August 28, 2020
Major League Baseball – Seven games were postponed Thursday as players did not play to redirect attention toward racial justice after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin over the weekend. It’s expected that many, if not all, teams will resume play Friday, which is also the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s meeting with Branch Rickey. Many Black players will be donating their Thursday and Friday game checks to The Players Alliance, a group of current and former Black baseball players whose mission is to increase opportunities for the Black community in and out of baseball.
Seattle Mariners — The late innings were rough for the Mariners in game one of Thursday’s doubleheader, as they squandered 3-1 and 7-3 leads to fall, 10-7. Matt Magill did the honors in blowing the first lead, allowing two runs in two-thirds of an inning. Taylor Williams then pitched the seventh (remember, it’s a doubleheader) with a four-run lead and retired the first two batters before he lost control, literally. Here’s the sequence: HBP, BB, BB, two-run single, passed ball, run-scoring wild pitch, game-tying single. Dan Altavilla tried to stop the bleeding, but had no such luck, allowing a single and a walk-off home run. In the nightcap, Yoshihisa Hirano finished off an 8-3 game and has yet to allow a run since returning from the IL. We’re going to move him into the hierarchy, with the understanding that he could be closing games in a week if the others continue to flounder. Meanwhile, Carl Edwards Jr., won’t be back anytime soon, as he was moved to the 45-day IL and is out until at least late September.
Updated hierarchy: Williams | Magill | Hirano.
Pittsburgh Pirates — Keone Kela was moved to the IL with right forearm tightness. Richard Rodriguez continues to be the best bet for saves in his absence, but he did allow two runs (one earned) in getting the save in game one of a doubleheader Thursday. In game two, Nik Turley earned his first save (and only the team’s fourth this season). He pitched in a high-leverage spot on Sunday, too, so perhaps he’s beginning to make his move toward the back end of the bullpen. For now, we’ll slot him behind Rodriguez and Chris Stratton.
Updated hierarchy: *Rodriguez | Stratton | Turley.
* = closer-by-committee
St. Louis Cardinals – Andrew Miller was placed on the IL Thursday for left shoulder fatigue. This clears more space for Giovanny Gallegos to establish himself as the primary closer.
Updated hierarchy: *Gallegos | Gant | Cabrera.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
* With all of the recent postponements, expect a lot of doubleheaders moving forward. This will probably lead to a significant number of unforeseen vulture saves.
Today
1. Matt Magill/Yoshihisa Hirano – Taylor Williams had a disastrous outing Thursday (29 pitches) and might need a day to clear his head.
Tomorrow
1. Gregory Soto – A Friday appearance would be three of four for Buck Farmer.
2. Blake Treinen – Same as above for Kenley Jansen.
3. David Phelps – An outing Friday would be three of five for Josh Hader.
