Rockies' Tyler Kinley: Placed on IL with elbow injury
Rotowire
Kinley was placed on the Rockies' 15-day injured list Friday due to right elbow inflammation.
Kinley's placement on the injured list will end his season, and he'll finish the year with 12 saves and 15 holds while recording a 6.05 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 72:33 K:BB over 64 innings. Kinley took over as the Rockies' top closer after Victor Vodnik landed on the IL in mid-August, but the latter figures to reclaim that role for the rest of the regular season with the former on the shelf. Right-handed reliever Jake Bird was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move.
Kinley earned the save in Thursday's 4-2 win over Detroit, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
Kinley found himself in some trouble, allowing a pair of Tigers to reach base before ultimately striking out Zach McKinstry to strand the tying runs aboard. The 33-year-old Kinley took over the closer role in Colorado when Victor Vodnik landed on the IL in late August and has now converted six straight save chances. It appears that Kinley may have earned a more permanent grasp on the ninth-inning job as Vodnik, who was activated earlier in the week, was used in the seventh inning Thursday.
Kinley struck out one batter in a perfect inning and earned a save against Milwaukee on Sunday.
Kinley retired the Brewers' 2-3-4 hitters in order to close out the 4-1 victory. Since coughing up four runs against the Marlins on Aug. 27, he's converted four straight save chances without allowing a run. He's now 11-for-12 in save chances with a 5.98 ERA and a 68:31 K:BB through 61.2 innings, though it's worth noting that teammate Victor Vodnik (biceps), who has nine saves this season, was activated from the 15-day injured list Sunday.
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Rockies' Tyler Kinley: Fans two for ninth save
Rotowire
Kinley struck out two over a perfect ninth inning to record the save over Atlanta on Thursday.
Kinley ran right through the middle of Atlanta's lineup after entering the contest with a two-run lead in the ninth, getting Jorge Soler and Marcell Ozuna to go down on strikes before producing a groundout for the final out. The right-hander has now recorded saves in three of his last four appearances, recording multiple strikeouts in each of those three outings. Thursday's save was his ninth of the campaign and his fourth since the start of August.
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Rockies' Tyler Kinley: Another save Friday
Rotowire
Kinley earned the save in Friday's 3-2 win over the Brewers, issuing one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.
The Brewers got the tying run into scoring position against Kinley, after the right-hander walked Jake Bauers with one out before Brewer Hicklen swiped second base as a pinch runner. However, Kinley would escape with his 10th save of the year after Hicklen was thrown out at third trying to advance on a Rhys Hoskins flyout. The 33-year-old Kinley has now converted his last three save chances, including two in back-to-back days. His ERA sits at 6.08 on the season with a 1.47 WHIP and 67:31 K:BB across 60.2 innings. Kinley may soon return to a set-up role, however, with Victor Vodnik (biceps) nearing a return.
Kinley picked up the save over Baltimore on Saturday, allowing one walk over one inning while striking out three. He also beaned a batter.
Kinley entered the contest with a two-run lead in the top of the ninth and walked Cedric Mullins to lead things off before getting the next two batters to go down on strikes. The right-hander would then make things interesting by hitting Gunnar Henderson with a pitch to put the winning run on first. However, he was able to strike out Adley Rutschman to end the contest and secure his eighth save of the campaign. It was a solid bounceback effort for Kinley after he coughed up four runs in his previous outing, and he's now recorded multiple strikeouts in three of his last six appearances. He finishes the month with a 3.55 ERA for August to go along with a strong 16:3 K:BB.
Rockies' Tyler Kinley: Surrenders four earned runs
Rotowire
Kinley allowed four earned runs on three hits and a walk while failing to record an out Tuesday against the Marlins.
Kinley has picked up the lone save for the Rockies since Victor Vodnik (shoulder) was placed on the injured list, and he entered Tuesday's game in the ninth inning with a four-run lead. Though he wasn't charged with a blown save or loss, Kinley allowed all four batters he faced to reach base, concluding with a two-run double with the bases loaded. It's unclear whether this meltdown will affect his status as closer, though Kinley had maintained a 1.53 WHIP and 0.74 WHIP across 17.2 innings since the All-Star break prior to Tuesday's appearance.
