Trevor Rosenthal struggling, Cory Gearrin records save

June 19, 2016

St. Louis Cardinals — Trevor Rosenthal entered the game yesterday to try and protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning, and he left with the bases loaded and no outs.  Kevin Siegrist relieved Rosenthal and allowed two of those inherited runners to score.  Rosenthal didn’t technically receive a blown save yesterday since he left with the Cardinals still in the lead, but he was credited with the loss.  Rosenthal has given up runs in three of his past four appearances, and has given up seven baserunners while only recording one out in his last two outings.  Siegrist and Seung Hwan Oh have been pitching well so there has to be questions as to whether Rosenthal will continue to get the call in the ninth.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Oh.

San Francisco Giants — With closer Santiago Casilla out on paternity leave, Cory Gearrin picked up his second save of the season.  Hunter Strickland pitched the eighth inning and got the win.  Gearrin should continue to see save chances while Casilla is out, but the Giants may have another option soon.  Sergio Romo struck out Yasiel Puig on Friday night during a rehab assignment for both players, and could return during their next homestand.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Gearrin | Strickland.

Houston Astros — With Will Harris unavailable yesterday, the Astros went with Ken Giles in the ninth.  Unfortunately Giles was unable to hold the lead as he gave up two runs to tie the game.  Luke Gregerson struck out the side in a perfect eighth inning, and could challenge Giles for the role of backup closer when Harris can’t go in the future.

Hierarchy remains: Harris | Giles | Gregerson.

Texas Rangers — Jake Diekman pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts yesterday to record his second save of the season.  Sam Dyson was given the day off after pitching in three of the previous four days.

Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Diekman | Bush.

Atlanta Braves — As we expected, Arodys Vizcaino got the day off on Saturday, and veteran Jim Johnson recorded the save with a scoreless ninth inning.  Johnson should continue to serve as closer whenever Vizcaino is unavailable.

Hierarchy remains: Vizcaino | Johnson | Cervenka.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Andrew Miller, New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman threw 28 pitches yesterday and has appeared in three of the past four.
2. Cory Gearrin, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla is on paternity leave.
3. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has pitched in three of the past four.

Santiago Casilla placed on paternity leave

June 18, 2016

San Francisco Giants — Santiago Casilla was placed on paternity leave yesterday, and will miss the weekend series in Tampa Bay. Jeff Samardzija was excellent last night, so the bullpen was not needed. Casilla has three straight scoreless appearances, but is only a week removed from a rough stretch that saw him lose two games, blow a save and get pulled out of the 9th inning in favor of Javier Lopez. Casilla is still the top option in San Francisco, but this could be a chance for Cory Gearrin or Hunter Strickland to show Bruce Bochy that they can handle the final three outs if Casilla’s struggles return.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Gearrin | Strickland.

Washington Nationals — With Shawn Kelley unavailable, and Blake Treinen used to get out of a jam in the 7th, the save opportunity fell to Yusmeiro Petit. Petit worked around a leadoff single to close the game out for his second career save. Although he has pitched well recently,  Petit is still a longshot for saves going forward, even with Jonathan Papelbon on the DL.

Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek has pitched in two straight, throwing 51 pitches.
2. Jim Johnson, Atlanta Braves –Arodys Vizcaino has pitched in 3 straight, and 4 of the last 5.

Shawn Kelley to close until Jonathan Papelbon’s return

June 17, 2016

Washington Nationals — When Felipe Rivero ran into trouble in the ninth inning Thursday night, manager Dusty Baker turned again to Shawn Kelley, who retired the two batters he faced to close it out for his second save. After the game, Baker named Kelley the closer until Jonathan Papelbon returns from the DL, though Kelley’s workload will be watched. With the closer-by-committee tag gone, be sure to snag him if he’s still available in your league.

Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.

Minnesota Twins — Regular closer Glen Perkins is officially out for the rest of the season with a torn labrum. The original thought was rest and rehab would allow Perkins to heal properly and give him a chance to play again this season, but that’s now not the case.

Hierarchy remains: *Kintzler | Abad | Pressly.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — Darren O’Day’s recovery from a strained hamstring is going slower than expected. He can come off of the DL this weekend, but he still hasn’t thrown off a mound. There’s no timetable for his return.

Hierarchy remains: Britton |  Brach | Givens.

Houston Astros — Luke Gregerson could be back from the family-emergency list as soon as Friday (but maybe as late as early next week). He was placed on the list earlier this week to deal with an issue with his father. No other information was released.

Hierarchy remains: Harris | Giles | Gregerson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek has pitched in three straight games, while Benoit enjoyed a night off yesterday.
2. Felipe Rivero/Blake Treinen, Washington Nationals — Shawn Kelley has pitched in two straight days and three of the last four, going at 1.2 innings in two of those games.

Shawn Kelley still has the inside track in Washington

June 16, 2016

Washington Nationals — Dusty Baker celebrated his 67th birthday by playing matchups in the ninth, calling on the newly healthy Matt Belisle, followed by lefthander Oliver Perez. The two combined to blow the save with a double and a home run, and it was good ol’ Shawn Kelley who wound up finishing the ninth. Combine the plethora of above-average relievers in the Nationals’ pen with Kelley’s injury history, and you have a recipe to tempt Dusty into full-on committee mode. But we’re keeping the faith that Kelley can earn the job.

Hierarchy remains: *Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek threw 35 pitches and walked three during a four-out appearance on Wednesday.
2. Jake Diekman, Texas Rangers — Sam Dyson has pitched in two straight and four of five.

Joe Blanton, the newest CJ Nitkowski All Star

June 15, 2016

Los Angeles Dodgers – The latest pitcher to join the C.J. Nitkowski All Stars (AKA the Bad Starter Decent Reliever club) is Joe Blanton, who got his 6th hold of the season last night pitching the 8th inning ahead of Kenley Jansen. Blanton’s control has always been good, and he’s upped his strikeouts in his role in relief (35 IP, 35 Ks, 9 BBs). So far this year, he boasts a 2.31 ERA and 0.71 WHIP, and his success is no fluke — he did the same thing last season as well. Lately, the Dodgers have been mixing-and-matching in perpetuity in their attempts to bridge to Jansen, so look for Blanton to challenge Pedro Baez for 8th inning opportunities going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Baez | Blanton.

Cincinnati Reds – With Tony Cingrani having pitched a lot lately, Blake Wood got the call for the Reds in the 9th inning last night and he picked up his first save of the season. (Ahead of him, the just-recalled J.J. Hoover got the 7th and 8th.) It was a little surprising to see Wood and not Ross Ohlendorf, since Ohlendorf has had a slightly lighter workload lately, but it worked out for the Reds, who will likely continue to mix and match ahead of Cingrani going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Cingrani | Ohlendorf | Wood.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon has pitched in two of the last three, including a 1.2 inning blown save-win last night.