June 23, 2021
Seattle Mariners – Kendall Graveman looked like his old self on Tuesday, needing just nine pitches to complete a 1-2-3 ninth and earn his sixth save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Montero | Steckenrider.
* = closer-by-committee
Cincinnati Reds – Activated prior to Tuesday’s game, Tejay Antone immediately got called upon to protect a two-run lead in the eighth after Lucas Sims allowed a homer, single and double. Antone’s second pitch after coming off the IL resulted in a game-tying double, but he recovered to retire the next two hitters and get out of the frame. When the Reds took the lead in the top of the ninth, Amir Garrett came to face the lefty-heavy top of the Twins order and earn the save.
Hierarchy remains: *Sims | Antone | Hembree.
* = closer-by-committee
Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland picked up his fifth save of the season on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow securing the final two outs of the eighth inning. Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since June 16, which is a little concerning given his previous IL stint.
Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee
Atlanta Braves — Chris Martin hasn’t pitched since he allowed three earned runs on June 15. Meanwhile, A.J. Minter pitched the eighth last night and got the sixth in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday, earning a hold both times.
Updated hierarchy: Smith | Minter | Jackson.
San Diego Padres — With guys like Emilio Pagan and Craig Stammen unavailable on Tuesday, the Padres had to turn to Nabil Crismatt and rookie Mason Thompson to get the ball to Mark Melancon. Thompson, in his MLB debut, came into the eighth inning with two outs and a two-run lead.. He threw a wild pitch during a leadoff walk, but bounced back to induce an inning-ending groundout. It remains to be seen if Thompson gets any more high-leverage work this year, but he could be a candidate to close next season.
Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Pagan | Stammen.
Arizona Diamondbacks – Stefan Crichton pitched the sixth last night with his team trailing, 1-0, and promptly turned that into a 4-0 deficit. Joakim Soria is the most likely guy to get the next save chance, whenever that actually happens. Meanwhile, Kevin Ginkel recently got demoted to Triple-A Reno, where the organization’s pitchers actually have a chance to earn a save every now and then. In fact, Ginkel earned the save for the Aces last night, and hopefully he remembered how to do postgame handshakes with his team on the field since the Diamondbacks have won just twice in June.
Updated hierarchy: *Soria | Crichton | Ramirez.
* = closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s – In case you missed our alert last night, Sergio Romo is the new stripper in Oakland.
Updated hierarchy: *Romo | Scherzer | Miller.
* = stripper-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Luke Jackson (ATL) – Will Smith has pitched in three straight while A.J. Minter has thrown on back-to-back days.
2. Emilio Pagan (SD) – Mark Melancon has pitched in three of four.
3. Kyle Finnegan (WAS) – Brad Hand has also gone in three of four, including a 34-pitch outing last night.
Tomorrow
1. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – If Matt Barnes pitches today, that’s two in a row.
2. Ryne Stanek (HOU) – Same goes for Ryan Pressly…
3. Scott Barlow (KC) – …and Greg Holland.
4. Dylan Floro (MIA) – A Wednesday appearance for Yimi Garcia will be two straight and three of four.
