Takashi

Saito

Saito struck out one while throwing a scoreless ninth. He hadn’t been feeling right since a 37 pitch outing on Wednesday, but he’ll probably be fine. Keep him active this week.

Saito replaced Elmer Dessens with two out and one on in the eighth and got Ken Griffey Jr. to fly out to the warning track in left. He struck out Edwin Encarnacion, Scott Hatteberg and Brandon Phillips in the ninth to preserve a two-run lead.

A fatigued Saito said he was available Sunday. However, manager Grady Little said he intended to give Saito one more day off and use Jonathan Broxton to close if necessary.

Except for a terrible outing on June 2, Danys Baez has performed quite well over the last month. Still, it’s Saito who has turned into Grady Little’s favorite reliever. He might receive all of the save chances until Eric Gagne’s next much anticipated return.

Saito entered with one man on base and one out in the ninth. He’s the top candidate to close for the Dodgers until Eric Gagne is ready to return.

With Eric Gagne set to return Thursday, it doesn’t much matter whether Grady Little prefers Baez or Saito at the moment. Gagne is expected to get his closer’s role back immediately.

The Dodgers will likely be content to use Saito as their closer for the rest of the year with Eric Gagne undergoing season-ending surgery. He hasn’t been charged with a blown save all year, even during his time as a setup man.

Saito had been unavailable for the past week due to a sore right calf. He should be OK for the final few games.

No word yet on the severity. Saito, now 42, remains a valuable contributor when healthy, but it will be hard to rely on him to throw many innings this season. The bridge to David Hernandez and J.J. Putz is pretty shaky in Arizona.

The 42-year-old Saito has been dominant throughout his career as long as he’s been able to remain healthy. He’ll likely slot as the 7th inning option for the Diamondbacks, protecting then turning leads over to David Hernandez and J.J. Putz.