June 4, 2016
Baltimore Orioles — Zach Britton pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his 16th save, but the Orioles will have to make do without setup man Darren O’Day, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained hamstring. The Orioles hope that he can return in the minimum 15 days. In the meantime, Mychal Givens, who picked up the win last night, should see more late-inning opportunities alongside Brad Brach.
Updated hierarchy: Britton | Brach | Givens.
St. Louis Cardinals — Trevor Rosenthal had an outing to forget, walking all three batters he faced in a non-save situation. Mike Matheny backed his closer after the game, saying that Rosenthal hasn’t gotten enough work to stay sharp. Rosenthal, one of the best closers in the game last year, is 8-for-9 in save chances this year, but he has also walked 16 batters in only 17 innings. With Kevin Siegrist and Seung-Hwan “Final Boss” Oh having great seasons, there have been at least a few calls for Rosenthal to lose his job until he regains his command.
Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Oh.
Texas Rangers — Keep an eye on Tony Barnette, last year’s standout closer for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, who wears his hair in a samurai topknot and has three holds for Texas in the last week — more than the rest of the bullpen combined.
Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Diekman | Bush.
Oakland A’s — When starter Jesse Hahn couldn’t get out of the first inning, it was all hands on deck for Oakland. With recalled J.B. Wendelken delayed by travel issues, Bob Melvin turned to utility infielder Tyler Ladendorf for a scoreless eighth. Although he hadn’t pitched since high school, Ladendorf managed to join legends like Honus Wagner, Ike Davis, and High Pockets Kelly on the longer-than-expected list of players with career ERAs below their batting averages.
Hierarchy remains: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Xavier Cedeno, Tampa Bay Rays — Alex Colome threw 34 pitches in a 5-out save last night and may need a day off.
