August 5, 2012
Oakland A’s – Ryan Cook on Saturday blew his second save in a row and his fourth in his last six chances. He’s now got 7 blown saves on the year, which leads the league, and could be in danger of losing his job to former closer Grant Balfour. On the other end of the bullpen, Pat Neshek, called up two days ago, has not allowed a hit in 3 innings while striking out 4, and earned his first hold of the season last night. Hierarchy change: Pat Neshek to 2nd in line, replacing Sean Doolittle. Ryan Cook to Hot Seat.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedOAK |Cook |Balfour |Neshek |Cook |8/5/12
Texas Rangers – A little over a week ago, reports emerged that the Rangers were trying to stretch Alexi Ogando out, and they seemed validated when Ogando was used for 2.2 innings nine days ago. But since then, he’s gone back to pitching 1 inning at a time, including last night, when he picked up his second save in a row (Joe Nathan needed a second day off after two marathon outings on Thursday and Friday). While Mike Adams will stick as the 8th inning guy regardless, Ogando appears to be the man the Rangers will use when Nathan is unavailable. Hierarchy change: Alexi Ogando to Set-up, Mike Adams to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedTEX |Nathan |Ogando |Adams |Nathan |8/5/12
Toronto Blue Jays – Darren Oliver picked up an 11th inning save on Saturday. Casey Janssen had already pitched earlier in the night. No hierarchy change.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedTOR |Janssen |Oliver |Lyon |Santos |8/5/12
Houston Astros – The Astros placed Francisco Cordero on the DL earlier this weekend, and last night, Fernando Rodriguez pitched the 7th inning ahead of Wesley Wright and Wilton Lopez. Lopez earned his first save. Hierarchy change: Fernando Rodriguez to 2nd in line, Francisco Cordero to DL.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedHOU |Lopez |Wright |Rodriguez |Lopez |8/5/12
Minnesota Twins – Jared Burton picked up his second save in as many days on Saturday. Glen Perkins had pitched the 8th inning in a game that had been tied at the time. The Twins are continuing to use Perkins and Burton in a platoon– Perkins now has 6 saves and Burton has 5– though Perkins still has a slight edge due to his durability and strikeout rate. No hierarchy change.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedMIN |Perkins |Burton |Burnett |Perkins |8/5/12 |Capps(DL) |
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bobby Parnell, New York Mets – Frank Francisco earned his first save Saturday since coming off the DL. But his ability to pitch on back-to-back days is in question, and the Mets said that Bobby Parnell will get any save opps when Francisco can’t go.
2. Jonathan Broxton, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has pitched in two consecutive games. He’s only pitched three in a row once all season, so Broxton will likely get the save chance today.
3. Grant Balfour, Oakland A’s – Ryan Cook has pitched in three straight.
4. Sean Burnett, Washington Nationals – Tyler Clippard has pitched in three straight.
5. Jared Burton, Minnesota Twins – The Twins are employing a committee, and while Glen Perkins remains the best bet for saves overall, Jared Burton could get an opportunity whenever match-ups are right.
