Bazardo earns save after Muñoz leaves with injury

That doesn’t sound great. Seranthony Domínguez, who pitched a scoreless eighth in front of Muñoz today, could get some saves during the final week of the season. Eduardo Bazardo wound up with the save today for getting two outs after Muñoz departed.

Muñoz was hurt on a walk of TJ Rumfield after giving up a homer to Hunter Goodman earlier in the ninth. Eduardo Bazardo replaced him to try to close out the Rockies.

Bazardo didn’t even get an out before giving up Donovan Walton’s walkoff homer. He only had the 10th with a one-run lead tonight because Andrés Muñoz was unavailable after working the previous two days. Bazardo, who was outstanding last season and for the first three months of this year, has given up three homers and nine runs over 1 2/3 innings in his last four appearances. His ERA has jumped from 2.10 on July 10 to 2.97 on Aug. 29 and 4.04 now.

Dominguez has forged a 3.99 ERA with 12 saves in his time with the White Sox, but five blown saves has seen him lose his stopper role, and now he’s headed to a different org entirely. The hard-throwing reliever will be a bridge for the Seattle pen, and isn’t likely to see many save chances.

In exchange for Castillo, the Mariners will acquire right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez, outfielder Nolan Jones, and catcher/outfield prospect Boston Smith. The Whit Sox will also take on all of Castillo’s contract, which pays him 22.75 million the next two years with an option for 2028. The Mariners have long been rumored to explore trading a starting pitcher with Emerson Hancock and George Kirby’s name bandied about, but it’s Castillo who will be heading to Chicago. The right-hander is not the same hurler he was a few years ago when he was among the very best in the sport, but he’s a solid mid-rotation option for a team that has played well above expectations with an excellent chance of reaching October. He’s more streamer than fantasy stalwart, but perhaps the change of scenery helps Castillo find the form of the previous campaigns.

Taylor took over with the tying run on third and one out in the eighth, putting him in prime position for a cheap blown save. However, he got out of the jam by striking out Shea Langeliers and getting Jonah Heim to ground out. He then walked one in a scoreless ninth that was made easier because the A’s took out decent left-handed hitters for weaker right-handed bats while trying to score off Sean Newcomb in the seventh. Seranthony Domínguez again went unused today, and Taylor is the pretty clear favorite for saves in Chicago, even if he’ll occasionally work earlier in games sometimes.

The scoreless inning is good, but it sure doesn’t seem like Domínguez is going to be in line for saves again any time soon. Since blowing back-to-back save chances on June 21-22, he’s been limited to just three appearances, two coming in the sixth and one in the seventh. Grant Taylor is the White Sox reliever worth rostering at the moment.

It was a tough break for Taylor, who was back on the mound today after throwing 50 pitches between Sunday and Monday. Seranthony Domínguez, on the other hand, had a second straight day off after throwing 49 pitches and taking blown saves in both of those games. Taylor seems likely to factor into more save chances if Domínguez continues to struggle, but he’s also having issues at the moment; he’s given up eight runs — six earned — over 6 2/3 innings in his last five appearances.

Domínguez couldn’t protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning for the second consecutive day. After blowing the save in Detroit on Sunday, he came home and blew another save in Chicago on Monday. Domínguez’ grip on the closer job would seem tenuous at best, though Grant Taylor also gave up runs in the last two games and was even charged with a blown save of his own on Monday. Still, the White Sox moved into first place with the win. Whether it’s Taylor or someone else, a closer change could make sense for a team with postseason aspirations like the White Sox.

Domínguez entered with a one-run lead but couldn’t slam the door. It’s a disappointing result given Grant Taylor allowed a homer in the eighth inning, so Domínguez might’ve put more distance between himself and Taylor in the battle for ninth-inning chances. Domínguez will likely remain the go-to option considering Taylor has been shaky lately, but this is a closer situation to keep tabs on throughout the summer.