August 12, 2015
Boston Red Sox — Boston got its first post-Uehara save chance, and John Farrell went to Jean Machi for a shaky eighth, followed by Junichi Tazawa in the ninth. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Tazawa gave up two singles, a wild pitch, and a sac fly to blow the save. As you probably know, Tazawa’s numbers (2.69 FIP, 48 K in 49 IP) are far superior to Machi’s (4.36 FIP, 3.86 BB/9), so we’re going to cross our fingers and hope that tonight might be a sign that he’ll get a majority of chances in this committee. Meanwhile, even though the recently promoted Ryan Cook was used in the sixth on Tuesday night, Farrell mentioned him as a third closer option down the stretch. With options like these, your only winning move is not to play.
Updated hierarchy: *Tazawa | Machi | Cook.
Tampa Bay Rays — Kevin Cash got Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee some extra rest by using lefty Xavier Cedeno to pick up the save. The outing was Cedeno’s twelfth straight without a run allowed, and Cash has praised him as a “model of consistency.”
Updated hierarchy: Boxberger | McGee | Cedeno.
Baltimore Orioles — Shoulder tendinitis is the apparent source of Chaz Roe’s recent struggles; he’ll head to the disabled list and be replaced in the Baltimore hierarchy by Brad Brach (63 K in 55.1 IP).
Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Brach.
Kansas City Royals — Luke Hochevar earned a 2.2-inning save on Tuesday night. If you started him on your fantasy team and you can prove it with a screenshot, we’ll let you sponsor tomorrow’s email for free! NOTE: Offer does not apply to fantasy teams owned by Luke Hochevar. While we’re here, we should mention that Wade Davis has a stiff back and hasn’t pitched since last Thursday.
Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.
Chicago Cubs — With a lefty-heavy lineup coming up for the Brewers, the Cubs called on lefty James Russell to nail down the save. BOOM!! You got MADDONed! It was a planned night off for Hector Rondon.
Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Strop | Hunter.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jean Machi/Ryan Cook, Boston Red Sox — See above.
