April 22, 2013
Baltimore Orioles – Nearly all season, Darren O’Day has served as the 8th inning man for the Orioles. Pedro Strop was the go-to set-up man for Baltimore last year, but has struggled out of the box this year, having posted a 9.45 ERA through the season’s first three weeks. He pitched yesterday in the 7th inning of a game the Orioles were losing, and will need to get back on track before he’s used in high-leverage situations again. Hierarchy change: Darren O’Day to Set-up, Pedro Strop to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedBAL |Johnson |O'Day |Strop |Johnson |4/22/13
Miami Marlins – Jon Rauch faced six batters on Sunday and five of them reached base, and when the dust cleared, the Reds had plated eight runs in the inning and Rauch’s ERA had ballooned to 9.45. Until he figures it out, the Marlins are unlikely to go to Rauch in high-leverage spots. That duty will likely fall to AJ Ramos or Chad Qualls, the former of which has 16 Ks in 11.2 innings pitched thus far. Hierarchy change: AJ Ramos to 2nd in line, replacing Jon Rauch.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedMIA |Cishek |Dunn |Ramos |Cishek |4/22/13
Texas Rangers – Michael Kirkman picked up a 3-inning save in a blowout on Sunday. He does not figure in to the normal late-inning hierarchy in Texas. No hierarchy change.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedTEX |Nathan |Ross |Scheppers |Nathan |4/22/13
St. Louis Cardinals – Mitchell Boggs’s nightmare season continued on Sunday, as he was summoned in a tie game in the 8th inning, and allowed four runs while only recording one out. With an ERA that now stands at 12.46, he’s got a long way to go before he returns to any kind of substantial role in the Cardinals bullpen. Trevor Rosenthal will be the guy to set up Edward Mujica for the time being. Hierarchy change: Trevor Rosenthal to Set-up, Mitchell Boggs to 2nd in line.
|Closer |Set-Up |2nd In Line |2014 Closer |UpdatedSTL |Mujica |Rosenthal |Boggs |Motte |4/22/13 |Motte(DL) |
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox – Andrew Bailey has pitched on two straight days and on four of the last five.
2. Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs – James Russell pitched in the 7th inning of a game the Cubs were losing Sunday. As we’ve stated before, he is the best reliever in the Cubs bullpen, and it isn’t even close; however, it might be Carlos Marmol who is summoned in an upcoming save situation.
