Gregory

Soto

Soto entered with the Pirates up 9-6, two on and two out in the eighth and never made it out of the inning. Yordan Alvarez singled to make it 9-7. Christian Walker then hit a slow roller to the right side with Brandon Lowe pulled toward second and Lowe failed to make the play for a cheap infield single. After that came a bases-loaded walk and a Cam Smith triple. Soto was having a fantastic season, but outings like this were always on the way. He’s still the clear favorite for saves in Pittsburgh right now, but that might change at some point. There’s the chance that Carmen Mlodzinski could enter the mix after getting sent to the pen.

The Pirates started the bottom of the ninth with a six-run lead and Dennis Santana on the mound. Santana allowed two runs in on three hits and a walk before Soto took over with one out. He extinguished the threat quickly, striking out the final two batters for his eighth save of the season.

Soto entered in the top of the eighth up by one run with two runners on and two outs and induced a groundout to end the threat. He returned for the ninth and worked around a walk to close out the game with his seventh save of the season. The 31-year-old left-hander has taken hold of the closer role in Pittsburgh behind a 1.95 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and a 32/11 K/BB ratio across 27 2/3 innings.

Soto is sporting a 32 percent strikeout rate, and even though his groundball rate is at an all-time low, he’s allowed only one homer in 25 1/3 innings to date. Soto also earned a save on Sunday, so he’ll probably be unavailable on Tuesday. Mason Montgomery or Dennis Santana might close then.

After getting Ernie Clement to start the inning, Soto plunked Andres Gimenez and walked Brandon Valenzuela to put the tying runs on base. He then battled back to get George Springer on a pop out to the shortstop and Daulton Varsho on strikes to end it. Soto now sports a 2.22 ERA and 0.80 WHIP on the season to go along with his five saves in seven opportunities.

This came after Gregory Soto struck out the side in a tie game in the ninth, The Pirates failed to score in the top of the 10th, so it wasn’t a blown save for Montgomery. It was, however, a setback for the pitcher with the best stuff in Pittsburgh’s bullpen. Montgomery would seem to remain clearly behind Soto and Dennis Santana in line for save chances.

Konnor Griffin’s fielding error started the ninth inning inauspiciously. Soto was able to get Justin Crawford, but walked Adolis García and allowed a ground-ball single to Trea Turner to load the bases. Soto then walked in a run against Kyle Schwarber and allowed a two-RBI ‘single’ to Bryce Harper that was reviewed for a home run and went 388 feet off the top of the wall. There were silver linings here for Soto. One of them is that he was able to exit the inning when Schwarber was thrown out at third on a cutoff play, and he induced an Alec Bohm flyout. Another is that Dennis Santana was absolutely roasted to take the loss in the tenth inning, not even retiring a single batter. Soto should still have plenty of rope as Pittsburgh’s closer.

Soto allowed an RBI double to Hunter Goodman before getting TJ Rumfield to ground out to end the game. It was his fourth save of the year. Soto is having an excellent season with a 1.69 ERA and 0.70 WHIP. Dennis Santana’s last save was on April 15, making Soto the preferred Pirates reliever to roster for now.

Dennis Santana got the first two outs in the eighth, but he allowed a couple of hits in the process, which led to the Pirates replacing him with Soto against lefty Drew Gilbert. Quite simply, Soto is the reliever the Pirates have the most faith in at the moment.

Soto was summoned to face the middle of the Diamondbacks’ lineup and made very quick work of them, getting Ildemaro Vargas on a pop out to short, Jose Fernandez on a ground ball to second and Jorge Barrosa on strikes to end it. Soto has been incredible for the Pirates and for fantasy managers this season, compiling a 1.42 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and a 25/7 K/BB ratio across 19 innings while converting three saves and notching three victories.