April 15, 2015
Colorado Rockies — Prior to Tuesday’s game, Walt Weiss told Adam Ottavino that he would be the closer going forward; Ottavino responded by striking out the side to pick up his first save.
Updated hierarchy: Ottavino | Betancourt | Logan.
Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney continued his poor pitching on Tuesday and this time it resulted in his first blown save since July 20, 2014. Manager Lloyd McClendon has already said prior to Tuesday that he won’t fly off the handle after a bad outing, and stated after last night that his team is going to be fine. If Rodney doesn’t improve however, McClendon may not have much choice going forward. One choice he won’t have is to use former closer Tom Wilhelmsen, who hit the DL.
Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Farquhar | Medina.
Tampa Bay Rays – Brad Boxberger had pitched four of the last five days, and despite an off day on Sunday, was held out for Tuesday’s tilt. Kevin Jepsen earned the Vulture Save in Boxberger’s stead.
Hierarchy remains: Boxberger | Jepsen | Balfour.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Both JP Howell and Chris Hatcher were used while the Dodgers trailed last night, and both pitched well, particularly Hatcher. We do think this means Howell is unlikely to get a save chance, with Pedro Baez (4.0 IP, 6K, 0.00 ERA) a more likely candidate. Yimi Garcia, who leads the Dodgers in wins after last night, has also pitched well, striking out 10 of the 22 batters he has faced.
Updated hierarchy: *Peralta | Hatcher | Baez.
*closer-by-committee
Toronto Blue Jays – Miguel Castro appeared to be at the front of John Gibbons’ committee after his save against the Yankees, but on Tuesday he entered a tie game in the seventh and stayed on to pitch the eighth, giving up a run in the process. It looks as if the committee is more wide open than originally thought, with Roberto Osuna and Brett Cecil still very much in the mix.
Hierarchy remains: *Castro | Osuna | Cecil.
*closer-by-committee
Chicago White Sox – Dan Jennings has picked up back-to-back holds for the White Sox after some early struggles. He’s tied with teammate Zach Duke and a host of others for the AL lead in holds now and seems to be favored at this point over Javy Guerra.
Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Duke | Jennings.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Carlos Torres, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has pitched in three straight games.
