June 29, 2017
St. Louis Cardinals — After Seung Hwan Oh’s third blown save on Tuesday, Mike Matheny left the door open for a change in the ninth inning. Tonight Brett Cecil (resurgent, but still leading the league in relief meltdowns) shut down the heart of the Arizona lineup in the eighth, and it was Trevor Rosenthal who got the call to protect a two-run lead. Rosenthal was about as bad as he could be without losing the lead, scattering a single, two walks, and two wild pitches, but managing to strand the tying run on third. He got the save, but it’s hard to imagine the outing filled Matheny with confidence going forward, especially since Oh was warming for much of the inning. This looks like a committee — an ugly committee.
Updated hierarchy: *Oh | Rosenthal | Cecil.
* = closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants — Mark Melancon’s elbow discomfort never really went away during his earlier trip to the disabled list, so he’s headed back — this time through the All-Star Break. (No word on whether the injury was worsened by “pole vaulting over mouse turds.”) In a possible sign that the Giants don’t trust (or respect?) Hunter Strickland, the interim closer will in fact be deposed Ranger Sam Dyson, who joined the team just three weeks ago and hasn’t yet worked his ERA under 9. Strickland did pick up a save Wednesday, but Dyson was unavailable due to a heavy recent workload. Dyson has been improving — striking out the side in a medium-leverage eighth on Tuesday — but the Giants’ angle here is probably an attempt to flip him for a prospect at the trade deadline.
Updated hierarchy: Dyson | Strickland | Kontos.
Los Angeles Angels — Cam Bedrosian looked great in his turn through the revolving door of Angels closers, right up until the point when he surrendered a tying home run on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Bud Norris has a rehab appearance scheduled on Thursday. Until his return, chaos.
Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Bedrosian | Street.
* = closer-by-committee
Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger was activated from the DL following Wednesday’s game, taking the place of Danny Farquhar, who was designated for assignment. Farquhar has the stuff and the experience to wind up on another major league roster immediately, either through waivers or a trade. Tampa has a lot of mediocre options in middle relief, so we’ll slot Boxberger right into his old (2014) setup role for now.
Updated hierarchy: Colome | Boxberger | Hunter.
Philadelphia Phillies — As a starter, Ricardo Pinto was the top pitcher in the Phillies’ minor league system in 2015. These days he’s been getting some looks out of the bullpen, and he earned a win Wednesday with three scoreless innings. Pinto could be a name to remember for next season and beyond — just don’t confuse him with the adventure sports photographer, the Portuguese fantasy writer, the Brazilian goalie, or the male model based in France. Wait, are these all the same guy?
Hierarchy remains: *Neris | Neshek | Garcia.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jacob Turner/Blake Treinen — Both Matt Albers and Enny Romero have gone in three straight.
2. Bryan Shaw — Cody Allen threw 25 pitches in his third straight appearance, and Andrew Miller got five outs, his second game in a row.
3. Michael Lorenzen — Raisel Iglesias has gone in two straight and three of four.
Friday:
1. Juan Nicasio — It’s been two in a row for Felipe Rivero.