Happy Labor Day! Here’s hoping you enjoy quality time with family and friends. As for Sunday’s games, eight relievers recorded a win and six secured saves. The slate ended with an extra-inning battle between Atlanta and Philadelphia, with the Phillies winning on a walk-off rally in the bottom of the 11th, handing Carlos Estévez his third win. It also featured Ben Joyce securing his fourth save while working on consecutive days. Our condensed recaps cover all of yesterday’s high-leverage events of interest, and our What to Watch For sets the plate for the first week of September.
Closer CliffsNotes
- Aaron Bummer (ATL) gave up a walk and left with runners on the corners in the bottom of the 11th. He suffered his third loss when Grant Holmes allowed Nick Castellanos’ walk-off RBI single. Raisel Iglesias worked two scoreless frames, giving up a walk and striking out three.
- Hierarchy remains: Raisel Iglesias | Joe Jiménez | Pierce Johnson
- Rich Hill (BOS) entered a tied game at the bottom of the fifth but gave up a walk, and Spencer Torkelson’s go-ahead two-run home run resulted in his first loss.
- Hierarchy remains: Kenley Jansen | Chris Martin | Justin Slaten
- Alexis Díaz (CIN) retired the side in the top of the 11th and collected his second win following a walk-off rally in the bottom of the inning. After a rough August, which featured two losses and three saves in five chances, the Reds’ closer would benefit from a strong finish to ensure his role in 2025.
- Hierarchy remains: Alexis Díaz | Emilio Pagán | Tony Santillan
- Jason Foley (DET) nailed down his 20th save with a clean ninth and one strikeout, preserving a three-run win over Boston. He’s been scoreless in his last eight outings while converting all five save chances since August 14.
- Hierarchy remains: *Jason Foley | *Tyler Holton | Shelby Miller
- *= closer-by-committee
- Ben Joyce (LAA) preserved a one-run lead by navigating around a lead-off single with a double play groundout and a game-ending strikeout. He extended his scoreless streak to six games, and he’s recorded a win while converting three saves with eight strikeouts against zero walks in his last seven innings.
- Hierarchy remains: Ben Joyce | Hunter Strickland | José Quijada
- Calvin Faucher (MIA) fired a clean bottom of the ninth while striking out the side and recording his sixth save. Since August 3, he’s been scoreless in ten of 12 appearances, converting all six save chances with 18 strikeouts versus four walks over 12 innings.
- Updated Hierarchy: Calvin Faucher | John McMillon | Jesús Tinoco
- Bryse Wilson (MIL) logged an extended outing, working 3.2 innings but suffered his fourth loss when the “place” runner scored on a ricocheted comebacker in the bottom of the 11th in Cincinnati. He allowed two hits and an unearned run while striking out two.
- Hierarchy remains: Devin Williams | Trevor Megill | Joel Payamps
- Jhoan Durán (MIN) preserved a one-run win over the Blue Jays and recorded his 20th save. He worked around a hit batter and struck out one. He’s been scoreless in his last two outings, recording a save in each, but last worked a clean inning on August 15.
- Hierarchy remains: Jhoan Durán | Griffin Jax | Cole Sands
- Edwin Díaz (NYM) shut the door on his 16th save with a clean bottom of the ninth while striking out the side. After consecutive losses, he’s leaned into his four-seam fastball and been scoreless in his last three appearances, striking out seven of nine batters.
- Hierarchy remains: Edwin Díaz | Phil Maton | Reed Garrett
- Mason Miller (OAK) allowed Jace Jung’s walk-off three-run home run, resulting in his second loss. After giving up a hit in a scoreless ninth, Miller returned for the tenth, allowing two hits, four runs (three earned), and a walk while striking out one. This marked his 12th multiple-inning appearance and third-highest pitch total of the season.
- Hierarchy remains: Mason Miller | Tyler Ferguson | Michel Otañez
- Carlos Estévez (PHI) collected his third win on a walk-off rally in the bottom of the 11th. He worked two clean frames, stranding both “place” runners while striking out two. After a slow start since his acquisition, he’s been scoreless over his last five with a win and two saves.
- Hierarchy remains: Carlos Estévez | Jeff Hoffman | Matt Strahm
- Robert Suarez (SD) held on for his 30th save, navigating around a hit and a walk for a scoreless ninth, preserving a one-run win in Tampa Bay. He’s converted 30 of 32 save opportunities this season but has allowed a run in four of his last nine appearances. Tanner Scott collected his ninth win. He gave up a hit and a walk while striking out two in a scoreless bottom of the eighth.
- Hierarchy remains: Robert Suarez | Tanner Scott | Jason Adam
- JoJo Romero (STL) stranded two runners in the sixth and logged 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out three. He collected his sixth win after his teammates rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh.
- Hierarchy remains: Ryan Helsley | Andrew Kittredge | JoJo Romero
- Manuel Rodríguez (TB) took over a tied game at the top of the ninth. His outing began with a walk and a single, followed by a go-ahead sacrifice fly, resulting in his fourth loss.
- Hierarchy remains: *Manuel Rodríguez | *Edwin Uceta | *Garrett Cleavinger
- *= closer-by-committee
- Matt Festa (TEX) gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits and recorded two strikeouts in the top of the tenth. Despite this, he collected his third win on a walk-off rally in the bottom of the inning.
- Hierarchy remains: Kirby Yates | David Robertson | Andrew Chafin
- Chad Green (TOR) took over with a two-run lead in the bottom of the eight. However, he not only had his five-game scoreless streak snapped, he suffered his fourth loss and a first blown save, giving up Royce Lewis’ go-ahead three-run home run. Hierarchy remains: Chad Green | Génesis Cabrera | Erik Swanson
Vulture Save Options for Monday, September 2
- Emilio Pagán (CIN): Alexis Díaz has pitched in four of the previous five days.
