July 2, 2014
Tampa Bay Rays — Oh, Joe Maddon. No one was surprised to see him call on Jake McGee to face the Yankees’ 2-3-4 hitters in a one-run eighth. A few people were surprised when he summoned Grant Balfour to nail down the save with the same score in the ninth. But everyone was surprised when Maddon revealed his reasoning in a postgame statement and tweet: he was rewarding Balfour for the good “karma” he sensed as the embattled reliever walked his octogenarian Aussie grandmother through the lobby of the team hotel. Some Rays fans called the move brave, but honestly, with the way the Yankees have been hitting lately, Granny B could have taken the mound herself.
Hierarchy remains: McGee | Balfour | Peralta.
Atlanta Braves — After two successful rehab outings for AAA Gwinnett, an optimistic David Carpenter will be activated from the disabled list on Wednesday. His return should displace Shae Simmons and Luis Avilan.
Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Walden | Carpenter.
Toronto Blue Jays — While Sergio Santos has been overlooked in high-leverage spots, Aaron Loup has resurfaced as a top option, albeit one who hit the only batter he faced in the eighth on Tuesday. This is probably all academic, as Brett Cecil has only one more rehab outing planned for Buffalo before he joins the Jays on Thursday in Oakland. In his first Bisons appearance on Monday, Cecil gave up the tying home run to Syracuse in the eighth, and came off as a little insensitive to his temporary teammates. Hope he bought dinner at Dinosaur.
Updated hierarchy: Janssen | McGowan | Loup.
Los Angeles Angels — Joe Smith earned two saves in one day — the first coming in a five-run game he entered with the bases loaded and nobody out — on a mere 13 pitches. No vulture save watch for this guy!
Hierarchy remains: Smith | Grilli | Jepsen.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Edward Mujica, Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara threw 20 pitches and blew the save on Tuesday, his third day of work in the last four.
2. Jordan Walden/David Carpenter, Atlanta Braves — Craig Kimbrel has pitched in four of five. If the Braves are ready to toss Carpenter back into the fire right away, he could get the vulture save call.
3. Neil Ramirez/Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs — Hector Rondon has pitched in three of the last four games; perhaps tomorrow we will learn if Pedro Strop has truly surpassed Neil Ramirez in the Cubs pen.
