July 20, 2016
Boston Red Sox — The injury woes continued for the Boston bullpen on Tuesday as fill-in closer Koji Uehara left an eventual 4-0 win with a strained pectoral muscle. He will be reevaluated on Wednesday, but in the meantime Brad Ziegler will get the 9th if any save opportunities arise. Some good news for Boston is that Junichi Tazawa is expected to return from the DL before Friday night’s game.
Hierarchy remains: Uehara | Ziegler | Barnes.
Tampa Bay Rays — Matt Andriese picked up a three-inning save in a 10-1 Rays win over the Rockies. He does not normally factor into the team’s late-inning plans.
Hierarchy remains: Colome | Cedeno | Ramirez.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon has had two rare hiccups in his last two outings, recording back-to-back blown saves. He has been excellent this season and his job shouldn’t be in any danger. However, it is worth noting that he also struggled a bit in the second half of last season as well, allowing 12 of his 19 total earned runs after August 1 en route to an impressive 51-save season.
Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Feliz | Watson.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Brad Ziegler, Boston Red Sox – As mentioned above, Koji Uehara is being reevaluated today and is likely unavailable for at least the next couple of games.
2. Fernando Rodney, Miami Marlins – A.J. Ramos has pitched in three straight games while Rodney enjoyed a night off on Tuesday.
3. Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros – Will Harris suffered his first blown save of the season on Tuesday, throwing 31 pitches in the process.
4. Edubray Ramos, Philadelphia Phillies – Both Jeanmar Gomez (46 pitches) and Hector Neris (45) have appeared in two straight and three of the last four.
5. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals – Seung Hwan Oh is well-rested, but the Cardinals will play a doubleheader on Wednesday and Siegrist may get a chance in the second game if Oh can’t pitch both.
6. Ryan Buchter, San Diego Padres – Likewise, the Padres may turn to Buchter if Brandon Maurer can’t go in the second game of their doubleheader against the Cardinals.
