August 7, 2017
Minnesota Twins – Protecting a one run lead, the Twins went with Trevor Hildenberger in the 6th and 7th, Taylor Rogers in the 8th, and Matt Belisle in the 9th. While Matty did a nice job, the Twins are still in committee mode for now, so we’ll leave our hierarchy right where it was.
Hierarchy remains: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee
Texas Rangers – Alex Claudio entered the game in the seventh inning with the Rangers down by 1 run, and threw two scoreless innings. The maybe-leader of the Texas committee hadn’t pitched either of the previous two games, and the Rangers have an offday on Monday, but this was another odd spot for Claudio if he’s supposed to be the guy they’re looking to for saves. We aren’t changing the hierarchy again, but we consider Claudio and Jose Leclerc to be complete equals at this point.
Hierarchy remains: *Claudio | Leclerc | Kela.
* = closer-by-committee
Seattle Mariners – David Phelps retired the first man he faced in the 7th inning on Sunday, but then signaled to the dugout and was removed from the game. He’s headed back to Seattle for an exam, and until he’s back in action, Tony Zych could get a few more holds.
Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Vincent | Zych.
Oakland A’s – Blake Treinen picked up his second save with the A’s on Sunday, pitching a clean 9th for the second day in a row. Both weekend outings came after Santiago Casilla got the 8th, but we’ll leave the committee tag on for another few days. On Friday, he was summoned in the 7th inning, in what was clearly a “we need to use our best guy NOW” spot for Bob Melvin, so while Treinen is clearly the stopper for his new team, he might be moved around from time to time.
Hierarchy remains: *Treinen | Casilla | Dull.
* = closer-by-committee
San Francisco Giants – Albert Suarez pitched the final 2.1 innings for the Giants on Sunday, earning his first career save. Bruce Bochy was trying to give Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland the day off — though he would’ve brought Dyson in if he had to — but Suarez kept mowing down Arizona hitters, so the swingman got the chance to finish the game.
Updated hierarchy: Dyson | Strickland | Suarez.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Kirby Yates – Brad Hand has pitched 2.2 innings over the past two days.
2. Juan Nicasio – Felipe Rivero threw 41 pitches last night.
Tomorrow
1. Kirby Yates – See above. If Hand goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Junichi Tazawa – If Brad Ziegler goes today, it’ll be two straight; he just came off the DL and might not be able to pitch three in a row yet.
