White Sox's Jake Diekman: Strong start with Pale Hose
Rotowire
Diekman threw a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts to earn a hold Wednesday against the Royals.
The White Sox have wasted no time utilizing their only acquisition at the trade deadline, as Diekman has pitched both Tuesday and Wednesday. He worked the sixth and seventh innings respectively, tallying a hold on each occasion. Though Diekman won't factor into the saves picture without a number of injuries in the bullpen, it appears that he will have a high-leverage role with his new club.
Diekman was traded to the White Sox from the Red Sox on Monday in exchange for catcher Reese McGuire, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Diekman has been fairly reliable this season outside of a few tough outings, but the Red Sox were willing to part with him in order to acquire another option behind the plate. Diekman has five wins and 12 holds this season, but he may not have as many opportunities to make a fantasy impact with his new squad.
Diekman suffered a blown save after he pitched one-third of an inning Wednesday, allowing an inherited run to score while giving up one hit and a walk in the loss to the Angels.
The 35-year-old was called upon to protect a one-run lead with two on and two out in the top of the ninth inning, ultimately giving up an RBI single to Jared Walsh and walking Kurt Suzuki before getting Max Stassi to fly out to end the frame. The run was charged to Hansel Robles, yet Diekman has now blown two consecutive save opportunities. The left-hander has eight holds on the season, operating mostly as the set-up man for Hansel Robles while posting a 4.15 ERA and 1.73 WHIP over 8.2 innings.
Diekman allowed three runs on three hits while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning, picking up a blown save, in Tuesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays.
The Red Sox were in position to snap a three-game losing streak, but Diekman served up a two-run, game-tying home run to George Springer in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the second consecutive game in which Diekman was unable to shut the door, though Boston escaped with a win last Friday.
... See More... See Less
Red Sox's Jake Diekman: Can't close out Rays
Rotowire
Diekman allowed three walks and struck out one over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Friday's 4-3 win over the Rays.
Diekman started the ninth inning of a one-run game attempting to close out the Rays for his second save of the season, but the left-hander was unable to finish the frame. He walked three of the first four batters he faced before getting Brandon Lowe on strikes. That was it for Diekman. Enter Matt Barnes, who retired Wander Franco on a 100.9 mph groundout to second baseman Trevor Story. Diekman has been an important high-leverage piece in Boston's bullpen and should continue to be an option to close games despite Friday's command issues (12 strikes in 28 pitches).
Diekman struck out two in a perfect eighth inning to earn the hold in Sunday's 8-1 win over the Twins.
Diekman earned a save in last Sunday's win over the Yankees, and he's been credited with holds in his three other outings early in the season. Hansel Robles picked up the save Wednesday against Detroit, but it's been hard to pinpoint Boston's ninth-inning layout due to the team's lack of save situations. While Matt Barnes and Garrett Whitlock are also in the mix for late-inning work, Diekman has shown that he's a trusted high-leverage option for Boston by tossing three scoreless innings in his first four appearances of the year.
