September 23, 2012
Boston Red Sox – Junichi Tazawa pitched the 9th inning in a tie game on Saturday. He’s been the most reliable Boston reliever over the last few weeks, including Andrew Bailey, and has earned the trust of Bobby Valentine. Hierarchy change: Junichi Tazawa to Set-up, Vicente Padilla to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedBOS |Bailey |Tazawa |Padilla |Bailey |9/23/12
New York Mets – Jon Rauch picked up a save on Saturday. Frank Francisco was reportedly available, but the Mets left Rauch in even after he allowed a HR. Francisco remains on the Hot Seat, which has basically been a second home for the Mets closer this year, but he hasn’t lost the job yet, as the Mets were probably just giving him an extra day to recover from a nagging injury that kept him out of a few games earlier this week. No hierarchy change.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedNYM |Francisco |Rauch |Parnell |Francisco |9/23/12
Seattle Mariners – Josh Kinney pitched the 8th inning ahead of Tom Wilhelmsen on Saturday. Charlie Furbush, one of the most consistent relievers in the Seattle bullpen earlier this year, hasn’t seen much action as of late. Hierarchy change: Josh Kinney to Set-up, Charlie Furbush to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedSEA |Wilhelmsen |Kinney |Furbush |Wilhelmsen |9/23/12
Kansas City Royals – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Kelvin Herrera got the save for the Royals on Saturday. Greg Holland had pitched in three straight and got the night off. No hierarchy change.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2013 Closer |UpdatedKC |Holland |Herrera |Crow |Holland |9/23/12 |Soria(DL) |
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Baltimore Orioles – Jim Johnson has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.
2. Josh Kinney, Seattle Mariners – Tom Wilhelmsen has pitched in two straight, and has thrown 6 innings over the past five days.
3. Javier Lopez, San Francisco Giants – Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo continue to share the 9th inning role for the Giants.
