It’s always an adventure in Philadelphia’s bullpen

June 30, 2021

Philadelphia Phillies — José Alvarado finally got a save in the post-Neris-but-still-sometimes-Neris era, though it certainly wasn’t pretty. He inherited two runners with two outs in the eighth and the Phillies ahead by four. After a walk and a wild pitch, Alvarado was able to escape with a three-run lead, but he then allowed a two-run homer in the ninth before hanging on for the 4-3 win. We’ll see which Phillies reliever will get the next save opportunity, but whoever it is will make sure it’s an adventure.

Hierarchy remains: *Alvarado | Bradley | Neris.
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres — The Padres activated Drew Pomeranz on Tuesday and he earned a seventh-inning hold in his first appearance since May 9. The lefty was off to a good start before hitting the IL and should once again be a factor in the late innings for San Diego.

Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Pagan | Pomeranz.

Washington Nationals — Tanner Rainey became the latest Nationals reliever to hit the IL on Tuesday thanks to a stress reaction to his right tibia. Austin Voth protected a two-run lead last night with a perfect eighth inning against Tampa’s 4-5-6 hitters and will join Wander Suero as the late-inning options that need to get the ball to an overworked Brad Hand. In other news, Daniel Hudson might throw a bullpen today, and boy do the Nationals need that to go well.

Updated hierarchy: Hand | Voth | Suero.

Chicago Cubs — Ryan Tepera landed on the IL on Tuesday with a left calf strain. Tepera, who had been sharp this season, has allowed seven earned runs in his last four appearances, including four during a rough outing on Monday in Milwaukee. Dan Winkler may get more high-leverage opportunities until Tepera returns.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Chafin | Winkler.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Joe Kelly has transformed into Joseph Kelly of late, having allowed just one earned run in his last eight innings of work. That includes a perfect 1.1 IP on Tuesday night, when he got the Dodgers out of a jam in the seventh before throwing a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Treinen | Kelly.

Baltimore Orioles — Dillon Tate retired both batters he faced in the seventh inning to protect a one-run lead. The Orioles then scored five runs in their half of the eighth before tacking on four more in the ninth. Unlike last night, Brandon Hyde stayed away from his usual high-leverage options with a big lead and allowed Tate to finish the game and earn his first career save. If you had Adam Plutko in your lineup on Monday and then picked up Tate for Tuesday, send us a screenshot so we can see how good you are at Photoshop.

Hierarchy remains: *Fry | Sulser | Harvey.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Toronto traded for Adam Cimber on Tuesday and might join the team as early as Wednesday. Charlie Montoyo said that Cimber will get a chance to pitch in high-leverage spots. We’ll see what exactly that entails before adding Cimber to this hierarchy.

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Chatwood | Mayza.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Adam Ottavino (BOS) — Matt Barnes has pitched in two straight.
2. Emmanuel Clase (CLE) — Cleveland has a doubleheader…
3. Gregory Soto (DET) — …against Detroit.
4. Scott Barlow (KC) — Greg Holland threw 30 pitches last night over two innings of work.
5. Archie Bradley/Hector Neris (PHI) — José Alvarado threw 33 pitches last night.
6. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) — Alex Reyes needed 32 pitches to get a six-out save.
7. Joely Rodriguez (TEX) — Ian Kennedy has pitched in three of four and struggled a bit last night.
8. Wander Suero (WAS) — Brad Hand has gone in three straight while Austin Voth has pitched in three of four.

Thursday:
1. Adam Ottavino/Josh Taylor (BOS) — If Matt Barnes goes today that will be three in a row. If Ottavino pitches, that’s two straight for him.
2. Aaron Bummer (CHW) — A Wednesday appearance for Liam Hendriks would be two straight and three of four.
3. Emilio Pagan/Drew Pomeranz (SD) — The same is true of both Mark Melancon and Pagan.
4. Devin Williams (MIL) — If Josh Hader pitches tonight that will be two in a row.
5. Joely Rodriguez (TEX) — If Ian Kennedy does pitch today it will be two straight and four of five.

The Yankees expect to get two relievers back from injury

June 29, 2021

New York Yankees — Justin Wilson and Darren O’Day are expected back for New York on Tuesday. Time will tell how quickly the two return to higher-leverage use.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Green | Loaisiga.

Baltimore Orioles — Paul Fry pitched the eighth in a tie game and was sent back out for the ninth even after the team took a five-run lead. This was colossally dumb, and three singles and a hit batsman later, the O’s needed Adam Plutko to intervene for a save. In fairness, manager Brandon Hyde may have been playing first base for the Winston-Salem Warthogs the last time Baltimore scored five in the ninth. 

Hierarchy remains: *Fry | Sulser | Harvey.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Tanner Rainey (WAS) — Brad Hand has pitched back-to-back and got five outs on Monday.
2. Hunter Harvey (BAL) — See above. Paul Fry threw a lot more pitches than he should have.

Wednesday:
1. Mike Mayers (LAA) — Raisel Iglesias has gone in two straight.

