Andrés

Muñoz

Nick Kurtz hit a 438-foot homer off Muñoz in a one-run game in the top of the ninth before the Mariners came back with a run of his own in the bottom of the inning. Muñoz has an 8.00 ERA through nine innings, but he’s missing as many bats as ever and, Kurtz’s bomb aside, has not been hit particularly hard. Even with the slow start, he still has to be regarded as a top three or five fantasy closer, given the state of the position.

Muñoz didn’t strike out the side because his first strikeout ended up being a wild pitch that allowed Jake Burger to reach first base. He fanned the next two batters and got a weak groundout to second to procure his third save of 2026. His ERA still sits at 7.88, but that’s not really indicative of how he’s pitched, and certainly not indicative of what to expect for the next five-plus months.

Muñoz came in to to clean up a bases-loaded mess, and he struck out Brandon Nimmo as the tying runner to get the save. The 27-year-old has had some shaky outings — although his five-run disaster Wednesday was much more about bad luck than bad pitching — but offers as much upside as any closer in baseball. It would be foolish to consider moving on from him at this point.

Muñoz surrendered four hits and a walk before being replaced by Jose A. Ferrer with the score 6-5. Jackson Merrill then hit a game-winning double off Ferrer, who was charged with the blown save while Muñoz took the loss. Muñoz gave up just one hard-hit ball and was pretty unlucky that the rally materialized in the first place. Still, he’s now saddled with a 9.45 ERA for the young season. It’s probably not anything worth worrying about.

Muñoz should have been able to get out of the inning without allowing a hit, but Leo Rivas flailed on a play he should have made that turned into a double. He then walked two batters to load the bases for Yordan Alvarez, but he was able to get Alvarez to pop out to second base. It’s the second win of the season for Muñoz, and his ERA drops to 3.60 with the scoreless — albeit busy — inning.

Muñoz successfully protected a three-run lead after Yordan Alvarez’s three-run homer in the eighth brought the Astros to within shouting distance. He needed 25 pitches to get his three outs, but considering that he had five days off coming into this one, he’ll probably be available Saturday anyway.

Brash pitched the tenth after Andrés Muñoz worked a scoreless ninth in a tie game. The 27-year-old gave up a sacrifice bunt and sac fly to ruin his chance at getting his first save of the season, but the run was unearned since it was of the zombie variety. Brash has the stuff to be an excellent closer, but not the opportunity with Muñoz on the roster.

Andrés Muñoz struck out the side in a 0-0 game in the ninth. The Mariners then scored three times in the top of the 10th to set Speier up for his first save in 2023 and second in 219 career appearances. Speier had allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings to start the year, but he’s still one of the better bets for holds in the AL.

Muñoz gave up his first run after a throw from Brendan Donovan on a bunt attempt ended up about 40 feet off target to score a run. A batter later, he gave up a two-run shot to Chase DeLauter that was much more quality hitting than a bad pitch from Muñoz. Expect the 27-year-old to bounce back just fine in the coming days, and fortunately only one of the runs is earned for fantasy managers.

Mexico’s rotation is rather shaky, with Javier Assad, Taj Bradley, José Urquidy and Taijuan Walker likely the team’s best option to start, but the bullpen should be asset, with Robert Garcia and Victor Vodnik around to set up for Muñoz. The lineup is pretty solid too: CF Jarren Duran, LF Randy Arozarena, 1B Jonathan Aranda, C Alejandro Kirk, DH Rowdy Tellez, 2B Nick Gonzales, 3B Luis Urías, RF Alek Thomas/Alejandro Osuna and SS Joey Ortiz.