June 17, 2015
St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal was held out once again because of tightness in his pitching arm, meaning Kevin Siegrist grabbed another save. Rosenthal remains day-to-day and said after the game that he’s feeling better, while manager Mike Matheny said that a DL stint is not part of the plan. That’s good news for the Best Hackers In Baseball, because Rosenthal leads the National League in saves.
Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Maness.
New York Mets — As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, old friend Bobby Parnell got the call for the Mets on Tuesday, recording an impressive five-out save, his first since July 13, 2013. Jeurys Familia desperately needed a night off, and he may see another night of rest after throwing 87 pitches over the last six days.
Hierarchy remains: Familia | Parnell | Robles.
Texas Rangers – While we officially named Shawn Tolleson the Texas closer on May 25, manager Jeff Banister waited until June 16 to finally call the right-hander just that. How did Tolleson respond? By preserving a 2-2 tie and picking up the win after the Rangers scored in the bottom half of the 9th. Banister did reiterate that the innings leading up to Tolleson in the 9th will be “all hands on deck.”
Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Kela | Scheppers.
Oakland Athletics – Former starter Drew Pomeranz has joined the Oakland bullpen and picked up his second hold in as many chances on Tuesday. He’s moved past Eric O’Flaherty, who sports an 8.38 ERA and no holds since April 14.
Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Pomeranz.
Houston Astros – If the Astros protected passwords as well as Luke Gregerson protected leads, they wouldn’t have so many security breaches! Gregerson recorded his 17th save of the year and his second straight in as many chances, bouncing back well after a bad blown save almost 10 days ago.
Hierarchy remains: Gregerson | Neshek | Qualls.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Hansel Robles, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia could use another night of rest and Bobby Parnell threw 25 pitches last night.
2. Keone Kela/Tanner Scheppers, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched in three straight and four of the last five.
3. Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres – Craig Kimbrel has appeared in three of the last four games, including a 26-pitch outing last night.
4. Kevin Siegrist/Seth Maness, St. Louis Cardinals – With Trevor Rosenthal day-to-day and Kevin Siegrist having pitched each of the last two games, Seth Maness may get the call on Wednesday.
