With the Brewers sporting a 7-1 lead, supplanted closer John Axford entered Thursday's game against the Giants and threw a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Pablo Sandoval and Hunter Pence.
In his last three games, Axford has pitched three innings, given up a hit, walked none and struck out three. His ERA is still 12.79, and it may take a while for that to come down to even "bad" levels, but Axford is looking good again, which should be a heartening development for owners in deeper leagues who held onto him. Nothing is imminent, but Axford at least looks good enough to close again.
Francisco Rodriguez re-joining the Brewers shouldn't be much of a concern for Axford owners, but Jim Henderson's effectiveness at closing should. Still, the plan all along -- even apparent to Henderson -- was for Axford to straighten things out in middle relief, then return to the closer role. So far, it looks like he has held up his half of that bargain.