May 5, 2016
St. Louis Cardinals – The Final Boss, Seung Hwan Oh, lowered his ERA to 1.72 in the 8th inning of Wednesday’s game. He also sports an 11.2 K/9 as while limiting opponents to a .148 batting average. These numbers, and the fact that Jonathan Broxton has been used while his team is trailing in recent days, suggests that Oh has stepped ahead of Broxton on the hierarchy. Oh earned his nickname from his time as a dominant closer in Japan, so a lack of closing experience shouldn’t hold him back. However, with Trevor Rosenthal locked into the 9th inning, it may take an injury for Oh to see consistent save opportunities.
Updated hierarchy: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Oh.
Cincinnati Reds – In the closest thing to a save situation that the Reds have seen recently, Ross Ohlendorf was sent out to protect a four-run lead. He managed to do that, but not only did he not earn a save for his trouble, he extended the streak of consecutive games in which the bullpen has given up a run. We see this as the way that Bryan Price will try to handle those rare late-inning leads, so if you are speculating on the Cincinnati committee, Ohlendorf seems to be the best bet. Tony Cingrani was used in the 7th and 8th innings and pitched well, while Caleb Cotham has struggled recently, so Cingrani moves up in our committee as well.
Updated hierarchy: *Ohlendorf | Cingrani | Cotham.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez has pitched in back-to-back games and took the loss in a 28-pitch outing yesterday.
