May 1, 2018

Cleveland Indians – The Indians picked an interesting spot for Cody Allen yesterday, summoning him with 1 out in the 8th inning AFTER they had already relinquished their lead a batter earlier. But if the idea was to keep the game close, the move was prescient, as they went on to rally for 4 runs in the bottom half of the inning. Allen returned and got 2 outs in the 9th, but two hits and a walk pushed his pitch count to 41, and the Indians brought on lefty Jeff Beliveau to retire Joey Gallo. It was the second save of Beliveau’s career, and he does not factor into Cleveland’s usual late inning plans. However, with Andrew Miller on the shelf, Allen might be in for a few more extended outings, which means vulture saves might become more common in this bullpen in the immediate future.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Goody | Olson. 

Chicago Cubs – Brandon Morrow and CJ Edwards had pitched in three of the previous four games, so they both got the night off on Monday, and the Cubs patched their way through the game’s final 3 innings, culminating in a 2-out save for veteran Steve Cishek. Even on nights when Edwards is available, Cishek might occasionally be the one to spell Morrow due to his past experience in the role.

Hierarchy remains: Morrow | Edwards | Cishek.

Washington Nationals – With Sean Doolittle getting a day of rest, the Nationals used Ryan Madson in the 8th and Brandon Kintzler in the 9th. It was Kintzler’s first save on the season (Madson has two), and Madson has been the 8th inning man pretty consistently thus far, so we’ll leave the hierarchy as is for now and see if this signals a change going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Doolittle | Madson | Kintzler.

Milwaukee Brewers – Josh Hader recorded 8 outs on Monday night, ALL BY STRIKEOUT. No one had ever done that before, and Hader remains firmly atop a Brewers committee that is only a committee because the lefty’s long outings mean he usually can’t pitch in back to back games. At any rate, hopefully the appearance helped Brewers fans recover from what was apparently a puke-filled weekend.

Hierarchy remains: *Hader | Albers | Barnes.
* = closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers – Shane Greene took the loss after allowing three runs on Monday night, his third appearance in his last six in which he’s been scored upon. Righty Joe Jimenez, who started his season with 11 straight scoreless appearances before a hiccup last week, is the handcuff here for those looking to speculate.

Hierarchy remains: Greene | Jimenez | Wilson. 

Tampa Bay Rays – Jose Alvarado got the last two outs of the game on Monday night to pick up his first career save. Alex Colome and Sergio Romo had each pitched in three of the previous four.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Romo | Alvarado.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Craig Stammen – Brad Hand threw 37 pitches last night in a rough outing which crossed two innings.
2. Nick Goody – Cody Allen threw 41 pitches last night, also across two innings.

Tomorrow
1. Ryan Tepera – If Roberto Osuna goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Kyle Barraclough – If Brad Ziegler goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.