July 18, 2016
Arizona Diamondbacks – Sunday wasn’t a banner day for any of the three relievers vying for saves in the Arizona bullpen. In the 8th inning, the Diamondbacks held a comfortable 6-0 lead, but Daniel Hudson surrendered a two-run homer to Justin Turner before escaping the inning. Tyler Clippard came on for the 9th and allowed three baserunners while recording just one out, before he was lifted for Jake Barrett. From a statistical perspective, Barrett came away from this looking the best, as he got the last two outs and earned the save, but he wasn’t exactly sharp, allowing two hits and all of the inherited runners to score before escaping. It’s possible he gets the next save chance, but more likely that Arizona will give Clippard and Hudson more chances to prove themselves in the hopes of increasing their trade value.
Updated hierarchy: *Clippard | Barrett | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Quackenbush, San Diego Padres – Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter (and Brad Hand) have all pitched in three straight.
2. Mauricio Cabrera, Atlanta Braves – Jim Johnson has pitched in back to back games.
