Baltimore Orioles
Darren O’Day has a 6.43 ERA and 1.29 WHIP over his last seven innings, but he did pick up a pair of saves with ten Ks. Brad Brach has been a disaster over the last four games (six runs and 11 baserunners over 3.1 innings) to remove himself from save consideration. Mychal Givens looks poised to be in the save conversion in Baltimore until Zach Britton returns from the DL. Over his last six innings, Givens allowed one run and three hits with ten Ks. Britton is close to beginning a rehab assignment, which puts him on track to return late in May.
Houston Astros
Ken Giles saw his seven shutout inning streak end on May 1st when he served up the game losing four runs in the 9th inning to the Yankees. Giles has three saves in 2018 with no walks and eight Ks over 10.1 innings. Chris Devenski hasn’t allowed a run over his last 10.1 innings with two walks and 12 Ks. Brad Peacock tossed four shutout innings with one hit and five Ks in his last four games.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels placed Keynan Middleton on the DL on Tuesday with an elbow issue. Over his last 5.1 innings, Middleton had a 5.06 ERA and 1.69 WHIP with eight Ks, two saves, and one blown save. Cam Bedrosian was trending up after tossing seven shutout innings with eight Ks, and a save, but he blew the lead in the 9th on May 1st after allowing two runs and three hits over one inning vs. the Orioles. Some LA reporters have been pinning for Justin Anderson to take over the 9th after tossing 8.2 shutout innings in the minors in 2018 with two hits, two walks, and 14 Ks. Anderson has a high 90s fastball, but walks have been his downfall in his early minor league career. I don’t trust his guile based on his wildness in the minors.
Miami Marlins
After posting an 8.44 ERA and 1.69 WHIP over his first 10.2 innings with two saves, Brad Ziegler pitched two shutout inning with a save and two Ks. Just when Kyle Barraclough was positioned to start earning saves, his command went in the wrong direction. Barraclough has a 1.80 ERA over his last five innings with seven Ks and a save, but he walked seven batters. Drew Steckenrider stands tall in the Marlins’ bullpen after allowing just two runs over his first 14.2 innings with 21 Ks. Steckenrider deserves the closing job in Miami.
St. Louis Cardinals
Bud Norris will remain the closer in St. Louis with Greg Holland struggling to make an impact late in games. Norris threw three shutout innings over the last week with two Ks and a win. Bud hasn’t failed to convert a save in five chances. Holland blew up over his last one inning of work (three runs and six baserunners) leading to a blown save in two games. Dominic Leone has a 1.13 ERA over his last eight innings with seven Ks.