- Phil Maton (NYM): Edwin Díaz has appeared in four of the last five games.
- Michel Otañez (OAK): Miller threw 34 pitches across a two-inning outing on Sunday. Tyler Ferguson could also be used, so this is a tougher dart throw.
Vulture Save Stashes for Tuesday, September 3
- Tyler Holton (DET): If Foley pitches today, it will be consecutive outings.
What to Watch For (September 2-through-8)
Arizona Diamondbacks -How does Justin Martinez fare in September? He took over the ninth inning in August, recording seven saves while logging 14.1 innings with a 24:7 K:BB (27 K-BB%) and a 1.33 WHIP. One would prefer less traffic on the bases, but his 2.56 SIERA, 17.8 swinging strike percentage, and 63.6 percent contact rate allowed insulate his success during high-leverage events.
Boston Red Sox – Liam Hendriks has circled this weekend’s series against his former team for his return. With Kenley Jansen affixed as the closer, will the Red Sox ease Hendriks into a high-leverage role and provide him with save chances over the last two weeks of the season? Jansen will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, while Hendriks is signed through the end of 2025.
Chicago Cubs – Since designated Héctor Neris for assignment on August 20, Porter Hodge has recorded two saves, Jorge López one, and Keegan Thompson notched a one-out ancillary save. Fantasy managers prefer clarity and will monitor how the Cubs deploy Hodge and López in September.
Chicago White Sox – Prelander Berroa retired six of seven batters faced, including five via strikeout, allowing only a walk against the Mets. He threw 39 pitches (24 strikes – 61.5 Strike%) and generated eight whiffs (20.5 SwStr%). He’s been inconsistent but has racked up ten strikeotus over his last five innings, giving up one earned run. If these trends continue, it should be worth finding out how he handles a save opportunity in a lost season.
Cincinnati Reds – It’s been a bumpy season for Alexis Díaz and those with him on their fantasy rosters. Hope lies in his 1.23 second-half WHIP, but can he reestablish himself in the ninth inning? Over his last 14 games, he owns a 1-2 record while converting five of seven save chances with 12 strikeouts against four walks, but he’s also allowed eight runs (seven earned) through 12 innings. Over the last statistical year, he’s posted a 6.9 K-BB percentage and a 1.51 WHIP.
Colorado Rockies -Although Tyler Kinley has converted his last two save opportunities and been scoreless in 19 of his last 22, he may be usurped in the bullpen hierarchy. Victor Vodnik threw a bullpen session at 80 percent on Saturday, and he’s slated for an “aggressive” bullpen session on Tuesday. If all goes well, he could be activated or work a rehab outing or two before his return. How he finishes the season will determine roles in 2025 for this leverage ladder.
Los Angeles Angels – One of the biggest concerns regarding Ben Joyce as the closer of the future was workload management. He rarely recorded consecutive outings in college due to multiple-inning appearances. This year, he’s recorded four appearances on back-to-back days for the Angels and accomplished the feat two times at Double-A before his promotion. He’s appeared three times in the last four days, securing two saves and collecting a win while allowing three hits over 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. As he establishes himself in the closer role, fantasy players hope he will improve on his 9.9 swinging strike percentage and 1.21 WHIP since the All-Star break.
New York Mets – Taking his recent results with a grain of salt, since two saves happened against the White Sox, Edwin Díaz has changed his sequencing following a walk-off loss in Arizona on a hanging slider. In his last three appearances, he’s thrown 42 pitches, 35 four-seam fastballs, and only seven sliders. He’s retired all nine batters, seven via strikeout, while recording one save against Arizona and two versus the White Sox. Adjustments are constantly required in baseball, so it will be intriguing to see how his usage patterns evolve over the rest of September.
Oakland A’s – Recency bias suggests Mason Miller has struggled in the second half after a walk-off three-run home run in Texas on his 34th pitch. He has seen a dip since the All-Star break, posting a 1.00 WHIP, a 21.1 K-BB percentage, and a 3.21 ERA versus a 3.13 SIERA. Through 12 games in the second half, he’s converted all eight save chances with 17 strikeouts versus five walks across 14 innings. Sustaining the gaudy numbers he produced in the first month was unrealistic, but his results during the remainder of the season will help project how he’s ranked among his peers entering 2025 drafts.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Aroldis Chapman nailed down his fifth save, his first save since July 11, and he’s been scoreless in ten of his last 11 appearances with 20 strikeouts versus two walks across 11 innings. He should be the preferred save option in the interim. David Bednar did record a clean appearance on Sunday in a low-leverage outing against the 9-1-2-3 hitters of Cleveland, issuing Steven Kwan a walk but retiring the other three, including an inning-ending groundout by José Ramírez. There’s no timeline for Bednar’s removal from the closer role, but it will take more outings like this one and a few strikeouts with his secondary pitches before a return will be imminent.
San Diego Padres – His recent struggles with traffic and earned runs bring more attention to his performance than it should, especially after Robert Suarez recorded his career-best 30th save on Sunday. However, one does notice his 0.90 WHIP through 37.2 innings in the first half versus his 1.10 WHIP in 16.1 innings in the second half. It can be some bad luck, especially in strand rate, but he’s improved his swinging strike percentage and reduced contact allowed since the All-Star break, so this could be working through fatigue. He’s already reached a career-high in innings this season and is working in uncharted territory as the closer while his team fights for playoff positioning each game.
Those seeking full game recaps should surf the team pages; they’ve all been updated with Sunday’s results.
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe and be well.
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