Tony

Santillan

It was curious how Pagán and Tony Santillan were flipped in the bullpen Sunday, but things were back to normal tonight, with Santillan throwing a perfect eighth and Pagán working around a pair of walks in a scoreless ninth. Pagán still hasn’t blown a save since May 6.

It was a surprise to see Pagán enter with a 6-4 lead in the eight; it’s just the third time this season that he’s come in before the ninth. He was up against the bottom of the Tigers’ lineup, too, so it wasn’t a case of using the best pitcher against the heart of the order. After Pagán exited, the Reds scored twice more in the ninth, taking away the save situation. Tony Santillan came on and struck out two of the four batters he faced in the ninth. Santillan has been very good, but Pagan, who last blew a save on May 6, hasn’t had any missteps in the closer’s role, and Terry Francona isn’t typically the type to mix and match. It seems like a situation to watch.

It was a curious decision by Reds manager Terry Francona to use Santillan on Sunday. Emilio Pagan has pitched just once since picking up his 15th save on June 3. Pagan threw a scoreless inning in a non-save situation on Friday, meaning he had a day of rest before the save situation arose Sunday. It’s unclear why exactly Pagan didn’t pitch, though it’s clear if the Reds make a change in the ninth inning Santillan would be an option to close along with Graham Ashcraft.

It’s also unclear Francona will entrust Díaz — who spoke to reporters on Sunday in the Reds clubhouse and noted that he hopes to return soon — with save opportunities right out of the gate after the pair seemingly got off to a rocky start during spring training before the latter suffered a hamstring strain. The 28-year-old former closer struggled with his control in five rehab outings, but his closing experience makes him a true wild card moving forward. His return complicates things for Emilio Pagán and Tony Santillan, who have been getting the majority of early-season save chances for Cincinnati.

Pagán got the call from Reds manager Terry Francona to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and needed just 14 pitches (eight strikes) to set down the lower-third of Pittsburgh’s lineup in rapid succession. The 33-year-old veteran has picked up three saves over the last five days and appears firmly in the mix with Tony Santillan to handle Cincinnati’s closing duties.

Pagán gave up a walkoff homer in extra innings Friday, but he was still the choice tonight after Graham Ashcraft pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings. Tony Santillan, seemingly the primary alternative to Pagán, went unused.

Tony Santillan previously gave up a game-tying homer in the eighth inning, so Pagán’s loss probably won’t do much of anything to change the pecking order in the Reds pen. In both cases, the runs allowed were the first given up by the pitcher this season. Santillan has a 1.23 ERA and one save in 7 1/3 innings, while Pagán has a 1.69 ERA and two saves in 5 1/3 innings.

Pagán was summoned to close out the game against the Giants with a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. He needed just seven pitches to get the job done for his second save of the season. The 33-year-old right-hander looks to be in line for the majority of save chances in Cincinnati at the moment despite Tony Santillan picking up the save in a high-leverage situation on Monday.

Santillan had to clean up the only mess Hunter Greene created, and clean it up he did. The 27-year-old is the proud owner of his first save of 2025. Santillan has thrown 5 2/3 scoreless innings thusfar this season and looks like he’s at least a co-closer at the moment with Emilio Pagán.

Santillan struck out three after finishing the seventh and staying in for the eighth. Emilio Pagán then got the ninth, but it was a four-run game at that point. Reds manager Terry Francona indicated in the days before the season started that Santillan was his most trusted reliever. Still, he’s thus far refused to hold Santillan back for the ninth. It looks like Pagán is the team’s top choice for saves right now.