Andrew Kittredge locks down sixth save vs. Twins

Kittredge blew a save against his former team in the bottom of the ninth but then got a win after Rays closer Bryan Baker allowed the automatic runner to score in the 10th, resulting in a loss to his former team. Cam Sanders worked the bottom of the 10th and ended up with his second save in two days for the Orioles, though he’s still probably behind at least Yennier Cano and Kittredge on Baltimore’s closing depth chart. Cano had this one off after throwing 24 pitches last night.

Kittredge tossed a perfect ninth inning. It’s his fourth save since the beginning of July. Despite Kittredge handling the eighth inning in Tuesday’s game while Yennier Cano worked the ninth and recorded the save, their roles were reversed on Wednesday. It looks like the two relievers are sharing the job for the time being, though Cano’s ERA is much lower this year.

Cano was the choice to close over Andrew Kittredge with Tyler Wells gone to Tampa Bay, and he pitched the better of the two, as Kittredge gave up the Angels’ lone run of the game in the eighth. It looks like Cano, who just signed a two-year extensin on Friday, will be the better pickup in mixed leagues.

The Orioles are unclear about whether they truly want to trade away players at the deadline because, despite being three games under .500, they are just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot. The expiring contracts include Taylor Ward, Trevor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge, but the Orioles are also listening to offers for Adley Rutschman, who is under team control for one more season. While it remains unclear what the Orioles will do, Rosenthal believes that “Ward and Rogers, even as rentals, could fetch sizable returns,” so they remain the two most likely to be moved. If anybody moves at all.

The Orioles are up to nine saves in July, three of which belong to Kittredge. Tyler Wells also has three, and he pitched two scoreless innings in Wednesday’s thriller. The other three saves are spread across three different relievers, so this looks like a true committee led by Wells and Kittredge. That makes it difficult to roster either of them in standard mixed leagues, but perhaps more clarity will arrive after Monday’s trade deadline.

Garcia got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame after Andrew Kittredge worked a scoreless eighth inning. He needed just 17 pitches (10 strikes) to dispatch the Tigers and preserve the win. He struck out Matt Vierling and Kevin McGonigle before getting Dillon Dingler to pop out in foul territory to end it. Garcia should continue factoring into Baltimore’s late-inning mix along with Kittredge and Tyler Wells while Ryan Helsley (elbow) is on the injured list.

That’s relatively good news. Helsley will keep resting for now and then aim for a return down the stretch. One imagines he’ll be down for at least another month, and since the Orioles might get Félix Bautista back in September, it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to hold on to Helsley in shallow leagues. Andrew Kittredge seems to have supplanted Tyler Wells as the favorite for saves in Baltimore’s pen for now. The team could trade for another option before the deadline.

Kittredge allowed a one out double to Michael Massey in the ninth but retired the next two batters he faced to close out the frame and secure the win. Kittredge has now been called upon to close out games in back-to-back days for the Orioles, and could become a part of the team’s closer committee for as long as Ryan Helsley remains sidelined.

Tyler Wells was used against the top of the order in a tie game in the eighth, and wound up allowing a run on a pair of doubles by Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki. However, he wound up with the win here as the Orioles plated two in the bottom of the eighth. Kittredge stepped in against 6-8 hitters. He needed some help, as Nico Hoerner was caught stealing ahead of an Ian Happ single, but Kittredge eventually got Michael Conforto to line out to left to end the threat. Don’t be surprised if Wells is used as a pure fireman at points this year, but Wells likely remains the head of the closer committee for fantasy purposes.

Andrew Kittredge had the save chance in a 3-0 game tonight with Ryan Helsley unavailable, but he gave up a homer and a walk while recording one out. Cano took over with Mookie Betts up and immediately generated a double play ball, only for third baseman Coby Mayo to botch the play and wind up with no outs. Mayo next retired Alex Freeland, but then Leody Taveras had a game-ending fly to right bounce off his glove for an error, making the score 3-2. Still undaunted, Cano struck out Kyle Tucker to end the contest afterwards. It was his first save of the year, but we’d give him two, just for how much the defense let him down. Helsley will likely be back in the closer’s role on Sunday.