June 16, 2023
Tampa Bay Rays — Pete Fairbanks returned from the IL Thursday and slid right into ninth-inning duty, retiring the side on 10 pitches to earn his seventh save. Jason Adam pitched the eighth inning. We’ll move Fairbanks to the front of this committee as a result.
Updated hierarchy: *Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.
*=closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s – Richard Lovelady recorded three outs on 11 pitches Thursday but was pulled in the seventh inning after he threw a pitch and grabbed his left arm. He apparently felt a burning sensation in his elbow and will receive an MRI. It didn’t look good. We’ll preemptively yank him from the hierarchy and toss in Sam Moll, who leads Oakland with five holds.
Updated hierarchy: *May | Long | Moll.
* = closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants – John Brebbia’s last three appearances have been starts, and he’s slated to kick things off Friday night against the Dodgers. All of the appearances were as an opener, of course, but he can’t have a save chance in the ninth if he’s out there in the first.
Updated hierarchy: Doval | Ty. Rogers | Ta. Rogers.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Colin Holderman was placed on the IL Thursday with right wrist inflammation. Righty Yohan Ramirez has a trio of holds, including some relatively recent looks in the eighth inning, so we’ll give him a shot in this hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Moreta | Ramirez.
Washington Nationals — Given a 1-0 lead Thursday, Hunter Harvey blew the save, but if you played him in your lineup, you were fortunate he earned the win. Washington took the lead in the top of the tenth, giving space for Carl Edwards Jr. to record three outs for his second save. Kyle Finnegan pitched the eighth inning, allowing one hit but striking out three against the Astros 8-9-1-2 hitters. This is a messy situation, and given Harvey’s blown save, we’ll leave the committee as is for now.
Hierarchy remains: *Finnegan | Harvey | Edwards.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Angels — Carlos Estevez has been amazing this season, but he ran into trouble on Thursday with a three-run lead against the Rangers, walking all three hitters he faced. Jacob Webb entered the game and induced a foul-out and a line-out before walking in a run (charged to Estevez). He struck out Adolis Garcia to end the threat and secure his first save. Chris Devenski and Jose Soriano pitched earlier in the game.
Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Devenski | Soriano.
Atlanta Braves — Michael Tonkin pitched the final 3.1 innings with just one hit and one walk to go with six strikeouts to earn his first career save. While he has pitched nicely this year, Tonkin (3.21 ERA, 0.95 WHIP in 33.2 IP) likely won’t be a factor in the saves discussion moving forward.
Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Minter | Anderson.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Craig Kimbrel has gone in two straight.
2. Chris Devenski (LAA) – Carlos Estevez could not find the strike zone Thursday and has gone in three of four.
3. Bryan Abreu (HOU) – Ryan Pressley was shaky Thursday and has pitched in back-to-back days.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) – Evan Phillips pitched two innings Thursday (27 pitches) and has gone in two of three.
5. Lucas Sims (CIN) – Alexis Diaz has gone in four of the past six days.
Saturday:
1. Adbert Alzolay (CHC) – If he goes Friday, it would be three of four for Mark Leiter Jr.
2. A.J. Minter (ATL) – An outing Friday would be three of five for Raisel Iglesias.
3. Josh Sborz (TEX) – An appearance Friday would be three of five for Will Smith.