April 22, 2016
Tampa Bay Rays — The days of Kevin Cash’s closer committee appear to be over, as Alex Colome has picked up a save in three straight games. Thursday, Colome was called upon in the middle of the ninth inning of a wild 12-8 game against the Red Sox. With two men on and one out, he retired Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia — and Tampa’s asterisk, at least for now.
Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.
Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson continues to solidify his role atop Oakland’s committee, getting a two-out save on Thursday and solidifying a road sweep of the Yankees. With six saves, Madson is now tied for the league lead, as everyone predicted.
Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee
Miami Marlins — With the Marlins struggling, Don Mattingly treated a four-run game like it was even tighter, using David Phelps in the eighth and A.J. Ramos in the ninth. When it comes to Phelps getting more use late in games, Donnie Baseball is a man of his word.
Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Phelps | Morris.
Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies called up former A’s closer Andrew Bailey from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (book your workplace visit from Hambone or Chris P. Bacon here!) on Wednesday. You may see some speculative pickups in your leagues, but it’s too early to tell whether Bailey can bounce back from his late spring struggles and factor into manager Pete Mackanin’s late-inning plans.
Hierarchy remains: Gomez | Hernandez | Hinojosa.
Texas Rangers — Erstwhile setup man Keone Kela (7.11 ERA) was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a right elbow impingement. Kela will have surgery Friday to remove a bone spur in his elbow, putting him out of action for about three months.
Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Dyson | Diekman.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Sam Dyson, Texas Rangers — Shawn Tolleson pitched in his third straight game Thursday, nailing down his third consecutive save. (Now his ERA is lower than catcher Bryan Holaday’s uniform number, which is a HUGE improvement.) Expect Sam Dyson to take the reins if Tolleson can’t go Friday.
2. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen pitched a clean ninth inning but was knocked around in the tenth, yielding two walks, a wild pitch, and a three-run go-ahead shot to Robinson Cano. He threw 30 pitches and should get a night off. Shaw has been bad lately, but he threw just two pitches Thursday and should be fresh. Zach McAllister could also be an option, though he threw 21 pitches yesterday.
3. Anyone, Cincinnati Reds — The Reds have the most volatile bullpen in baseball, and they showed it again in a 16-0 loss to the Cubs last night, allowing 11 runs over the final five innings. It’s a full-blown committee now, so although we expect to see Caleb Cotham (who did not pitch as his team was no-hit Thursday) to get the first crack at a save chance, it’s hard to be certain.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson should be available after throwing only seven pitches, but manager Bob Melvin has said that he’ll choose a closer based on matchups. So Sean Doolittle could get the call on Friday.