June 15, 2016
Los Angeles Dodgers – The latest pitcher to join the C.J. Nitkowski All Stars (AKA the Bad Starter Decent Reliever club) is Joe Blanton, who got his 6th hold of the season last night pitching the 8th inning ahead of Kenley Jansen. Blanton’s control has always been good, and he’s upped his strikeouts in his role in relief (35 IP, 35 Ks, 9 BBs). So far this year, he boasts a 2.31 ERA and 0.71 WHIP, and his success is no fluke — he did the same thing last season as well. Lately, the Dodgers have been mixing-and-matching in perpetuity in their attempts to bridge to Jansen, so look for Blanton to challenge Pedro Baez for 8th inning opportunities going forward.
Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Baez | Blanton.
Cincinnati Reds – With Tony Cingrani having pitched a lot lately, Blake Wood got the call for the Reds in the 9th inning last night and he picked up his first save of the season. (Ahead of him, the just-recalled J.J. Hoover got the 7th and 8th.) It was a little surprising to see Wood and not Ross Ohlendorf, since Ohlendorf has had a slightly lighter workload lately, but it worked out for the Reds, who will likely continue to mix and match ahead of Cingrani going forward.
Hierarchy remains: Cingrani | Ohlendorf | Wood.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon has pitched in two of the last three, including a 1.2 inning blown save-win last night.
