Doval earned the save in Friday's 2-1 win at Kansas City while allowing one run on no hits and two walks over one inning. He struck out two.
After Ryan Walker had thrown 35 pitches over the previous two games and blown a save via walk-off homer Thursday, Doval was called upon in the ninth Friday. The former Giants closer looked rusty, as he opened the ninth with back-to-back walks. A groundout allowed both runners to move up a base, setting the table for a Garrett Hampson sacrifice fly to drive in the Royals' first run. However, Doval recovered to punch out the next batter, Tommy Pham, to end the game. Since being recalled from Triple-A on Aug. 24, Doval has pitched to a 7.36 ERA, 1.82 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB across 11 innings. He remains, at best, a secondary option for saves in San Francisco so long as Walker is around.