorrow
1. Carlos Torres/Neftali Feliz – If Corey Knebel and Jacob Barnes both go tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five with pretty heavy workloads; it’s possible neither will be available tomorrow.
2. Pat Neshek/Jeanmar Gomez – If Hector Neris and Pat Neshek go tonight, it’ll be three straight. Monitor who pitches to see who would get Tuesday’s chance.