May 5, 2023
Tampa Bay Rays — Jason Adam notched his second save in three days on Thursday. He allowed a hit and a walk and two unearned runs but also struck out the side. With Pete Fairbanks on the IL, Adam should see the bulk of the chances moving forward.
Hierarchy remains: *Adam | Poche | Kelly.
*=closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s – As we alerted about Thursday, Jeurys Familia and Domingo Acevedo were designated for assignment by Oakland. There won’t be many save chances for the worst team in baseball, but we suspect Zach Jackson will likely get the bulk of them.
Hierarchy remains: *Jackson | Moll | Lovelady.
* = closer-by-committee
Texas Rangers – Bruce Bochy thinks Closer Monkey should remove the asterisk for Will Smith. OK, he didn’t specifically say that, but as an old school manager, he felt it necessary to publicly proclaim Will Smith as his closer this week. So, we will act accordingly here.
Updated hierarchy: Smith | Leclerc | Hernandez.
Boston Red Sox – Closer Kenley Jansen would have been available if he was needed on Thursday, according to manager Alex Cora, so it’s safe to stick him back in your lineups.
Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.
Pittsburgh Pirates — Congratulations are due for Colin Holderman, who threw an immaculate inning on Thursday, striking out the side in the seventh inning on nine pitches, all strikes. Incredibly, there were only 31 immaculate innings in the 114 seasons from 1876 to 1989, but there have been dozens more in the decades since, amounting to 113 overall in baseball history.
Hierarchy remains: Bednar | Holderman | Underwood.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Carl Edwards Jr. (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan has pitched in three straight and four of five.
2. Jason Foley (DET) – Alex Lange has gone in two in a row.
3. Keynan Middleton (CHW) – Kendall Graveman has also pitched in two consecutive days.
4. Nick Anderson (ATL) – A.J. Minter has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Daniel Bard (COL) – Pierce Johnson threw 31 pitches Thursday and has gone in two of three.
Saturday:
1. Colin Poche (TB) – A Friday outing would be three of four and four of six for Jason Adam.
2. Justin Topa (SEA) – Same as above for Paul Sewald.
3. Matt Moore (LAA) – A Friday outing would be four of six for Carlos Estevez.
4. Carl Edwards Jr. (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan could need a second straight off day after working in four out of five entering Friday.
5. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen is back, but if he goes Friday, he might not be ready to go back-to-back yet.