The Pirates placed closer Jason Grilli on the disabled list with forearm tightness. I hate hearing that description, because it often winds up being something very serious.
The Pirates own an outstanding bullpen with the group holding the opposition to a .212/.288/.325 slash line. They should be able to absorb this injury.
Since the Pirates don’t officially have a closer while Grilli is DL’d, I wonder if that will give Hurdle a little freedom in how he manages late-game “high-leverage” situations… Might he use Melancon in the 8th inning if it’s the middle of the order coming up, or a particularly dangerous hitter – and then let another reliever close out the 9th? OR will he insist on using Melancon ONLY in the 9th inning now. I guess we’ll see…