Thursday’s five-game slate provided three relievers wins and one save against three losses. Unfortunately, there are no vulture plays, and the only save will be covered in our game recaps. However, as a bonus, a deep dive into Alexis Díaz will be included following his trade to the Dodgers:
But first, the game recaps from Thursday.
Closer CliffsNotes
Atlanta Braves – (Game 1) – Summoned with the bases loaded and one out, Dylan Dodd retired both batters at the bottom of the eighth, one via strikeout. Daysbel Hernández suffered his first loss, allowing a hit, an earned run, a hit batter, and two walks while recording one out during his one-third of the eighth. Pierce Johnson gave up Kyle Schwarber’s solo home run and retired two during the seventh. Aaron Bummer logged 1.1 scoreless frames while striking out one.
(Game 2) – Finishing a six-run win, Raisel Iglesias allowed Bryson Stott’s lead-off double at the bottom of the ninth, induced a groundout, and gave up Trea Turner’s RBI single before striking out Kyle Schwarber then retiring Alec Bohm on a game-ending flyout. He threw 20 pitches (70 Strike%) and produced four whiffs (20 SwStr%). First, his pitch illustrator:
Iglesias has allowed at least a run in two straight appearances, both in a non-save outing and given up at least a run in six of his last eight since May 8. He owns a 1.36 WHIP with 22 strikeouts against four walks (19.1 K-BB%) through 21.1 innings.
Hierarchy Remains: Raisel Iglesias | Daysbel Hernández | Dylan Lee
Houston Astros – A rare meltdown by Bryan King resulted in his first loss. He allowed five hits, including Junior Caminero’s three-run home run, and five earned runs while recording one out at the top of the seventh. Kaleb Ort put fuel on the fire, stranding a runner during the seventh, then giving up three earned runs on three walks and striking out two during his combined inning.
Hierarchy Remains: Josh Hader | Bryan Abreu | Bryan King
Philadelphia Phillies – (Game 1) – It was a white-knuckle ride with Jordan Romano at the top of the ninth with a one-run lead, starting with a lead-off walk, a leverage no-no, but he was erased on a caught-stealing. After striking out Austin Riley, he walked Marcell Ozuna, then allowed a single by Matt Olson, loading the bases before inducing a game-ending strikeout against Eli White for his eighth save. He threw 24 pitches (11 strikes – 45.8 Strike%) and induced three whiffs (12.5 SwStr%) while posting a season-high in walks.
Still, fantasy managers will take the save. He has been scoreless in 11 of his last 12 appearances, converting all six save chances with 18 strikeouts against five walks (28.9 K-BB%) through 11.2 innings.
- José Ruiz stranded a runner and retired his only batter at the top of the eighth while collecting his first win.
- Matt Strahm allowed three hits and two earned runs over two-thirds of the eighth, resulting in his third blown save.
- Orion Kerkering notched his tenth hold, working 1.1 scoreless frames, giving up two hits and striking out one.
Hierarchy Remains: Jordan Romano | Matt Strahm | Orion Kerkering
*= floating closer concept with a preferred save share (Romano)
Seattle Mariners – Things did not go well at the top of the tenth for Collin Snider. He gave up four hits, seven runs (five earned), and a walk while retiring one batter, resulting in his first loss. Eduard Bazardo recorded the last two outs in the frame.
Andrés Muñoz fired a clean ninth and recorded a strikeout. He threw 12 pitches (7 strikes – 58.3 Strike%) and produced two whiffs (16.7 SwStr%).
He has posted a 0.68 WHIP with 29 strikeouts versus eight walks (23.9 K-BB%) across 23.2 innings with an American League-leading 17 saves.
- Matt Brash navigated around three hits and recorded two strikeouts during a scoreless eighth.
- Carlos Vargas allowed two hits during a scoreless seventh.
Hierarchy Remains: Andrés Muñoz | Carlos Vargas | Matt Brash
Tampa Bay Rays – Timing can benefit a reliever. Edwin Uceta took over a tied game at the bottom of the sixth with a runner on and two outs. He allowed a hit and recorded a strikeout, throwing eight pitches (75 Strike%) and inducing a whiff (12.5 SwStr%), then collected his fourth win when his teammates rallied for five runs during the top of the seventh. He has not been able to replicate his strong second half from last season, and he has a 1.52 WHIP with 19 strikeouts versus 10 walks (8.8 K-BB%) across 23 innings.
- Eric Orze logged two clean frames and recorded two strikeouts, extending his scoreless streak to six games. Over his last eight innings, he has a 0.50 WHIP with eight strikeouts against one walk (25 K-BB%).
- Cole Sulser finished the ten-run win with a clean bottom of the ninth, striking out one.
Hierarchy Remains: Pete Fairbanks | Edwin Uceta | Garrett Cleavinger
Washington Nationals – Making his first appearance since May 22 after experiencing shoulder fatigue, Kyle Finnegan closed a six-run run over Seattle despite allowing an RBI single by Leo Rivas at the bottom of the tenth, scoring the “place” runner. He bore down, producing a double play groundout by Julio Rodríguez, issued Cal Raleigh a walk, and a game-ending strikeout against Randy Arozarena. Finnegan threw 21 pitches (12 strikes – 57.1 Strike%) without a whiff.
- Jose A. Ferrer collected his second win, logging 1.2 clean frames. He stranded two runners at the bottom of the eighth, then retired the side in the ninth, keeping the game tied.
- Cole Henry stranded a runner during the seventh but hit a batter and issued a walk while striking out one during his two-thirds combined innings.
- Jorge López suffered his third blown save, allowing two hits, two earned runs, and a walk while striking out one in two-thirds of the seventh.
Hierarchy Remains: Kyle Finnegan | Jose A. Ferrer | Jorge López
Alexis Díaz
Out of necessity, the Dodgers are attempting to help the former closer improve his velocity and command. Why would Los Angeles target the former All-Star?
As a leverage reliever with the Reds, Díaz converted 75 of his career 86 save chances. Before delving into his struggles with his four-seam fastball, he has pitched with a declining vertical release point since his debut in 2022:
In this season’s limited sample, it migrated toward his angle in 2022. Per the lower slots, he’s been less effective with his four-seam fastball since his debut in 2022:
Link: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/vtm49/2/
Last year yielded his first negative K-BB percentage with the pitch while allowing more contact and producing fewer whiffs. It’s not an ideal trend for a reliever who uses the four-seam fastball as his primary offering. Working with reduced velocity may make him less aggressive with the pitch. His Plinko chart of pitches by count courtesy of Statcast illustrates his reliance on the four-seam fastball when behind in the count:
His struggles lie within his command issues, which are accompanied by reduced velocity with the four-seam fastball:
Remaining focused on velocity, here are his splits with the four-seam courtesy of Statcast:
Link: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/KhD79/1/
Entering this season, there was an apparent chasm between his first 100 games (April 7, 2022, to July 9, 2023) versus his last 90 (July 14, 2023, to September 29, 2024):
Link: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/logsl/2/
Can the Dodgers help him migrate his four-seam to the edges of the strike zone? Will his velocity rebound? These will be the biggest hurdles for the former closer. If they can, or he adds a cutter to increase his split results against left-handed hitters, my intrigue will be piqued. This may not be a quick fix, but there is enough to warrant Los Angeles to take a chance on him. Fantasy managers should be cautious, but if reports and early results are positive, he could work his way into ancillary save chances.
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Statistical Credits: