Calvin

Faucher

Faucher wound up with the win afterwards, but that’s not exactly to his credit. He hit the first two batters he faced in the ninth and walked the third before giving up a sac fly and a game-tying single. It’s good news for anyone speculating on Ronny Henriquez; he seems like the Marlins’ best reliever right now, but since the team is mostly worried about trade value at the moment, Faucher should continue to close.

Faucher was summoned in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game with a two-run lead over the Giants. He walked the leadoff man, then struck out the second batter before inducing a ground ball double-play to end the game with his eighth save of the season.

The Marlins seemed to be looking to stay away from Faucher today after he threw 20 pitches last night, but Bender gave up two runs after being handed a 4-1 lead in start the ninth. Faucher took over with James Wood up and got a popup to end the game for his seventh save. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if they have another save situation on Sunday, since all of their top relievers have pitched on back-to-back days already. Tyler Phillips might be an option. Faucher threw just four pitches today, but if the Marlins didn’t want him pitching today, they’re not going to make him throw again tomorrow.

Faucher gave up a single with one out in the ninth, but he was able to retire Robert Hassell III and CJ Abrams afterwards to leave James Wood on deck at game’s end. He appears to have emerged as the clear favorite for saves in Miami, having earned four in his last seven appearances.

The first two batters of the inning reached on a HBP and a single, but Faucher retired Adam Frazier, Henry Davis and Ke’Bryan Hayes afterwards. With Jesús Tinoco on the IL, Faucher is the obvious favorite for saves in Miami at the moment. Chances probably won’t be all that plentiful, but he’s an option for those in need.

An MRI came back negative, so he might not miss too much time. While Tinoco is tied for the Marlins lead with four saves, he had taken a backseat to Calvin Faucher lately. He has a 5.12 ERA and a 10/8 K/BB in 19 1/3 innings this season.

No luck for Bender. He’s given up six runs all season and never more than one at a time, yet he’s sporting a 1-4 record and also has two blown saves to go along with a 1.82 ERA. Although he’s been the Marlins’ best reliever, the team prefers using him in the eighth inning, which is when he worked tonight. Calvin Faucher is the favorite for saves in the Marlins pen.

Anthony Bender got through the heart of the order in a 1-0 game in the eighth, leaving Faucher to face eight, nine and one in the ninth. Heliot Ramos did wind up with a two-out single, but Faucher got Jung-Hoo Lee to ground out to end it. Faucher has the Marlins’ last two traditional saves and four of the 10 overall. He’s also blown three chances and he’s sporting a 4.95 ERA, so we still wouldn’t be eager to roster him.

This one had to feel extra special for Faucher, who grew up in nearby Chula Vista and went to UC-Irvine. The local product was tasked with protecting a two-run lead at Petco Park and needed just eight pitches (five strikes) to slam the door. He got the call after breakout star Ronny Henriquez served up a go-ahead homer to Gavin Sheets with two outs in the seventh inning, but came back out to hurl a scoreless eighth inning.

That’s two nightmare outings in two days from the Marlins’ preferred closing options in Jesús Tinoco and Faucher. It’d seem to be good news for Anthony Bender, who got the Marlins’ first save back on April 1 but has none since. He has a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings this season, compared to 6.60 for Tinoco, who has four saves, and 5.63 for Faucher, who has two saves.