Michael Fulmer hits the IL while Archie Bradley picks up a save

June 28, 2021

Detroit Tigers – Michael Fulmer was placed on the IL yesterday with a neck strain, marking his second trip to the list this month. While the timeline for his return isn’t available, Manager AJ Hinch said that he would at least be out for the Cleveland series and that they weren’t going to roster a player who couldn’t pitch. We already saw that Jose Cisnero was closing the gap in the Detroit hierarchy, but this latest injury to Fulmer makes it officially his job to lose. Gregory Soto will bump to first in line after picking up the win last night and could be an option for the 9th inning if the matchups dictate it.  Kyle Funkhouser will see more time in the later innings and Miguel Del Pozo could be a guy to watch.  Del Pozo was called up to replace Fulmer, and while his career big league numbers are not great, he has been lighting up AAA this season, sporting a 1.02 ERA and a 12.1 K/9.

Updated hierarchy: *Cisnero | Soto  | Funkhouser.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies — Last night it was Archie Bradley’s turn to take the 9th inning for the Phillies in the post-Hector Neris era. Bradley got the job done, giving up a solo shot to Kevin Pillar, but otherwise escaping unscathed. Jose Alvarado pitched the 8th inning ahead of Bradley, but Alvarado was brought in to face the top of the Mets lineup in a close game. We think that Alvarado is still the top choice in Philadelphia for now, but this has more of a committee feel to it than it did going into the weekend

Hierarchy remains: *Alvarado | Bradley | Neris.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Jordan Romano got the clear save opportunity yesterday and converted to run his scoreless appearance streak to 15 games. He has consistently been getting the save chances for the Blue Jays, with the only one recently that he didn’t get was when he was being rested after a 28 pitch outing. He has clearly taken the reins in Toronto, and it’s time to kick the asterisk. 

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Chatwood | Mayza.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH:
Today
1. Aaron Bummer (CHW) – Liam Hendriks pitched in both games of a doubleheader yesterday, throwing 29 pitches. 
2. Gregory Soto/Kyle Funkhouser (DET) – Jose Cisnero has pitched in back-to-back games, and thrown 43 pitches over that span.
3. Brooks Raley/Ryne Stanek (HOU) – Ryan Pressly has pitched in back-to-back games, as has Ryne Stanek. 
4. Hector Neris (PHI) – Amazingly, Hector Neris is the best rested in the Philly Bullpen, with Alvarado and Bradley both having long outings last night, and having now pitched in 2 of 3. 

Tuesday: 
1. Jake Diekman (OAK) – Oakland has an off day today, but Lou Trivino has pitched in 3 of 4 and 4 of 5. 

Amir Garrett and Jose Cisnero record saves while Hector Neris blows another one

June 27, 2021

Cincinnati Reds — With the Reds up 3-0 heading into the 8th inning, Brad Bach came on to face the 2-3-4 hitters in the Braves lineup.   Brach struggled a little bit, allowing a run on a pair of walks and a hit, but he was able to keep the Reds in front 3-1.  That left Amir Garrett for the 9th inning and he was able to finish off the win with a strikeout of Freddie Freeman to pick up his fifth save of the season.  Since Brach got the heart of the order in the 8th, we will leave him at the top of the committee for now but Amir Garrett converting the save and riding a modest 5 appearance scoreless streak could allow him to jump Brach if he can keep it up.

Updated hierarchy: *Brach | Garrett | Hembree.
* = closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers – In the first game of their doubleheader yesterday, the Tigers sent Jose Cisnero out there in the 7th inning to protect a two-run lead.  He locked down his third save of the season with a perfect inning.  In the second game of the doubleheader, Michael Fulmer allowed a pair of homers and took the loss.  This is still very much a committee with the three-headed back of the bullpen of Fulmer, Cisnero, and Gregory Soto allowing manager AJ Hinch to mix and match to finish games.  We will leave Michael Fulmer at the top of the committee for now as he has been getting the 9th inning most consistently since returning from the IL.  However, Jose Cisnero has been pitching extremely well and if he gets the next save chance over Fulmer, we will likely make a change.  

Hierarchy remains: *Fulmer | Cisnero | Soto.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies — With Jose Alvarado and Archie Bradley throwing a lot of pitches on Friday, manager Joe Girardi said that ex-closer Hector Neris could get the save chance again on Saturday.  Sure enough, after the Phillies scored to take a one-run lead in the top of the 9th, Neris was summoned for the bottom of the 9th.  Unfortunately, Neris walked in the tying run after loading the bases on an error, walk, and hit and then allowed a walk-off sac fly to take the loss.  We will throw Neris back on the hierarchy but we don’t expect him to see many save chances behind Alvarado and Bradley. 

Updated hierarchy: Alvarado | Bradley | Neris.

Boston Red Sox – As the Vulture Save Watch predicted yesterday, Matt Barnes got the day off and Adam Ottavino recorded the last four outs of a Red Sox win to pick up his fifth save of the season.  Ottavino will continue to see save chances when Barnes is unavailable.  

Hierarchy remains: Barnes | Ottavino | Taylor.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yusmeiro Petit (OAK) – Lou Trivino and Jake Diekman both threw 27 pitches yesterday and have gone in two of the past three and three of the past five.
2. Dominic Leone (SF) – Jake McGee and Tyler Rogers have both pitched two straight and three of four.

Monday
1. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – If Matt Barnes pitches on Sunday, it will be three of the last four and four of the last six.