Saturday’s slate yielded seven wins by relievers and nine saves while suffering seven losses. There were four ancillary saves, including a surprise one by Kyle Leahy (STL), covered in condensed form:
For the save streamers, in order of preference:
Vulture Save Options for August 31
- Orion Kerkering (PHI): Jhoan Duran and Matt Strahm have pitched in back-to-back games.
- Shelby Miller (MIL): Abner Uribe has appeared in consecutive games.
- Kaleb Ort (HOU): Bryan Abreu threw 28 pitches yesterday and has thrown 51 over the previous four days, logging three appearances.
- Matt Svanson (STL): JoJo Romero has worked in three consecutive contests, Kyle Leahy will be unavailable, and Riley O’Brien has not pitched (?) in this series. If O’Brien’s available, he would be the preference, but there have been strange usage patterns against Cincinnati.
Under the Hood
With the score tied at the top of the ninth, Jeff Hoffman allowed two home runs leading off the inning. Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich went back-to-back against the closer. After recording an out, he issued Sal Frelick a walk and gave up a two-out RBI double by Isaac Collins, prompting his removal. He suffered his sixth loss, giving up three hits, three earned runs, and a walk during two-thirds of an inning. Hoffman has allowed multiple runs in two of his last three appearances and at least a run in three of his previous four.
Before delving into his recent results, here were the thoughts of his manager following today’s meltdown:
This has been an ongoing process for Hoffman and his manager. He has some struggles, gets on the hot seat, then rebounds with consecutive scoreless appearances. However, after this game, Hoffman moved into a tie for the most home runs allowed by a reliever (14) this season. From Saturday’s loss, his illustrator:
And, his results:
Both home runs were hit on away pitches. Still, it’s a trend he must overcome with just over a month remaining in the regular season, and he acknowledged this in his postgame presser, covered in Keegan Matheson’s game recap for MLB.com:
There are no easy answers for the implosions within his data, but the rising WHIP with fewer whiffs since the All-Star break make things difficult for the closer:
Link: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/6Tzfs/3/
Hoffman’s struggles coincide with recent trends for his high-leverage teammates, which makes a changing of the guard difficult for Schneider. Fantasy players in their head-to-head playoffs may prefer benching Toronto’s closer given recent results. As for a clear replacement, the choices are limited on the roster, which means he will remain in the role until his manager states otherwise.
Here are the remaining leverage events of interest from Saturday.
Leverage Ledger
Arizona Diamondbacks – After beginning his warmup for a save chance, Jake Woodford closed out a five-run win over the Dodgers with a clean bottom of the ninth, facing the 7-8-9 lineup pocket. He threw ten pitches (70% strike rate) without a whiff but recorded a strikeout. There are no defined roles in this leverage ladder, but it appears he’s firmly in the mix for save chances based on recent usage patterns.
Andrew Saalfrank took over at the bottom of the seventh, walking Shohei Ohtani,i then letting his only inherited runner score on a Mookie Betts RBI single, and retiring Will Smith, ending the inning. He returned for the eighth and retired the 4-5-6 hitters in order. Saalfrank secured his second hold, logging 1.1 scoreless innings, yielding a hit and a walk while striking out one. He’s the other half of our adjusted save share.
Updated Hierarchy: *Andrew Saalfrank | *Jake Woodford | Kyle Backhus
*= closer-by-committee
Chicago Cubs – Nailing down his 21st save and preserving a one-run lead in Coors, Daniel Palencia retired the side and recorded two strikeouts. He threw 13 pitches (61.5% strike rate) and induced two whiffs (15.4 SwStr%).
Through 11 games in August, he has allowed a run in five but converted seven of eight save opportunities while posting a 1.65 WHIP with 14 strikeouts against four walks across 10.1 innings.
- Brad Keller fired a clean eighth, notching his 22nd hold.
- Andrew Kittredge worked a clean seventh and recorded a strikeout for his 13th hold.
Hierarchy Remains: Daniel Palencia | Brad Keller | Andrew Kittredge
Cleveland Guardians – Locking down his ninth save and preserving a one-run lead, Cade Smith fired a clean ninth, striking out the side against Seattle’s 5-6-7 lineup pocket. He also induced an inning-ending groundout by Josh Naylor, ending the eighth. Smith finished with 1.1 clean frames, throwing 16 pitches (62.5% strike rate) and producing three whiffs (18.8 SwStr%).
He has allowed one baserunner over his last three appearances, recording a win and two saves.
