Minter notched his first save of the season after striking out one batter in a scoreless inning against the Reds on Wednesday, and manager Brian Snitker said after the game that he expects to see Minter in more of those spots moving forward, Kevin McAlpin of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.
Minter has excelled as the team's top setup man so far this season, and the young lefty didn't miss a beat when given his first career big-league save opportunity Wednesday. With a pair of lefties due up for Cincinnati in the ninth inning -- Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett -- Snitker opted to play matchups and go with Minter over the team's primary closer, right-hander Arodys Vizcaino. The move paid off, as the 24-year-old southpaw needed just 11 pitches -- seven of which were strikes -- to sit the Reds down in order. According to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Snitker was pleased with how Minter responded in the ninth inning and expects to use him in more save situations going forward depending on matchups and who is available. "I'm hoping we see (Minter) in it a lot," Snitker said. "That means we're using a lot of guys and doing well in the ninth inning. So I have no problem at all with just going with the matchups and not wearing one guy out."