July 7, 2017
Arizona Diamondbacks — Before Sunday, Fernando Rodney hadn’t allowed an earned run since April, if you can believe that. Thursday marks his second straight blown save, however. Entering the game with a 4-1 lead in the ninth, Rodney allowed this sequence: single, walk, walk, bases-loaded walk, two-run single, intentional walk. His fourth and final charged run came when T.J. McFarland allowed a walk-off single on his first pitch. Rodney’s seat was white-hot at the end of April, and it could be heating up again as Archie Bradley (four outs on nine pitches Thursday; 1.15 ERA) continues to mow hitters down. Jake Barrett, Arizona’s most reliable reliever for much of 2016, also returned from a bout of shoulder stiffness, and could recapture the seventh-inning role.
Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Bradley | J. de la Rosa.
St. Louis Cardinals — Meet the new Final Boss, same as the old Final Boss. After Brett Cecil collected five outs, Seung Hwan Oh entered for his third straight appearance to pick up his first save since June 21. Trevor Rosenthal, who has allowed runs in four of his last six appearances, did not get the call even though he hasn’t pitched since July 4. With Oh presumably tired, Rosenthal should get the Friday save chance, if applicable. Perhaps that was Mike Matheny’s plan all along. Stay tuned.
Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Rosenthal | Cecil.
* = closer-by-committee
Pittsburgh Pirates — Count it as a half-win for the Vulture Save Watch. Marked down to likely be rested Friday, regular closer Felipe Rivero was instead rested Thursday, giving Juan Nicasio a vulture save in his third straight game. Keep an eye on Tony Watson too. The former closer tossed a clean seventh inning on Thursday and has allowed onliy one run since June 18. He’s pushing Daniel Hudson to be second in line and could be traded to a contender soon.
Hierarchy remains: Rivero | Nicasio | Hudson.
Detroit Tigers — Shane Greene and Bruce Rondon continued their recent strong performances in the seventh and eighth innings ahead of Justin Wilson. Struggling Alex Wilson hasn’t pitched since a low-leverage outing six days ago.
Updated hierarchy: J. Wilson | Rondon | Greene.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Trevor Rosenthal — As noted, Oh has appeared in three straight games.
2. Michael Lorenzen — Raisel Iglesias threw two innings yesterday (33 pitches).
3. Danny Barnes/Aaron Loup — Roberto Osuna has gone in three straight, and Ryan Tepera has gone in three of four (22 pitches last night).
4. Taylor Rogers — Brandon Kintzler has pitched in three of four (46 pitches).
Saturday:
1. Brad Boxberger/Tommy Hunter — Alex Colome has appeared in two of the last three, including a 38-pitch outing on Wednesday. Note also that Boxberger has pitched the seventh and Hunter the eighth in the last two setup situations; rest for Colome could shed light on his primary handcuff.
2. Bruce Rondon/Alex Wilson — Justin Wilson has gone in two of three; another outing Friday might give him Saturday off. Rondon has gone in two straight (as has Shane Greene), while Alex Wilson is well-rested.
3. Sean Doolittle — Santiago Casilla has pitched on two of the last three days.
4. Pedro Baez — As has Kenley Jansen.
5. Daniel Hudson/Tony Watson — And Felipe Rivero. Juan Nicasio has gone in three straight.