6 years agoSan Diego Padres closer Brad Hand collected his 22nd save of the season Tuesday against the Texas Rangers despite allowing two baserunners. Hand survived some two-out drama after giving up consecutive hits but fanned outfielder Nomar Mazara to end the game. Tuesday's outing was encouraging on two fronts. First is the Padres confidence in Hand despite a rough 15.00 ERA in his previous four outings. Second, he avoided a meltdown and slammed the door in the face of trouble. Hand holds a 2.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and excellent 13.0 K/9 this season. Even with reliever Kirby Yates pitching phenomenally (0.82 ERA, 0.85 WHIP), Hand looks to be the Friars primary ninth-inning man.--Andrew Le - RotoBaller
Source: MLB.com