September 5, 2022
Boston Red Sox — As the vulture save watch noted, Garrett Whitlock needed a rest today, so it was John Schreiber who got the call in the 9th inning. He converted for his 7th save on the year, and now has 3 of the last 4 Red Sox saves. Schreiber is also riding a modest 6 game scoreless streak, while Whitlock has given up multiple runs twice in a row. While we don’t expect Whitlock to be completely closed out of the 9th inning, Schreiber seems to have the inside track to save chances for now.
Updated hierarchy: *Schreiber| Whitlock| Barnes.
* = closer-by-committee
Seattle Mariners — Is Chris Flexan challenging for a hierarchy spot?! He now has more saves in the past week than Paul Sewald and has yet to blow a save chance this year. A closer look shows that his first was a 4 inning save in a blowout game and last night he was the 10th pitcher out of the bullpen for the Mariners who took the lead in the 11th inning on a rain soaked night in Cleveland. Flexan has made the most of his chances this year, but he is still primarily a long reliever.
Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Muñoz | Swanson.
Cleveland Guardians -The Guardians were on the wrong end of an 11 inning game last night, and it was Trevor Stephan who ended up taking the loss. While Stephan hasn’t been bad, James Karinchak has now strung together 21 scoreless appearances dating back to July 9th. With the Guardians fighting for every win in the AL Central race, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t turn to Karinchak if Emmanuel Clase isn’t available.
Updated hierarchy: Clase | Karinchak | Stephan.
Vulture Save Watch:
- Erik Swanson (SEA) — Paul Sewald and Andres Munoz have both pitched back to back games which makes Swanson the best rested arm in the hierarchy.
- Yimi Garcia (TOR) — Jordan Romano has pitched back to back, and the Blue Jays have a double header…
- Dillon Tate (BAL) — … against the Orioles.
- Dominic Leone (SF) — Camilo Doval and John Brebbia have both pitched back to back.
- Garrett Whitlock (BOS) — John Schreiber has pitched in back to back and 3 of 4.
- Joe Jiminez (DET) — Gregory Soto has thrown in 2 of 3, and run up 43 pitches in that time.
For Tuesday:
- Evan Phillips/Alex Vesia (LAD) — Today would be 3 in a row for Craig Kimbrel, but he has kept his pitch counts low.
- James Karinchak (CLE) — Today would be 3 in a row for Emmanuel Clase.