April 12, 2014
Boston Red Sox – Edward Mujica pitched a perfect 9th inning last night to pick up his first save of the season. Closer Koji Uehara was unavailable with shoulder tightness. The Red Sox are saying the injury is not serious but Uehara said he experienced similar tightness in Texas a couple years ago and it took him two months to get over it. Junichi Tazawa has pitched better this season but manager John Farrell likes that Mujica has had success as a closer before so he might be the first option to close if Uehara misses more time. Hierarchy change: Edward Mujica to Set-up, Junichi Tazawa to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| BOS | Koji Uehara | Edward Mujica | Junichi Tazawa | Koji Uehara | 4/12/14 |
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Chicago Cubs — Jose Veras blew another save last night and his ERA is over 12 so far this season. The ERA will obviously come down but he also has 7 walks in 3.2 innings. Manager Rick Renteria said that Veras is still their closer. Hector Rondon ended up getting the save as he pitched a scoreless 11th inning. Pedro Strop pitched the 8th ahead of Veras, but Rondon has now made 15 straight scoreless appearances dating back to last season and could be given a chance to close if Veras continues to struggle. Hierarchy change: Hector Rondon to Set-up, Pedro Strop to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| CHC | Jose Veras | Hector Rondon | Pedro Strop | Pedro Strop | 4/12/14 |
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Cincinnati Reds — Jonathon Broxton got his first work of the season last night, pitching a scoreless 9th inning with 2 ks. Manager Bryan Price previously said that he didn’t want to use Broxton in a save situation for his first appearance. Now that Broxton has gotten that first inning out of the way he should see the save opportunities until Aroldis Chapman is able to return. Speaking of Chapman, he is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Monday. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| CIN | Jonathan Broxton | Sam LeCure | Manny Parra | Aroldis Chapman | 4/12/14 | |||||
| Aroldis Chapman (DL) | Sean Marshall (DL) |
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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Edward Mujica/Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara is day-to-day with shoulder tightness. Mujica got the call last night but the Red Sox could use Tazawa as well.
2. Chad Qualls/Matt Albers, Houston Astros – Josh Fields remains the best bet for Astros save chances, but with a committee in place, anything could happen.
