Athletics' Lucas Erceg: Secures third save
Erceg allowed a hit and struck out one over a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 5-4 win over the Angels.
Erceg was deployed in the eighth inning Thursday to protect a one-run lead, but he was called on to close things out Friday in a similar situation. With Mason Miller sidelined by a fractured finger on his non-throwing hand, Erceg is the favorite to close for the Athletics in the short term, though Tyler Ferguson received the first save chance in Miller's absence. Erceg has been a fine setup man this year with a 3.68 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 41:13 K:BB to go with three saves, 12 holds and three blown saves over 36.2 innings. He's kept runs off the board in 12 of his last 13 appearances, the exception being a four-run meltdown last Sunday against the Angels.
