Multiple blown saves in a game
Posted by Andy on June 25, 2010
Here are the times in 2010 when one team has blown more than 1 save in the same game. Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon did it last night for the Red Sox.
| Rk | Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OAK | TEX | 2010-05-11 | 3 |
| 2 | NYY | BOS | 2010-04-04 | 2 |
| 3 | CLE | PHI | 2010-06-23 | 2 |
| 4 | BOS | COL | 2010-06-24 | 2 |
| 5 | ARI | LAD | 2010-04-14 | 2 |
| 6 | ARI | LAD | 2010-04-15 | 2 |
| 7 | ARI | ATL | 2010-05-14 | 2 |
The Indians also just did it against the Phillies. The Diamondbacks did it on consecutive days against the Dodgers and have done it 3 times already this year!
I am fairly certain that there was a post earlier about the Athletics' 3 blown saves and the fact that the Astros blew 4 saves in a 1995 game, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.
June 25th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Here's the post by Raphy I was thinking of:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/3320
June 25th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
What about the situation where when one relief pitcher blows a lead twice? This is, he blows a lead, the offense helps his team take the lead again, and then goes out to pitch the next inning and blows the lead again. Should he be credited with two blown saves for blowing a lead twice?
June 25th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
Impossible situation. After you blow the save, if your team comes back to score you're in line for the WIN, not the save.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
David,
The second time a relief pitcher gives up the lead is not a blown save because it is not a save situation. Actually he cost himself the win, not the save.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Met fans will find it interesting that the winning pitcher in that 1995 Astros game (with 4 blown saves!!!) was Anthony Young.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Didn't baseball just change the scoring rules so that the official scorer can credit a more effective reliever with the win, even if another reliever is who we would traditionally consider the pitcher of record? I know I heard something about this earlier this season, but I'm not finding anything on a quick websearch. If that is true, maybe it would be possible for a reliever to blow the save twice.
June 25th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Rule 10.17(c) "The official scorer shall not credit as the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most effective, in the judgment of the official scorer."
So that rule has been changed. But I played around with a few scenarios and I still don't think a reliever could get two blown saves.
June 25th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
JT,
I don't think that a Blown Save has anything to do with who is the eventual Winner - either by traditional means or Official Scorer intervention. The team with the player in question (possibly 2 blown saves) doesn't even have to win the game (and thus no one would get a win).
Unless, of course, you are joking...then I apologize for my absent sense of humor. 🙂
June 25th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
A 7th or 8th inning BS is almost always an anachronism in the respect that the pitched who was charged with, wasn;t going to be collect the save in the 9th.
Most teams have dedicated 7th and 8th inning guys whose job is to hold the lead, and turn the game over tot he closer to start the 9th. Perhaps, "Blown Holds" and "Blown Saves" should be distinct categories.
June 25th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Trrickelv, I was responding to your explanation in #4. Traditionally you would be correct, in that the second blown lead cost the reliever a win. Since the rule is now changed, and the pitcher of record would not necessarily be credited with the win after blowing the first lead, I was trying to figure out if it would be possible for that pitcher to instead get a second blown save. But since the revised rule says the winning pitcher would have to be someone who pitched subsequent to the ineffective pitcher of record, that could not happen.
So no, no joking, I was just trying to think through the possibilities....
June 25th, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Spartan, it's too hard to differentiate a hold opportunity from a save opportunity, since it doesn't turn into a hold until the pitcher is removed prior to the game ending. If a pitcher enters with 2 outs in the 8th and blows the lead, should that be a blown hold or blown save? He could have gone for a 4-out save. Or he could have replaced in the 9th. When watching a game we usually know who is going to close it out, but the stat shouldn't be changed simply based on the player's identity. Anyway, if you simply add up a setup man's holds and saves, it solves the problem of comparing only his saves (which may = 0) to his blown saves and concluding he has a terrible save %.
June 25th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Here is the game with 4 blown saves:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHN/CHN199509280.shtml
June 25th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I may be a few sandwiches shy of a picnic, but what would happen if -- theoretically -- say, Micah Owings blows a save, gets moved to the outfield, then returns to the mound later with his team ahead, and blows it again. How would that be scored?
P.S. -- My wife is saying I should have stayed on vacation.
June 25th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
I'd say that's 2 blown saves. And what about the old traded-during-the-middle-of-a-suspended-game one blown save for each team?
The game with 4 blown saves is fascinating, but it brings up my pet peeve about this stat: many blown saves occur in non-save situations, that is, by a pitcher who is not sent in the finish the game. So we might hear that a middle reliever or set-up man has has 4 blown saves and no saves. What he really has are 4 blown holds, or something like that.