- Hunter Gaddis allowed a walk and Julio Rodríguez’s two-run home run during his two-thirds of the eighth, getting credit for his 29th hold.
Hierarchy Remains: Cade Smith | Hunter Gaddis | Eric Sabrowski
Kansas City Royals – Sealing a two-run lead and recording his American League-leading 36th save, Carlos Estévez navigated around Riley Greene’s one-out double with a groundout and a game-ending flyout. He threw 23 pitches (69.6% strike rate) and induced two whiffs (8.7 SwStr%).
This extended his scoreless streak to seven despite allowing his first baserunner since August 13.
- Lucas Erceg collected his sixth win, retiring the side and striking out one at the top of the eighth ahead of his team’s two-run rally at the bottom of the frame.
- Angel Zerpa stranded two runners while retiring his only batter in the seventh.
- John Schreiber gave up two hits during two-thirds scoreless in the seventh.
Hierarchy Remains: Carlos Estévez | Lucas Erceg | John Schreiber
Los Angeles Angels – Handed a three-run lead, Kenley Jansen walked lead-off hitter Jesús Sánchez, then retired Christian Walker via flyout, induced a pop-out by Yainer Diaz, and a game-ending flyout by Cam Smith to secure his 24th save. He threw 11 pitches (63.6% strike rate) without a whiff.
This marks his first save since August 13 and a second consecutive scoreless outing.
- José Fermin worked a clean bottom of the eighth, striking out two, and collected his third win courtesy of a three-run rally at the top of the ninth.
- Reid Detmers tossed a scoreless seventh, walking and striking out one.
Hierarchy Remains: Kenley Jansen | Reid Detmers | Luis García
Miami Marlins – Despite allowing a one-out walk and a two-out single, Tyler Phillips preserved a three-run win against the Mets with a game-ending strikeout of Starling Marte for his third save. He threw 15 pitches (60% strike rate) and induced two whiffs (13.3 SwStr%).
It’s his second save in his last three appearances.
- Ronny Henriquez notched his 21st hold, walking and striking out one during a scoreless eighth, facing the top of the lineup.
- Calvin Faucher took over a tied game with a runner at second and two outs at the bottom of the sixth, and worked 1.1 scoreless frames, yielding a hit and striking out one. He collected his fourth win as a result.
Hierarchy Remains: *Calvin Faucher | *Ronny Henriquez | *Tyler Phillips
*= closer-by-committee
Milwaukee Brewers – Capping his team’s three-run rally at the top of the ninth, Abner Uribe secured his fourth save, recording a strikeout of Vlad Guerrero Jr., allowing a single by Bo Bichette, then inducing a game-ending double play groundout against Alejandro Kirk. Uribe threw 13 pitches (53.8% strike rate) and produced one whiff while extending his scoreless streak to 17 games.
Since July 22, he has converted two saves and eight holds, posting a 0.824 WHIP with 19 strikeouts against five walks (22.3 K-BB%) over his last 17 innings.
- Aaron Ashby stranded a runner and retired his only batter in the eighth, earning his third win.
- Nick Mears allowed a hit and struck out one during two-thirds scoreless in the eighth.
- Jared Koenig fired a clean seventh, striking out the side.
Hierarchy Remains: Abner Uribe | Shelby Miller | Jared Koenig
New York Yankees – Presented a three-run lead at the bottom of the 11th, Camilo Doval recorded his 16th save of the year, and first with his new team, letting the “place” runner score on consecutive groundouts ahead of a game-ending strikeout.
David Bednar earned his fifth win, logging two scoreless frames, yielding a hit and striking out one across the ninth and tenth innings. He threw 22 pitches (77.3% strike rate) and induced three whiffs (13.6 SwStr%).
- Luke Weaver allowed a hit and struck out one during a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
- Devin Williams suffered his fourth blown save, giving up two hits, including Chase Meidroth’s game-tying RBI single, and recorded two strikeouts during the seventh.
Hierarchy Remains: David Bednar | Luke Weaver | Devin Williams
Philadelphia Phillies – Although he let the “place” runner score at the top of the tenth on an RBI single by Nacho Alvarez Jr., Matt Strahm collected his second win courtesy of a walk-off rally at the bottom of the inning.
Jhoan Duran fired a clean ninth, keeping the game tied, and recorded two strikeouts while facing Atlanta’s 4-5-6 lineup pocket. He threw 14 pitches (57.1% strike rate) and produced two whiffs (14.3 SwStr%).
