July 4, 2014
Pittsburgh Pirates – His first two appearances as a Pirate had gone relatively smoothly, but last night, Ernesto Frieri had one of his signature meltdowns, allowing five runs and five hits in just 0.1 innings. At this point, with the way Tony Watson is pitching this year, we don’t think Frieri would be first up for a save chance on nights when Mark Melancon is unavailable.
Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Watson | Frieri.
Los Angeles Angels – Joe Smith has been awesome lately, picking up five saves in his last nine appearances while posting this line: 8.1 IP, 1 ER, 11 Ks, 1 BB. But he remains on our Hot Seat because Mike Scioscia has said repeatedly that he wants Smith in a more flexible role, where he can be used strategically to get big outs in the 7th and 8th innings. So the fact that Jason Grilli has now posted 3.1 innings for the Angels without allowing an earned run (including three 8th-inning appearances ahead of Smith) is especially relevant, given the fact that Scioscia has implied that he’d like to see Grilli compete for 9th inning opportunities. If Grilli is on your waiver wire, now might be the time to pounce. One slip-up from Smith and the aging righty could start getting saves again.
Hierarchy remains: Smith | Grilli | Jepsen.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tommy Hunter, Baltimore Orioles – Both Zach Britton and Darren O’Day have pitched in three straight.
