June 18, 2015
Los Angeles Dodgers — The injury struggles continue for the Dodgers, as Chris Hatcher was put on the DL, retroactive to Monday, with a strained oblique. Help may be on the way soon, as Joel Peralta, Brandon League, Paco Rodriguez and Pedro Baez are all on rehab assignments, but until then look for the banged up J.P. Howell to fill in as the emergency option in the Dodgers bullpen.
Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Garcia | Howell.
Baltimore Orioles — Chaz Roe finished the 7th inning ahead of Zach Britton on Wednesday. Nobody is racking up the holds in Baltimore, but Roe has been very impressive since joining the club, sporting a tidy 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP thanks to a great slider as well as a strong sinker. His 17 strikeouts and four walks have helped him edge out Tommy Hunter, who has had an up and down year.
Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Roe.
Milwaukee Brewers — Will Smith bailed out Jonathan Broxton, finishing the 8th inning for him, presumably while reminding Broxton that if you wanna ball with the kid, you should watch your step in case you fall trying to do what he did. Broxton has had a miserable season, and this latest outing ran his ERA to 7.20. Meanwhile, Jeremy Jeffress has taken the 8th inning ahead of K-Rod twice in the last week. While Broxton has the always valuable “closing experience” to fall back on, his dismal numbers would need to improve before he could really be considered ahead of Smith or Jeffress at this point.
Updated hierarchy: Rodriguez | Smith | Jeffress.
Seattle Mariners – Charlie Furbush got the call to start the 9th inning in a two-run game, but Lloyd McClendon was simply playing the matchups, as he yanked Furbush after he got the lefties in the lineup out. Carson Smith struck out the only batter he faced to snag an easy save. Smith continues to lead the Seattle committee, but this could easily have been Furbush’s save had the last batter been a lefty.
Hierarchy remains: *Smith | Lowe | Furbush.
Texas Rangers – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, it was Keone Kela who converted the save chance for the Rangers last night as Shawn Tolleson needed a night off.
Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Kela | Scheppers.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has posted back-to-back 17-pitch outings.
2. Blaine Boyer, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins tossed 29 pitches on Wednesday.
3. Justin Wilson, New York Yankees – Dellin Betances may need a night off after a five-out save on Wednesday.
4. Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays – With the Rays in a committee, McGee may get the next call for a save.