After working in back-to-back games, he recorded a 1.031 WHIP with eight saves in nine chances and 13 strikeouts (33.3 K-BB%) over 9.2 innings.
- Tanner Banks gave up a hit during a scoreless eighth.
Hierarchy Remains: Jhoan Duran | Matt Strahm | Orion Kerkering
St. Louis Cardinals – Taking over at the bottom of the eighth, Kyle Leahy logged 1.1 scoreless innings, navigating around two hits in the ninth, recording his first save of the season, second of his career. He threw 16 pitches (87.5% strike rate) and induced two whiffs (12.5 SwStr%). He was the last man standing, and Riley O’Brien did not warm up for the save chance in back-to-back games.
- JoJo Romero appeared in a third straight game, stranding his only inherited runner during the seventh, producing an inning-ending double play groundout. Returning for the eighth, he retired the first two batters before being removed, getting credit for 1.1 scoreless innings while only facing three batters for his 20th hold.
- Jorge Alcala allowed a solo home run and a walk while retiring one batter in the seventh for his fourth hold.
Hierarchy Remains: *JoJo Romero | *Riley O’Brien | Matt Svanson
*= closer-by-committee
Tampa Bay Rays – Recording his first save with the Rays, and his third this season, Bryan Baker fired a clean bottom of the ninth while striking out one against Washington’s 6-7-8 lineup pocket. He threw 11 pitches (63.6% strike rate) and induced one whiff.
He has been scoreless in seven of his last eight outings, posting a 0.375 WHIP with nine strikeouts against one walk.
- Griffin Jax worked a scoreless bottom of the eighth, walking one and striking out two, notching his 26th hold.
- Mason Englert logged two innings, giving up three hits, an earned run, and a walk while striking out three.
Pete Fairbanks was not used after throwing 22 pitches on Friday. He has already set career-highs in appearances (51) and innings (50.1) this season, which may result in a managed workload for the remainder of the season. This puts Baker and Edwin Uceta in play for ancillary saves down the stretch.
Hierarchy Remains: Pete Fairbanks | Edwin Uceta | Garrett Cleavinger
Quick Hits
- Atlanta Braves: Called upon with the bases loaded and one out at the bottom of the tenth, Dylan Dodd recorded a strikeout against Brandon Marsh, then gave up Trea Turner’s walk-off two-RBI single, resulting in his first blown save. Hunter Stratton allowed a hit, two runs (one earned), and struck out one during one-third of the eighth, getting tagged with his first loss. Raisel Iglesias fired a clean bottom of the ninth, striking out one.
- Chicago White Sox: Summoned at the top of the 11th, Tyler Alexander allowed three hits, three runs (two earned), and a walk, resulting in his 13th loss. Grant Taylor worked a scoreless tenth, walking and striking out one. Jordan Leasure fired a clean ninth, striking out two.
- Cincinnati Reds: Appearing in a loss, Zach Maxwell allowed a solo home run by Pedro Pagés and recorded three strikeouts at the top of the eighth. He threw 19 pitches (68.4% strike rate) and produced five whiffs (26.3 SwStr%).
- Colorado Rockies: During an eventual one-run loss, Victor Vodnik retired the side at the top of the ninth against the Cubs, throwing 17 pitches (64.7% strike rate) with two whiffs (11.8 SwStr%). He has been scoreless over his last eight appearances while posting a minuscule 0.23 WHIP with nine strikeouts across 8.2 innings.
- Detroit Tigers: Entering a tied game at the bottom of the eighth, Tyler Holton issued a walk and served up Bobby Witt Jr.’s go-ahead two-run home run, resulting in his fourth loss.
- Houston Astros: A rare meltdown, and an untimely one for Bryan Abreu. He allowed four hits, three earned runs, and two walks while striking out two during two-thirds of the ninth, resulting in his fourth loss. It began with a strikeout, followed by four consecutive singles, another strikeout, and successive walks, forcing his removal. Enyel De Los Santos stranded the bases loaded with an inning-ending strikeout against Taylor Ward.
- New York Mets: Making a non-save appearance, Edwin Díaz allowed three hits, two earned runs, and a walk while striking out three at the top of the ninth against Miami. He has not had a save chance since August 16 and has received sporadic work since.
- San Diego Padres: Padding his league lead in wins by a reliever, Adrian Morejon retired the side at the bottom of the sixth, collecting his 11th of the season. Jason Adam fired a clean seventh. Jeremiah Estrada allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless eighth. Alek Jacob worked a clean ninth, finishing a nine-run road victory.
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