Bullpen Report: August 15, 2018

Remember when Sean Doolittle was diagnosed with a strained toe and Davey Martinez said he just needed a day off?

That was 38 days and three closers ago. Doolittle’s injury — a stress reaction in his left foot — turned out to be far more serious, and while he is back to throwing off a mound as of Tuesday, the Nationals’ bullpen has been riddled with injuries and instability. They placed Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday, as he continued to experience back soreness even after getting treatment. So with Doolittle, Madson and Kelvin Herrera all on the DL, Martinez will now turn to Koda Glover, who is just a few weeks removed from his own recovery from a shoulder injury.

Glover was likely unavailable for Tuesday night’s game, but he wasn’t needed. The Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, and they never relinquished it. The Nationals did shave three runs of a 6-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning, so the Cardinals needed a closer in the ninth inning. With Bud Norris having thrown 26 pitches the night before, Jordan Hicks was entrusted with the save opportunity. Aside from plunking Adam Eaton, Hicks had a clean inning and tallied his fourth save.

While we know who the closer is in Washington for the time being, the picture is less clear in L.A. Dave Roberts followed through on his plan to use Kenta Maeda in high-leverage relief situations, bringing him in for the top of the ninth inning to keep the Dodgers in a 1-1 tie with the Giants. Maeda, however, did not accomplish that objective. He began the frame by allowing singles to Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt, and three batters later, Alen Hanson drove in the winning run on a line drive to shallow center.

In fairness to Maeda, if Yasmani Grandal doesn’t deflect the throw from Enrique Hernandez, he may have been able to tag Brandon Belt out at home for the final out. Instead, Maeda was charged with the run and his eighth loss of the season. If Scott Alexander hadn’t thrown 28 pitches on Monday night, perhaps he would have been brought in to face Belt or, for that matter, Hanson, who has a .563 OPS against lefties. Instead, Maeda carried the entire ninth-inning load, and at a minimum, he now appears to be part of the Dodgers’ closer mix. For his part, Maeda is reportedly not thrilled about his new role.

In any event, the Dodgers may not need a fill-in closer for as long as originally anticipated. Kenley Jansen is scheduled to consult with his doctors on Aug. 20, so we should know more about his timetable at that point.

While Paul Molitor says he is not naming a closer, he sure is using Trevor Hildenberger as if he is the Twins’ go-to option in save situations. The team has had two save chances in the last three games, and Hildenberger has received both of them. Tuesday night’s opportunity went much better than Saturday’s, when Hildenberger barely held on to a three-run lead against the Tigers. Versus the Pirates, he was given another three-run cushion, but this time, all he gave up was a Josh Harrison single that was erased on a game-ending double play.

After needing just seven pitches on Tuesday night, it will be interesting to see if Hildenberger gets the call again on Wednesday, should the Twins need a closer. Molitor could also opt for Trevor May, who hasn’t pitched since Saturday, or Taylor Rogers, who used 11 pitches in eighth inning on Tuesday night.

The White Sox, on the other hand, truly do not have a steady closer. With Xavier Cedeno notching the save against the Tigers on Tuesday night, a different reliever has claimed each of the four saves recorded by the White Sox’s bullpen since Joakim Soria was traded to the Brewers on July 26. (Luis Avilan, Hector Santiago and Thyago Vieira were the others.) It’s not even clear that Rick Renteria is employing a platoon system. Against the Tigers, Cedeno was brought in to relieve right-handed Juan Minaya, who walked Mikie Mahtook. The southpaw was set to face switch-hitters Victor Reyes and Jeimer Candelario, even though the latter has hit lefties (.838 OPS) far better than righties (.689).

Quick hits: Blake Treinen and Will Smith both earned a save for the third consecutive day on Tuesday. Both figure to be unavailable on Wednesday, so owners in daily lineup leagues may look to a setup reliever to get a save. The A’s could turn to Jeurys Familia, Fernando Rodney or the better-rested Lou Trivino, while the Giants could use Tony Watson or Reyes Moronta, who has not pitched since Sunday…Brandon Morrow (biceps) is expected to throw off a mound this weekend…The Rockies did not have a save situation on Tuesday night, but Wade Davis pitched a perfect ninth inning with a four-run lead against the Astros…Ken Giles collected his second save in three days on Tuesday night against the Royals. He did not allow a baserunner in either appearance…Blaine Boyer made his first appearance for the Royals since coming off the DL on Sunday, and Ned Yost put him right away into an eighth-inning hold situation against the Blue Jays. Though he was one strike away from preserving the one-run lead, Boyer gave up Kevin Pillar’s two-run homer that gave the Blue Jays the lead. With Tyler Clippard and Giles shutting the Royals down in the final two innings, Boyer was saddled with a blown save and a loss…Adam Conley did not do much for his case to get save chances for the Marlins, as he gave up five runs, including two home runs, over two innings against the Braves…The Rays activated Chaz Roe (knee) from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday, while the Phillies recalled Hector Neris from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.