Thursday’s five-game slate resulted in an 80 percent save rate but no wins or losses by a reliever. Here are the four saves in condensed form:
| Reliever | Save # | Pitches | Strike% | SwStr% | K:BB | BF |
| Andrés Muñoz | 23 | 18 | 61.1 | 22.2 | 1:1 | 6 |
| Ryan Helsley | 20 | 16 | 75 | 31.3 | 2:0 | 4 |
| Mason Miller | 20 | 23 | 56.5 | 21.7 | 1:1 | 5 |
| Gregory Soto | 1 | 13 | 61.5 | 23.1 | 2:0 | 3 |
Small slates yield limited options for a vulture save:
Vulture Save Option for July 25
- Yennier Cano (BAL): Domínguez threw 25 pitches during his outing yesterday.
Here are the leverage events of interest from Thursday.
Closer CliffsNotes
Baltimore Orioles – In their first game without Félix Bautista, first-year manager Tony Mansolino played matchups during the late innings. Seranthony Domínguez entered at the bottom of the eighth with a one-run lead against the Guardians’ 3-4-5 lineup pocket. He navigated around two hits and recorded two strikeouts for his 13th hold.
Gregory Soto fired a clean bottom of the ninth, striking out two on 13 pitches (61.5 Strike%) with three whiffs (23.1 SwStr%), notching his first save.
After this was posted, Soto was traded to the Mets.
Adjusted Hierarchy: *Seranthony Domínguez | *Yennier Cano | Andrew Kittredge
Seattle Mariners – Working into and out of trouble, with one out, Andrés Muñoz recorded a strikeout, but LaMonte Wade Jr. reached on a wild pitch. After inducing a fielder’s choice groundout, he allowed Zach Neto’s single and walked Mike Trout before Nolan Schanuel’s lineout to left, ending the contest. Muñoz notched his 23rd save, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out one on 18 pitches (61.1 Strike%) with four whiffs (22.2 SwStr%). His illustrator:
And results:
This extended his scoreless streak to four games, during which he has a 1.25 WHIP with six strikeouts versus four walks (11.1 K-BB%).
- Matt Brash secured his 13th hold, stranding a runner and retiring both batters via strikeout.
- Gabe Speier gave up a hit and recorded two outs between the seventh and eighth innings for his 13th hold.
- Carlos Vargas was credited with his 12th hold despite giving up two hits and an earned run during two-thirds of the seventh.
- Eduard Bazardo fired a clean sixth and recorded a strikeout for his fourth hold.
Hierarchy Remains: Andrés Muñoz | Matt Brash | Gabe Speier
St. Louis Cardinals – Shutting the door on his 20th save, Ryan Helsley worked around Manny Machado’s lead-off single with a strikeout, a flyout, and a game-ending strikeout, preserving a two-run victory. He threw 16 pitches (75 Strike%) and generated five whiffs (31.3 SwStr%).
He’s amid a modest three-game scoreless streak and has converted his last six save chances, posting a 1.00 WHIP with nine strikeouts versus two walks in ten innings.
- Phil Maton notched his 19th hold, retiring the side at the top of the eighth.
- JoJo Romero stranded two runners at the top of the sixth and logged 1.2 clean frames while recording four strikeouts for his 15th hold.
- Riley O’Brien was credited with his third hold despite giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one during one-third of the sixth.
Hierarchy Remains: Ryan Helsley | Phil Maton | JoJo Romero
The Athletics – Making his fourth multi-inning appearance this season, Mason Miller took over with runners on the corners and two outs at the bottom of the eighth. He stranded both with an inning-ending flyout by Jose Altuve. Returning for the ninth, he retired the first two batters, issued a walk, and induced a game-ending flyout by Jon Singleton, securing his 20th save. He threw 23 pitches (56.5 Strike%) and produced five whiffs (21.7 SwStr%) while recording one strikeout.
He has converted his last six save opportunities and been scoreless in his last ten games, posting a 0.619 WHIP with 12 strikeouts against four walks (24.3 K-BB%) through 9.2 innings.
- Michael Kelly allowed two hits during two-thirds of the eighth, getting credit for his fifth hold.
Hierarchy Remains: Mason Miller | Michael Kelly | Sean Newcomb
News, Notes, and Observations
From this column by Rich Dubroff, how the Orioles may handle the trade deadline with Bautista on the injured list:
After seeing how they handled their first save without Bautista, a committee based on matchups may ensue while he remains sidelined once the deadline passes.
Blake Treinen (LAD) cleared his final rehab hurdle, working a clean inning at Triple-A while appearing on consecutive days. His Statcast box from the outing:
And his illustrator:
He should be activated on Saturday or Sunday in Boston. Once he is, he will immediately enter his team’s hierarchy.
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