Fernando Rodney blew his second consecutive save opportunity on Saturday night, a performance that not only cost the Diamondbacks another game but also thrust Torey Lovullo into his first crisis as manager – a closer controversy.
But, judging by Lovullo’s comments after a 7-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night, there might be nothing controversial about the situation, at least not in his mind.
“For right now, Fernando is our closer,” Lovullo said. “It’s going to be the same situation the next time he’s ready (available to pitch).”
Perhaps the phrase “for right now” affords Lovullo some wiggle room, but he didn’t sound open to any kind of change, including the idea of steering away from Rodney temporarily in order to get him into a lower-leverage situation before pointing back toward the ninth inning.