One game was postponed on Friday, leaving the slate one short of being full. Washington and Pittsburgh will play a split doubleheader later today. Three relievers recorded wins, including one in extra innings on Oakland’s walk-off in the 13th against Detroit. Six saves were secured, though one was a surprise in Boston, segue alert.
Roster Notes and Injury Updates
Boston Red Sox – With Kenley Jansen being unavailable with lat soreness, it’s unfortunate timing for Liam Hendriks. He suffered a slight setback when he could not appear on consecutive days during his rehab assignment. He still believes he will pitch this season, but the window’s getting shorter.
Colorado Rockies – Victor Vodnik fired a clean inning in his first rehab outing for Double-A Hartford last night. He recorded two strikeouts while throwing 13 pitches (9 strikes – 69.2 Strike%).
Minnesota Twins – The team announced that Louie Varland will enter the bullpen for the stretch run. He’s made nine appearances as a reliever in his career, posting 22 strikeouts against two walks (26.3 K-BB%) with a 0.97 WHIP across 18.2 innings.
New York Yankees – Per Bryan Hoch, Ian Hamilton will be activated before Saturday’s game. He should be eased into high-leverage events but become a factor for save chances based on performance moving forward.
Seattle Mariners – Gregory Santos hit 96 m.p.h. on the radar during his rehab outing last night. He allowed a soft-contact single and recorded a strikeout on 15 pitches (60 Strike%).
Next, our condensed recaps cover Friday’s high-leverage events of interest.
Closer CliffsNotes
Raisel Iglesias (ATL) recorded his 31st save, finishing a two-run win over Toronto. He allowed consecutive hits with two outs before a game-ending strikeout of George Springer. Iglesias threw 15 pitches (80 Strike%) and produced four whiffs (26.7 SwStr%) while striking out three in his outing. His major league-leading scoreless streak extends to 24.1 innings over his last 21 games. He’s converted ten of 11 save chances with 31 strikeouts versus three walks and posted a 0.37 WHIP in the streak.
- Hierarchy remains: Raisel Iglesias | Joe Jiménez | Pierce Johnson
Seranthony Domínguez (BAL) posted his ninth save, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings while preserving a combined shutout of the Rays. He allowed a hit and recorded two strikeouts on 28 pitches (17 strikes – 60.7 Strike%) with six whiffs (21.4 SwStr%). He’s converted all eight save chances since August 10 with 13 strikeouts against three walks in ten outings spanning 9.1 innings.
- Hierarchy remains: Seranthony Domínguez | Yennier Cano | Cionel Pérez
Josh Winckowski (BOS) retired the side and recorded his first save of the season. He threw 11 pitches (72.7 Strike%) and induced one whiff. This marks his first save since August 23, 2023.
- Updated Hierarchy: *Kenley Jansen | *Chris Martin | *Josh Winckowski
Matt Foster (CHW) issued a walk and gave up Cedanne Rafaela’s go-ahead two-run home run, resulting in his first loss in the bottom of the seventh in Boston.
- Hierarchy remains: *Justin Anderson | *Prelander Berroa | *Enyel De Los Santos
- *= closer-by-committee
Justin Wilson (CIN) suffered his fifth loss, allowing Mark Vientos’ walk-off two-run home run at the bottom of the tenth. Alexis Díaz fired a clean ninth and recorded a strikeout. This marks the brothers’ first appearance in the same game at any level.
- Hierarchy remains: Alexis Díaz | Emilio Pagán | Tony Santillan
Emmanuel Clase (CLE) locked down his 42nd with a clean ninth and one strikeout against the Dodgers. He threw seven pitches (85.7 Strike%) and produced two whiffs (28.6 SwStr%) while facing the 5-6-7 lineup pocket. He’s been scoreless in 11 of his last 12 appearances and converted 29 consecutive save opportunities since May 20 with a 0.69 WHIP through 42 innings.
- Hierarchy remains: Emmanuel Clase | Hunter Gaddis | Cade Smith
Tyler Kinley (COL) notched his tenth save while preserving a one-run win in Milwaukee. He gave up a one-out walk, followed by a pinch-runner stealing second, then induced a Rhys Hoskins flyout with Brenton Doyle throwing out the runner at third for a game-ending double play. Kinley threw 17 pitches (9 strikes – 52.9 Strike%) and produced three whiffs (17.6 SwStr%). He’s been scoreless in five of his last six outings and converted his last four saves.
- Hierarchy remains: Tyler Kinley | Angel Chivilli | Justin Lawrence
Beau Brieske (DET) gave up Seth Brown’s one-out walk-off RBI single, resulting in his fourth loss and first blown save in the bottom of the 13th in Oakland. Brieske worked 1.1 innings, giving up two hits, two unearned runs, and a walk while striking out one.
