Monday’s nine games yielded four reliever wins, though one was accompanied by a blown save (Carlos Estévez). Six pitchers secured saves, including two three-inning saves (José Suarez and Josh Winckowski). The Díaz brothers also recorded saves and are featured in today’s three takeaways below.
Our condensed game recaps cover yesterday’s slate’s high-leverage events of interest.
Closer CliffsNotes
Josh Winckowski (BOS) recorded his second save while tossing three innings in an eventual nine-run win. He allowed two hits, including Anthony Santander’s solo home run, and a walk with strikeouts in his outing. He threw 45 pitches (28 strikes – 62.2 Strike%) and induced four whiffs.
- Hierarchy remains: Kenley Jansen | Justin Slaten | Josh Winckowski
Keegan Thompson (CHC) stranded one of three runners and allowed two hits over 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out one. He collected his second win, throwing 22 pitches (15 strikes – 68.2 Strike%) and induced one whiff after taking over during the bottom of the fifth inning against the Dodgers.
- Hierarchy remains: Porter Hodge | Nate Pearson | Tyson Miller
Alexis Díaz (CIN) preserved a 1-0 win in Atlanta while recording his 27th save. He retired the 1-2-3 hitters on 12 pitches (7 strikes – 58.3 Strike%) with two whiffs (18.2 SwStr%). He’s recorded five clean outings in September with a win and three saves. He’s pitched in four of the previous five days.
- Updated Hierarchy: Alexis Díaz | Emilio Pagán | Fernando Cruz
Emmanuel Clase (CLE) finished a two-run win over the White Sox with a scoreless ninth for his 43rd save. He threw 14 pitches (11 strikes – 78.6 Strike%) and induced two whiffs (14.3 SwStr%) while recording two strikeouts. He’s converted 30 consecutive save chances since May 20 and has posted 34 strikeouts against six walks over his last 43 innings.
- Hierarchy remains: Emmanuel Clase | Hunter Gaddis | Cade Smith
James McArthur (KC) took over with a one-run lead at the bottom of the seventh. He suffered his seventh loss and a seventh blown save. He allowed three hits, including Austin Wells’ three-run home run, four earned runs, and a walk without recording an out.
- Hierarchy remains: Lucas Erceg | John Schreiber | Kris Bubic
Edwin Díaz (NYM) secured his 17th save with a scoreless ninth, working around a hit and striking out one during a one-run win in Toronto. He threw 12 pitches (66.7 Strike%) and induced one whiff. This outing extended his scoreless streak to seven games, during which he’s converted three saves with 14 strikeouts versus one walk. Ryne Stanek was awarded his seventh win after striking out the side in the bottom of the eighth.
- Hierarchy remains: Edwin Díaz | Phil Maton | Reed Garrett
Jake Cousins (NYY) took over in the seventh and tossed a scoreless inning, issuing a walk and recording two strikeouts. He collected his second win courtesy of a four-run rally at the bottom of the frame. Luke Weaver notched his 22nd hold with a scoreless eighth. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two on 23 pitches (12 strikes – 52.2 Strike%) with three whiffs. However, Tommy Kahnle was warming up for the ninth if there was a save chance. It appears that creativity in safe situations has only just begun.
- Hierarchy remains: *Luke Weaver | *Tommy Kahnle | Jake Cousins
- *= closer-by-committee
Carlos Estévez (PHI) collected his fourth win and a fifth blown save, courtesy of a walk-off rally in the bottom of the frame. He finished with two hits and the earned run on Brandon Lowe’s game-tying solo home run leading off the ninth. Estévez threw 27 pitches (17 strikes – 63 Strike%) with two whiffs. This snapped his six-game scoreless streak, but he’s converted four of five saves and won three of four decisions since his acquisition.
- Hierarchy remains: Carlos Estévez | Jeff Hoffman | Matt Strahm
Aroldis Chapman (PIT) allowed a lead-off single at the top of the ninth, issued a one-out walk, and gave up Cristian Pache’s RBI double before inducing a game-ending flyout, closing out a one-run margin for his seventh save. Chapman threw 23 pitches (15 strikes – 65.2 Strike%) and induced three whiffs (13 SwStr%). He’s allowed at least a run in consecutive outings. Dennis Santana fired a clean eighth and recorded two strikeouts for his fifth hold. This extended his scoreless streak to 14 games, spanning 17 innings with 18 strikeouts versus two walks.
