I don’t know if we’ve discussed Atlanta’s bullpen every single week, but it certainly feels like it. Mark Melancon has pitched a scoreless inning and gotten the save in three of his last five appearances. In the other two, he allowed six earned runs on eight hits over one inning total. Shane Greene has thrown four consecutive scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, zero walks and two holds. Melancon will almost certainly get Atlanta’s next save chance, but Greene appears to be next in line, at least for now. By this time next week, I wouldn’t be shocked if Anthony Swarzak or Chris Martin was the closer.
Craig Kimbrel gave up a home run in his first game back from the IL, but he has gotten two saves without allowing a hit since then. Brandon Kintzler pitched a scoreless eighth to get the win Wednesday, and he might be the one to close if Kimbrel is hurt again, though Steve Cishek and Pedro Strop could be involved as well.
Wade Davis blew the save at home on Sunday and took the loss at Arizona on Monday, but with Scott Oberg done for the season, there’s still a really good chance Davis gets the next save opportunity. If it isn’t him, it’s probably either Carlos Estévez or Jake McGee . Estevez is a righty with a 3.18 ERA since the All-Star break, while McGee is a lefty who has allowed four earned runs over his last four outings. The Rockies might mix and match, but if I’m speculating for saves, I’d rather have Davis and Estevez.
If we’ve talked about anyone as often as the Atlanta closers, it’s José Leclerc . In his last three innings, he has six strikeouts, four walks and one hit, which was a home run. That sums up his game pretty perfectly. Shawn Kelley hasn’t been any better lately, and at this point, Leclerc would have to be truly awful to lose his job.
Joe Jiménez picked up the save in the biggest upset in MLB history, giving him four saves in his last five chances. In this environment, that’s pretty much as good as we can hope for. Jimenez is basically José Leclerc with a much better walk rate, and while Leclerc has done a better job so far or keeping the ball in the yard, I’m not sure I expect that to continue. I’d probably rather own Jimenez, even if I think Leclerc will get more save chances the rest of the way.
With Sean Doolittle hitting the IL, it looks like Fernando Rodney is closing games yet again. The Nationals currently lead the Wild Card race, so they can’t afford to be particularly patient if Rodney struggles. Doolittle could be back by the next time you read this article, though there is a chance he won’t be used on back-to-backs. If you have Doolittle, you should probably hold onto him, but I’m not sure you need to pick up Rodney or anybody else. Hunter Strickland and Daniel Hudson could be in the mix for saves as well.
It’s pretty crazy to me that the Mets are still Wild Card contenders, especially with how much Edwin Díaz has struggled. Diaz and Seth Lugo both have a save in the past week, and neither has allowed an earned run. If that continues, I think owners of both players would be happy. If I had to own one, it’d be Lugo, just based on the ERA and WHIP.
Archie Bradley has six saves in his last seven chances, even though he allowed an earned run in each of his last two outings. His walk rate is troubling, and while his strikeout rate is the highest of his career, he isn’t quite to Joe Jiménez or José Leclerc levels. I would rather own Jimenez than Bradley, though Bradley is a better alternative to Leclerc.
Anthony Bass blew the save on Saturday for Seattle, and Matt Magill saved that game and the new chance before blowing the save Wednesday. Bass picked up the hold Tuesday, and he is almost certainly the better pitcher, so my guess is they go back to him to close. But the moral of the story here is you can’t feel good about any Seattle reliever. If I had to pick one, it would be Bass.
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Shohei Ohtani walked three times, stole a base and scored a run in an extra-inning win Monday over the Marlins.
Ohtani’s steal was the seventh of the season. The three walks bring his season total to 18, and his on-base percentage is a strong .392 over the first 28 games of 2025. Ohtani has now reached at least three times in three consecutive games, but it’s worth noting he hasn’t gone deep since April 16.
Teoscar Hernández hit a two-run homer in a win over the Marlins on Monday in extra innings.
Dane Myers hit a pinch-hit grand slam to tie the game in the sixth inning against the Dodgers.
After Dustin May left the game, Myers came on to hit for Matt Mervis off southpaw Anthony Banda, and he slaughtered a ball over the center-field fence to turn a 5-1 deficit into a 5-5 game. He also singled, and he improved his slash to a strong — and totally unsustainable — .315/.327/.463. He does appear to see the ball pretty well against southpaws, however.
Tommy Edman hit a walk-off two-run single in the 10th inning to give the Dodgers a 7-6 win over the Marlins on Monday.
Dustin May didn’t factor into the decision after allowing three runs over 5 1/3 innings against the Marlins on Monday.
May blanked the Marlins over five innings, but then was charged for three runs in the sixth; two of those coming on a grand slam after he had left the contest. It’s a shaky result, but a better outing than his 10-hit disaster against the Cubs last Tuesday. Still, May’s ERA has jumped from 1.06 to 3.95 over his last two chances, and he’ll try and get back on track in a rematch with the Marlins in Miami next week.
Edward Cabrera allowed nine hits and five runs while working four-plus innings in a no-decision versus3. the Dodgers on Monday.
This went exactly how it was supposed to go, with all due respect to Cabrera. The right-hander threw just 57-of-97 pitches for strikes, and gave up runs in four of his five innings he pitched in. That sees his ERA rise to 7.23, while two strikeouts and three walks push his K/BB to 20/11 over four starts and 18 2/3 innings. He’ll try and improve those numbers next weekend against the Athletics.