Anthony

Bender

This rules out Bender for the rest of the year with his right tibia stress reaction. He had a 2.16 ERA in 50 innings before landing on the injured list two weeks ago.

It certainly sounds like Bender could be facing a lengthy absence given the nature of the leg injury. The 30-year-old righty has been a key component of Miami’s relief mix this season with four saves to go along with a pristine 2.16 ERA across 50 innings (51 appearances).

The Red Sox were up 3-1 heading into the eighth inning, and this seemed like a done deal, but the Marlins’ bats woke up and created a save chance. Bender was called on to face the bottom of the Red Sox lineup, and didn’t exactly make things easy on himself by allowing a hit and issuing a walk; however, he got Carlos Narvaez to pop up to end the game and earn his third save of the season. This is firmly a committee in Miami, and we have no clue who will get the next save chance.

George Soriano was sent down last night to open up a roster spot. Bender will return to his setup role after three days away.

Bender will be away from the club for the next couple days on paternity leave. The 30-year-old righty has locked down three saves this season to go along with a sparkling 2.30 ERA across 47 innings (48 appearances). It’ll continue to be Ronny Hendriquez and Calvin Faucher splitting the closing duties for Miami.

Henríquez has been the Marlins’ primary closer of late, but the Marlins had him come in with a 1-0 lead in the eighth today and watched him give up a solo homer to Salvador Perez. Fortunately, they came back with two in the bottom of the inning, and since Bender closed it out, Henríquez picked up his sixth win. Henríquez still seems like the pitcher worth rostering in the Marlins pen. Bender is about as much of a lock as anyone to be traded at the deadline.

Bender got the call to record the final out of the ninth inning with the Marlins holding a four-run lead and the potential tying run standing in the on-deck circle. It looks like Ronny Henriquez will be the primary closer for Miami until further notice, but it wouldn’t be surprising for Bender to vulture the occasional save chance in the second half.

Bender had a win on March 30 and a save a day later and then no more of either for almost three months until today. He had, however, picked up five losses and three blown saves, even though he came into the day with a 2.41 ERA. Bender kept the game tied in the bottom of the ninth and then protected a one-run lead with the automatic runner on second in the 10th, getting groundouts from Eugenio Suárez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk. Bender is a strong candidate to wind up in another team’s pen before the trade deadline next month.

The Marlins seemed to be looking to stay away from Faucher today after he threw 20 pitches last night, but Bender gave up two runs after being handed a 4-1 lead in start the ninth. Faucher took over with James Wood up and got a popup to end the game for his seventh save. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if they have another save situation on Sunday, since all of their top relievers have pitched on back-to-back days already. Tyler Phillips might be an option. Faucher threw just four pitches today, but if the Marlins didn’t want him pitching today, they’re not going to make him throw again tomorrow.

No luck for Bender. He’s given up six runs all season and never more than one at a time, yet he’s sporting a 1-4 record and also has two blown saves to go along with a 1.82 ERA. Although he’s been the Marlins’ best reliever, the team prefers using him in the eighth inning, which is when he worked tonight. Calvin Faucher is the favorite for saves in the Marlins pen.