July 25, 2022
Philadelphia Phillies – A disheartening sweep at the hands of the lowly Cubs dropped the Phillies out of the final Wild Card spot, but perhaps a minor silver lining is that former closer Corey Knebel had two more solid outings, extending his scoreless streak to 10.1 innings. The Phillies would certainly love if he could reclaim this job, so we’ll creep him back on to this hierarchy and see if it sticks.
Updated hierarchy: *Dominguez | Hand | Knebel.
* = closer-by-committee
Miami Marlins – Anthony Bass, filling in for a resting Tanner Scott, couldn’t close out the Pirates in the 9th inning on Sunday afternoon. However, after the Marlins scored two in the top of the 10th, on came Jeff Brigham, who hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2020. Brigham allowed only the automatic runner to score, locking down just his second career save.
Hierarchy remains: Scott | Bass | Floro.
New York Yankees – Clarke Schmidt threw the final three innings of a 6-0 Yankee victory on Sunday afternoon to earn his first career save. He’s having a fine year, but is almost always used across several innings, meaning he’s likely to be an inconsistent source of holds, even with the injury to Michael King.
Hierarchy remains: Holmes | Peralta | Luetge.
Kansas City Royals – With Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont both appearing Saturday — and with the Royals perhaps looking to showcase an additional bullpen arm before the trade deadline — Taylor Clarke was tasked with the 9th inning of a two-run game. The hard-throwing righty converted, and has now allowed runs in just 2 of his past 17 appearances.
Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Clarke.
Houston Astros – Ryan Pressly returned from the paternity list on Sunday and picked right back up with a clean 9th inning. Rafael Montero returns to his handcuff role.
Updated hierarchy: Pressly | Montero | Neris.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Rowan Wick – David Robertson has gone back to back.
2. Wil Crowe – David Bednar has gone back to back.
3. Devin Williams – Josh Hader pitched Friday and Sunday (44 total pitches) and could get the night off.
4. Reyes Moronta – The Dodgers bullpen has been heavily taxed since the break, with Craig Kimbrel, Evan Phillips, and Alex Vesia all pitching in three of four.
Tomorrow
1. AJ Minter – If Kenley Jansen goes tonight, it’s back to back.