- Hierarchy remains: *Aroldis Chapman | *Dennis Santana | Colin Holderman
- *= closer-by-committee
Garrett Cleavinger (TB) suffered his fourth loss. He allowed three hits, including Kody Clemens’ walk-off RBI single, resulting in his fourth loss. Manuel Rodríguez recorded 1.1 clean frames and one strikeout. He threw 15 pitches (60 Strike%) and induced two whiffs. He’s been scoreless in six of his last seven but has not recorded a save since August 27.
- Hierarchy remains: *Manuel Rodríguez | *Edwin Uceta | *Garrett Cleavinger
- *= closer-by-committee
Tommy Nance (TOR) entered with a one-run lead at the top of the eighth. However, he struggled with his command, resulting in his first loss and a blown save. He issued a lead-off wall, a leverage mortal sin, allowed a single, and walked the bases loaded before scoring a runner on a wild pitch. After recording a strikeout, a passed ball scored the game-winning run from third. Nance finished with a hit, two earned runs, and two walks while striking out two.
- Hierarchy remains: Chad Green | Génesis Cabrera | Erik Swanson
Vulture Save Stashes for Tuesday, September 10
- Emilio Pagán (CIN): Alexis Díaz has appeared four times in the last five days. The only caveat is that the Reds bridge leaders have not followed a consistent pattern, which means Tony Santillan or even Fernando Cruz could get the ninth based on lineup lanes.
- Ryne Stanek (NYM): Edwin Díaz has pitched in three of the last four and four of the last six. If the Mets can, a night off may benefit the closer. Stanek struck out the side during his win last night.
- Dennis Santana (PIT): Chapman’s allowed five runs in his last two outings and thrown 53 pitches over the last three days.
Vulture Save Stash for Wednesday, September 11
Tonight’s usage patterns will determine this.
Three Takeaways
Edwin’s in-season adjustments: After a hanging slider resulted in a sixth blown save for Edwin Díaz in Arizona on August 28, he’s leaned into his four-seam fastball. Over his last seven games, he’s completely flipped the script on his pitch usage patterns:
Since August 29, he’s thrown 100 pitches, 76 being four-seam fastballs. He only allowed two hits and a walk while striking out 14 of 25 batters faced (52 K-BB%) with a 23 percent swinging strike rate and a minuscule 0.43 WHIP his last seven innings. This represents a small sample, but here are his splits by pitch in it:
- Four-seam fastball: 76 percent usage, 11 strikeouts, one walk, 18.4 swinging strike percentage, 41.2 percent whiff rate, and a .153 expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA)
- Slider: 24 percent usage, three strikeouts, 37.5 swinging strike percentage, 64.3 percent whiff rate, and a .050 xwOBA
His continued success will be pivotal for his team’s pursuit of a postseason berth.
Alexis and four-seam velocity: The good news is that Alexis Díaz has recorded a win and converted three saves in five clean appearances in September. However, when viewing his four-seam fastball results by velocity, it explains his struggles with traffic since the second half of last year. First, his velocity chart from Fangraphs:
Taking this further on Statcast, this chart illustrates his outcomes and underlying data when his four-seam fastball is above 95 m.p.h. versus below:
Based on the recent trends, this hot streak may not carry over into next season, which leaves fantasy managers wondering how reliable he will be moving forward.
Muñoz and health: Andrés Muñoz dealt with back issues earlier this season and recently, has been nursing some elbow soreness. He’s only made two appearances since August 31, allowing a home run in each game. Over his last seven games, he’s allowed four of his six home runs this season, suffering three losses and only converted one of three save opportunities, producing a 1.75 WHIP his last 6.1 innings. Can a reliever who relies on his slider push through elbow soreness while his team makes a last ditch effort the playoffs? He’s given up two home runs on his slider and his four-seam fastball since August 15 and his underlying data illustrates how pivotal his slider will be over the last three weeks:
Stay tuned and monitor his slider.
Those seeking full game recaps should surf the team pages; they’ve all been updated with Saturday’s results.
Thanks for being a part of the Closer Monkey community. Stay safe and be well.
Statistical Credits:
