July 5, 2013
Washington Nationals – Last week, on a night when Rafael Soriano was unavailable, Drew Storen got the save chance over Tyler Clippard, which surprised us, since Storen has generally been the 7th-inning guy for Washington this year, and he hasn’t been particularly good at it. On Thursday, Storen continued being not particularly good at pitching the 7th, giving up three runs on two home runs, which raised his ERA to 5.40. A string of good outings might cause Washington to return to their gameplan from last week, whereby Storen jumps ahead of Clippard on nights when Soriano is unavailable, but after last night, we don’t see Storen getting save chances until he straightens himself out. Hierarchy change: Tyler Clippard to Set-up, Drew Storen to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated | |
| WAS | Rafael Soriano | Tyler Clippard | Drew Storen | Rafael Soriano | 7/5/13 |
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Arizona Diamondbacks – Brad Ziegler picked up a 15th-inning save on Thursday afternoon; he’s not in the picture for saves in Arizona. However, his save came two innings after Heath Bell blew a 13th-inning opportunity, and with J.J. Putz getting stronger (he’s now appeared three times; two of those appearances were scoreless), Bell could be yanked from the closer role very soon. Heath Bell to Hot Seat.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated | |
| ARI | Heath Bell | David Hernandez | J.J. Putz | J.J. Putz | 7/5/13 |
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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jose Cisnero, Houston Astros – Jose Veras had to pulled from a game last night with a bruised right pinky. If he can’t go today, Cisnero is the best bet for the save chance.
2. Mike Dunn, Miami Marlins – Steve Cishek has pitched in back to back games and four of the last five.
3. LaTroy Hawkins, New York Mets – Bobby Parnell has pitched in back to back games and three of four, throwing 3.2 innings in that span.
