Bullpen Report: July 3, 2014

Happy Fourth of July Eve, my fellow bullpen bystanders. And with tomorrow being a holiday, yours truly will be out-and-about enjoying America’s finest libations and fireworks with the family. Therefore, we won’t be chatting again until late Saturday.

Now, here’s a look at tonight’s short slate:

Southpaw Zach Britton dished a scoreless ninth-inning, yielding just a leadoff double to Chris Gimenez, en route to his 12th save of the season in 14 opportunities. The Orioles’ closer needed just ten pitches to induce a strikeout and two groundouts to seal the 5-2 victory over the Rangers. Tonight’s trip to the hill made it three consecutive days the Orioles called on their closer, so if you’re looking for a reliever to stream tomorrow in search of a save in year-long or daily league, Tommy Hunter could be considered. Three in-a-row for Britton plus an inning and two-thirds tonight for Darren O’Day could mean rest for those two arms on Friday. Keep an eye on the weather though, apparently Hurricane Arthur may have different plans for the contest between the Orioles and Red Sox at Fenway Park tomorrow.

Walt Weiss used LaTroy Hawkins in the top of the ninth-inning of a tie game at home against the Dodgers tonight. Hawkins surrendered an earned run on one hit and a walk and fanned two in just one inning of work for the Rockies. Despite taking his second loss of the season, tonight’s two-strikeout effort from Hawkins was his first of the year in 31 appearances. Kenley Jansen, the beneficiary of Hawkins’ generosity, threw just eight pitches in the home half of the ninth to retire the Rockies and notch his 26th save on the year. Jansen is now 26-of-29 in save opportunities this season with a 3.79 ERA (1.92 FIP) and a ~38% K%.

David Robertson picked up his 19th save of the year tonight in a 7-4 Yankees victory over the Twinkies in Minnesota. And although he needed 25 pitches to do so, Robertson struck out the side, increasing his K% to 44% in just under 29 frames. The Bombers’ closer is now 19-of-21 on the season with a 2.83 ERA (2.06 FIP). Entering tonight, Robertson owned a 12.7% SwStr% — a career best — leading us to believe the slight spike in strikeouts are here to stay.

Quick Hits: Jonathan Papelbon yielded one hit and fanned two en route to his 19th save of the 2014 season. The Phillies’ closer is now 19-of-21 on the year with a 1.35 ERA (2.38 FIP) and a ~23% K%. Wade Davis needs to be owned in more than 30% of Yahoo! leagues, folks. He’s 5-2 with a 1.23 ERA (1.49 FIP) and a 29% K-BB% in 34 appearances this season. Worthy in 12-team mixers. Davis’ eight holds over the last month are good enough for second-most in the league, just one behind Milwaukee’s Will Smith. And if you haven’t read it quite yet, Brett Talley took a look at the best fantasy relievers over the course of the past year here, check it out.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]