- Hierarchy remains: *Jason Foley | *Tyler Holton | Shelby Miller
- *= closer-by-committee
Aaron Ashby (MIL) logged three scoreless innings during his team’s loss. He allowed a hit and recorded four strikeouts against the Rockies. He threw 38 pitches (28 strikes – 73.7 Strike%) and generated eight whiffs (21.1 SwStr%). Since his recall on August 25, he’s been scoreless through five relief outings, spanning 11 innings with 13 strikeouts against two walks and a 0.46 WHIP.
- Hierarchy remains: Devin Williams | Trevor Megill | Joel Payamps
José Buttó (NYM) collected his seventh win when Mark Vientos launched a walk-off two-run home run after tossing a clean top of the tenth. Edwin Díaz kept the game tied, firing a clean ninth and striking out the side. He threw 14 pitches (64.3 Strike%) and produced four whiffs (28.6 SwStr%). He’s racked up five straight scoreless outings with 12 strikeouts against one walk and converted two saves over his last five innings.
- Hierarchy remains: Edwin Díaz | Phil Maton | Reed Garrett
Luke Weaver (NYY) recorded his first major league save while completing a combined shutout against the Cubs. He worked around a two-out walk with a game-ending groundout against the Cubs. He threw 25 pitches (64 Strike%) and included three whiffs (12 SwStr%) while recording two strikeouts. He’s been scoreless in nine of ten appearances since August 16 with 11 strikeouts against five walks through 9.2 innings. After the outing, Aaron Boone said Weaver “could” see more save chances down the stretch.
- Hierarchy remains: *Luke Weaver | *Tommy Kahnle | *Jake Cousins
Grant Holman (OAK) collected his first win on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 13th. He logged two innings, giving up a hit, an unearned run, and two walks while striking out one. Mason Miller fired a clean ninth, striking out the side, but let the “place” runner score in the top of the tenth. His line was one hit allowed and one unearned run with four strikeouts on 30 pitches (70 Strike%) with eight whiffs (26.7 SwStr%).
- Hierarchy remains: Mason Miller | Tyler Ferguson | Michel Otañez
Vulture Save Options for Saturday, September 7
- Tanner Scott (SD): Although he’s shared the same workload as Robert Suarez, Scott’s pitch count and durability make him the pivot for the save chance in this match-up.
- Pierce Johnson (ATL): Iglesias and Jiménez pitched three of the previous four days. If they pitch again today, you will still have Johnson for tomorrow’s vulture save opportunity.
- Yennier Cano (BAL): Dominguez threw 28 pitches during his four-out save.
- Emilio Pagán (CIN): Díaz and Santillan have appeared in back-to-back games.
Vulture Save Stash for Sunday, September 8
- Phil Maton (NYM): If Díaz pitches today, it will be consecutive appearances and three in the last four days.
Three Takeaways
DreamWeaver: This may not be the answer for the entirety of the postseason, but Luke Weaver recorded his first career save, sealing a combined shutout of the Cubs on the road. As this chart indicates, he did benefit from two called strikes:
When viewing his arsenal, one can see that his change-up represents the difference-maker during high-leverage events. It’s produced a 32.2 K-BB percentage, a 21.3 percent swinging strike rate, and a .223 weighted on-base average (wOBA). Although Aaron Boone was non-committal about the closer role going forward, he did say Weaver could see more save chances. Monitor the usage patterns closely this weekend and over the last three weeks.
Jansen’s lat: His recent outcomes have not helped fantasy managers, but it’s worse not seeing the closer warming for the save chance with his team ahead by three runs. After last night’s game, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reported that Kenley Jansen would not pitch until his lat issue subsided. This translates into a closer-by-committed approach moving forward. Here are the underlying statistics for three potential fill-in relievers over the last 30 days:
- Chris Martin: 23.9 K-BB%, 6.7 SwStr%, 87.8 percent contact rate allowed, 1.50 WHIP, 2.78 SIERA, 76.1 Strike%
- Justin Slaten: 13.3 K-BB%, 15.2 SwStr%, 77.4 percent contact rate allowed, 0.82 WHIP, 3.37 SIERA, 76.1 Strike%
- Josh Winckowski: 13.6 K-BB%, 9.9 SwStr%, 81.5 percent contact rate allowed, 1.50 WHIP, 3.27 SIERA, 69.5 Strike%
Cano’s “save”: Although Seranthony Domínguez gets credit for securing the save in last night’s win over the Rays, Yennier Cano’s appearance in the seventh represented the game’s most leveraged moment. He took over a bases-loaded situation with no outs at the top of the seventh, replacing Dean Kremer. Cano induced consecutive strikeouts of Jonny DeLuca and José Caballero before an inning-ending Ben Rortvedt pop-out for his 32nd hold, second most in the majors. He’s been scoreless in his last six outings with 11 strikeouts versus one walk while recording five holds.
Those seeking full game recaps should surf the team pages; they’ve all been updated with Friday’s results.
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe and be well.
Statistical Credits:
