Bullpen Report: April 28, 2018

This past week has been one steady drumbeat towards the inevitable anointing of Greg Holland as the Cardinals’ closer. He had pitched the ninth inning with a large lead or a tie in three games since Sunday, and he aced all three tests. On Friday night, Holland put those rehearsals behind him and pitched in an actual save situation against the Pirates.

It did not go well. He began by allowing a first-pitch double to Corey Dickerson, and four pitches later, a Francisco Cervelli single put runners on the corners. Then Colin Moran’s well-struck grounder got past Jose Martinez, allowing Dickerson to score. Clinging to a two-run lead, Holland fed Jordy Mercer a full-count slider that he drove off the center field wall for a game-tying double. Holland’s night ended without him retiring a single batter.

The plan for easing Holland back into the closer’s role included him avoiding pitching on back-to-back days, and this was his first time doing so this season. This almost certainly does not mean that Holland is already out as closer. Maybe he will get the next save chance, or maybe he will take a step back from closing to get eased back into the role again. At this point, neither Holland nor Bud Norris should be dropped, as we can do nothing more than to see how this situation plays out.

After successfully converting his first six save opportunities of the season, Keynan Middleton blew a save on Friday night against the Yankees. He started ninth inning off by walking Gary Sanchez, but after striking Neil Walker out on three pitches, he gave up a Miguel Andujar double and intentionally walked Gleyber Torres. Then pinch-hitter Brett Gardner tied the game up on a sacrifice fly that scored Sanchez.

While this wasn’t exactly a meltdown and it was Middleton’s first blown save this season, he has not been dominant of late. Over his last eight outings, he has walked five batters in nine innings, induced swinging strikes at a 7.1 percent rate and soft contact at a 13.6 percent rate. Though Middleton has struck out 11 batters over this stretch, there are currently some warning signs, and he had difficulty getting hitters to make soft contact last season as well. Cam Bedrosian, who got a save on Tuesday against the Astros, is the most obvious handcuff play, but keep an eye on Justin Anderson, too. The 25-year-old has picked up a hold in each of his first three career appearances and has coaxed nine swinging strikes in his first 54 pitches (16.7 percent).

The last time we saw Brad Boxberger pitching for the Diamondbacks prior to Friday night was a week ago. He had pitched on three consecutive days and emerged with two losses and five runs allowed (three earned) in two innings over that stretch. Boxberger appears to be back in top form, as he set Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Moises Sierra down in order in the Diamondbacks’ 5-4 win over the Nationals in their series opener. Though he is 0-2, Boxberger is now 7 for 7 in saves with a 2.70 ERA.

Nate Jones was credited with a blown save on Friday night, as the Royals tied up the game in the seventh inning when Tim Anderson made an errant throw to first base on a Jorge Soler grounder. However, Jones has not had a save opportunity that involved pitching in the final inning since April 11. On the other hand, Joakim Soria nailed down his fourth save of the season in the 11th inning of Friday night’s game. It was the second game in a row in which Soria got a save, so it appears that the White Sox now have a clear late-inning pecking order rather than a closer tandem.

Soria has now pitched in three consecutive games, so he may not get the White Sox’s next save opportunity. Don’t count on Jones to get it either, though, as he has thrown 66 pitches over the last four days.

The Reds had a three-run lead against the Twins entering the ninth inning, but having scored four runs in the top of the frame, they did not need a closer to finish out the game. Nonetheless, Raisel Iglesias was brought in, and his recent control issues continued. After giving up a leadoff homer to Eddie Rosario, he yielded a Max Kepler single and a seven-pitch walk to Eduardo Escobar. That was the extent of the damage allowed by Iglesias, but he has now walked seven batters over his last six innings. He has not thrown more than 37.5 percent of his pitches for strikes in any of his last six appearances.

Quick hits: Cody Allen gave up his first runs of the season against the Mariners. He was brought in to relieve Corey Kluber with two outs in the ninth and 6-2 lead. He yielded a Mitch Haniger double and a Mike Zunino three-run homer before retiring Ben Gamel for the final out…Evan Woodberry of MLive.com has speculated that Ron Gardenhire may start using Alex Wilson in lower-leverage situations. The Tigers’ set-up reliever has a 6.59 ERA, and the Corey Dickerson home run he allowed on Tuesday was the fourth he has given up this season.