August 9, 2015
Detroit Tigers – Bruce Rondon struck out two batters in the 9th inning last night to protect a one run lead and get his first save of the season. Alex Wilson was unavailable due to right shoulder fatigue, and will be kept out of Sunday’s game as well. Manager Brad Ausmus said he would have gone with Wilson if he was available, but he left it open for the future. Wilson’s injury, as well as Rondon’s performance, will be worth monitoring to determine who ends up seeing the most save chances the rest of the season.
Hierarchy remains: *Wilson | Rondon | Alburquerque.
* = closer-by-committee.
Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa entered the game in the 7th inning last night with the Red Sox up one, but was unable to hold on to the lead. He gave up a two-run homer to Victor Martinez and recorded a blown save for the third straight outing. Jean Machi has been mentioned as a possible closer while Uehara is unavailable and with Tazawa’s struggles, he looks to be first in line for saves.
Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Machi | Tazawa.
Oakland A’s — Edward Muijca worked a perfect 9th inning yesterday for his first save with the A’s. Injured closer Sean Doolittle pitched a scoreless inning on a rehab assignment on Friday. He is expected to pitch another inning today and could be back in the next couple weeks.
Hierarchy remains: Mujica | Pomeranz | Rodriguez.
Colorado Rockies — Manager Walt Weiss was impressed by Tommy Kahnle’s first save and said he wants him pitching in the ninth inning more often. We will remove the asterisk for now and hope we don’t jinx him like we seemingly did for Carson Smith when we removed his asterisk.
Hierarchy remains: Kahnle | Miller | Betancourt.
Chicago Cubs – Justin Grimm got the last out of the 9th yesterday to pick up his third save of the season. The Cubs entered the 9th inning with a 5 run lead but James Russell and Jason Motte combined to give up three runs on four hits while only recording two outs. Grimm entered the game with the tying-run at the plate and was able to record a ground out to end the game.
Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Strop | Hunter.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bruce Rondon, Detroit Tigers – Alex Wilson will be held out of Sunday’s game to rest his shoulder
2. Jean Machi, Boston Red Sox – After Tazawa’s rough outing yesterday, Machi would like get the call if Uehara is still unavailable.
3. Drew Pomeranz, Oakland A’s – Edward Mujica has pitched in three of the past four days.
4. Tony Watson/Jared Hughes, Pittsburgh Pirates – Melancon, Soria, and Watson have all pitched in two straight and three of the last four. Watson has thrown the fewest pitches over that time (including only six yesterday) so he could be available. If the Pirates choose to give all three guys a rest, Hughes could get the call.
5. Kirby Yates, Tampa Bay Rays – Boxberger, McGee, and Geltz all pitched yesterday and have all pitched in five of the last seven days. Kirby Yates could get a shot if all three are unavailable on Sunday.
