May 6, 2016
Houston Astros — Ken Giles has been relegated to earlier appearances for a little while now, an attempt to “ease the burden of the eighth inning” off of his world-weary shoulders. Giles opened the seventh for Houston on Thursday and didn’t seem any more relaxed; he put the first two guys on, then watched Tony Sipp usher them home. Giles’s struggles this year may be the result of bad luck (with four HR allowed, his ERA is almost 3x his xFIP), but until he starts seeing better results on the field, we think Will Harris — who has pitched all three meaningful eighth innings for Houston this month — has moved ahead of him.
Updated hierarchy: Gregerson | Harris | Giles.
Baltimore Orioles — Zach Britton made his long-awaited return to the Orioles bullpen Thursday night, entering the game with two outs in the ninth inning of a scoreless game. He managed to end the inning on a pickoff, then retired three of the four hitters he faced in the tenth, earning the win. Darren O’Day did nice work in Britton’s absence, but all should be back to normal in Baltimore’s bullpen.
Hierarchy remains: Britton | O’Day | Brach.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Phelps, Miami Marlins — A.J. Ramos has pitched on three straight days.
2. Will Harris, Houston Astros — We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Luke Gregerson’s poor outing on Thursday; he loaded the bases before allowing a three-run double in a tie game. His job is safe, but he threw 25 pitches in the loss and has pitched on three of the last five days. If he needs a break, Harris could get a shot, with Pat Neshek and Giles also possibilities.