Vest pitched around one hit over 1.1 scoreless frames to notch a save in Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Guardians.
Vest entered the game in the eighth inning with a runner on second base, two out and the Tigers clinging to a one-run lead. He finished off that frame with a groundout but immediately was back in hot water in the ninth when Jose Ramirez reached on a leadoff infield single and advanced to third base on a two-base error. However, Vest also managed to extinguish that rally with a strikeout, a fielder's choice and a popout. Vest picked up the final five traditional saves down the stretch of the regular season for the Tigers and has now registered their first postseason save. However, while Vest will be the favorite to close games for Detroit, manager A.J. Hinch's propensity to mix and match means Vest could also be used earlier in games if the situation calls for it.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Notches 22nd save
Rotowire
Vest earned the save in Thursday's win against Cleveland, striking out all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
Vest entered with a two-run lead and delivered a dominant performance, striking out the side in order to bounce back after giving up five earned runs across his previous two outings. The 30-year-old has now converted 22 of his 29 save chances on the season while carrying a 3.06 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 74:22 K:BB through 67.2 innings.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Blows seventh save
Rotowire
Vest (6-5) blew the save and took the loss Saturday. giving up two runs on four hits in two-thirds of an inning. He struck out two.
The blown save was Vest's seventh of the year, and second in his last four chances. Over his last 10 appearances, the right-hander has stumbled to a 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB over 10.2 innings, and with Kyle Finnegan back from the IL, Vest may not see many more save chances over the final days of the regular season.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Saddled with loss in extra innings
Rotowire
Vest (6-4) allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits across an inning of relief to take the loss in Tuesday's 7-5, 10-inning defeat to the Guardians.
After the Tigers forced extra innings on a Kerry Carpenter solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, Vest was tapped for the top of the 10th, and he ran into trouble right away. The veteran righty started the frame by allowing three doubles and a triple before recording any outs, giving Cleveland three quick runs. Vest had rattled off five straight scoreless appearances before Tuesday, and his ERA is still a tidy 2.91 overall, so the Detroit closer should be able to move past the rough performance and get back on track soon.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Tallies 20th save Friday
Rotowire
Vest notched the save Friday against the Royals, allowing one hit and no walks with no strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
The Tigers continue to deploy a committee approach at closer, with Vest working the ninth inning and Kyle Finnegan handling the eighth frame Friday. Although his usage could be frustrating at times, Vest remains worth holding onto for rosters in need of saves in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. The right-hander has a 2.76 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB while converting 20 of his 26 save chances over 58.2 innings.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Takes blown save, loss
Rotowire
Vest (6-3) allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit and three walks over one-third of an inning, taking the loss and a blown save versus the Athletics on Tuesday.
Vest couldn't find the strike zone, throwing just nine of 23 pitches for strikes. It was just the fourth time all year he's walked multiple batters in an appearance. Vest has allowed six runs (five earned) over 11.1 innings in August, converting three of his five save chances. With Kyle Finnegan yet to allow a run since being acquired from the Nationals, Vest can't afford to have too many shaky outings. Vest is 19-for-25 in save chances while adding three holds with a 2.81 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB through 57.2 innings this season.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Secures 19th save
Rotowire
Vest retired all four batters he faced to earn the save in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Royals. He recorded two strikeouts.
Vest was summoned with a runner on third in the eighth inning and struck out Maikel Garcia before working a clean ninth. The 30-year-old has held opponents scoreless in eight of 10 August outings and now sports a 2.67 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 64:16 K:BB across 57.1 frames while converting 19 of 24 save chances. He continues to split closing duties with Kyle Finnegan, who was likely unavailable after throwing two innings Friday.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Earns sixth win Tuesday
Rotowire
Vest (6-2) tossed two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Tuesday's 1-0, 10-inning victory over the Astros. He allowed a hit and struck out one.
Vest successfully navigated the top of the ninth and 10th innings, then earned the win when Gleyber Torres ended the game on a walk-off walk. The veteran reliever came into the season with only nine career wins at the MLB level, and his previous high in a season was three. Vest also leads the Tigers with 18 saves, and he's struck out 61 batters across 55 innings this year to go along with a strong 2.45 ERA, giving him plenty of fantasy value across the board.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Returns to setup role Saturday
Rotowire
Vest tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief in Saturday's 8-5 win over the Twins. He allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two.
Vest recorded the last out of the seventh inning and then worked the eighth against the top of Minnesota's order to earn his second hold of the season, with Kyle Finnegan covering the ninth for the save. Before Saturday, Vest had rattled off two straight saves, but Finnegan had three consecutive saves prior to that. It appears that both relievers will see ninth-inning work with Vest as the higher-leverage option, giving them each fantasy value but capping their respective ceilings. Vest still leads the Tigers with 18 saves in 23 opportunities.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Notches 18th save
Rotowire
Vest struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 18th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the White Sox.
Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth inning against the bottom part of Chicago's order and got his first hold since coming over to Detroit, while Vest got the call in the ninth against the 9-1-2 hitters and got the job done on 11 pitches (six strikes). Vest has the Tigers' last two saves, but Finnegan got the three before that, and the duo could continue to split chances the rest of the way, with Vest perhaps being viewed by manager A.J. Hinch as the slightly higher-leverage option. On the season, Vest sports a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 58:15 K:BB through 51.2 innings.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Picks up save Monday
Rotowire
Vest tossed a scoreless inning of relief with a strikeout to earn the save in Monday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.
Though Kyle Finnegan has seemingly taken over closing duties from Vest since joining the Tigers at the trade deadline, it was Vest working the ninth inning Monday with Finnegan taking the eighth. It was the first save for Vest since July 20 and his 17th this season in 22 chances. Both pitchers figure to see high-leverage work moving forward, and while Finnegan is the top reliever to target in Detroit's bullpen at the moment, Vest still has some fantasy value in his current role.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Struggles in eighth Saturday
Rotowire
Vest worked the eighth inning of Saturday's 7-5 win over the Phillies and allowed two runs on three hits while retiring two batters via strikeout.
After seven strong innings from starter Tarik Skubal, Vest worked the eighth inning with the Tigers up 7-3. He came on to face the top of Philadelphia's order in Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and Harper tagged him for a two-run home run. After Vest departed, the newly acquired Kyle Finnegan came on to record the final four outs and earn his first save with his new team. Detroit manager A.J. Hinch may mix and match with his revamped bullpen, and if Vest is used more frequently in high-leverage spots before the ninth inning, his fantasy value could take a hit due to a decrease in save opportunities.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Takes loss Saturday
Rotowire
Vest (5-2) allowed two runs on three hits across an inning of relief to take the loss in Saturday's 6-1 defeat to the Blue Jays. He struck out one.
With the game scoreless through seven innings following a dazzling start by Tarik Skubal, Vest let things get away in the eighth. It was the first time the veteran righty had allowed more than one run in an appearance since June 15, and he had posted a stellar 0.96 ERA in nine games since then. Overall, Vest still has a solid 2.58 ERA across 45.1 innings this season to go along with 51 strikeouts, and he should be able to bounce back from the rough outing and get back to closing out games for the Tigers.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Nabs four-out save
Rotowire
Vest picked up a four-out save, allowing one hit and one walk while also picking up a strikeout, during Friday's 2-1 win over the Guardians.
Vest worked more than an inning for the first time in his past nine appearances. The 30-year-old put out a fire in the bottom of the eighth, then worked around allowing a baserunner in the ninth on his way to his 14th save in 17 tries this year. The right-hander picked up at least one strikeout in his ninth straight outing for a total of 12 in his last 8.2 innings. Vest hasn't surrendered a run in five straight appearances, and his ERA is now at 2.25 for the season.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Collects 13th save
Rotowire
Vest struck out one over a perfect inning to earn the save in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Twins.
Vest retired the side on a tidy eight pitches (six strikes) to earn his first save since June 12 versus the Orioles. He had a pinkie finger injury between those saves, which led to a blown save June 15 versus the Reds, but he avoided the injured list and has since turned in three scoreless innings. Vest is up to 13 saves, two holds and three blown saves while posting a 2.37 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 42:10 K:BB across 38 innings. Vest continues to hold an edge for saves over Tommy Kahnle, who worked the eighth inning Sunday.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Cleared to pitch
Rotowire
Vest (finger) passed all tests and has been declared ready to pitch, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Vest was pulled from Sunday's appearance versus the Reds due to an injury to his right pinkie finger, but it appears he's already put the issue in the rearview mirror. The right-handed reliever leads the Tigers with 12 saves this season.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Expected to avoid injured list
Rotowire
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that he expects Vest (finger) to avoid a stint on the 15-day injured list, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.
Vest exited his appearance Sunday against the Reds after suffering an injury to his right pinkie finger. Hinch indicated that Vest still needs to be further evaluated, but initial tests on the reliever's injured digit didn't show anything overly worrisome. Vest leads the Tigers with 12 saves this season and has notched each of the team's last three saves. Consider him day-to-day for the time being. Tommy Kahnle would likely be next in line for saves if Vest is unavailable for a few days.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Getting pinkie checked out
Rotowire
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Vest dealt with a pinkie injury during his relief appearance in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Reds, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. "[The pinkie] was bothering him, so we took him out. We'll get him evaluated, and he'll run through the whole battery of tests," Hinch said.
Vest -- who leads the Tigers with 12 saves -- entered Sunday's contest with a perfect 5-0 record but ended up taking the loss after he was unable to protect Detroit's 4-2 lead in the eighth inning. He retired just two of the six batters he faced and yielded three unearned runs on three hits. After he threw a wild pitch on his 28th pitch of the afternoon, Vest motioned to the dugout for a team trainer and was taken out, but it wasn't immediately known why he was removed from the contest until Hinch clarified the matter after the game. The Tigers should have a better idea on the severity of Vest's injury prior to Tuesday's game against the Pirates, but if the right-hander is down for a few days or requires a stint on the injured list, Tommy Kahnle would likely be next in line for saves.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Exits Sunday with injury
Rotowire
Vest was removed during his appearance in the eighth inning of Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Reds due to an unspecified injury, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. He dropped to 5-1 on the season after retiring two of the six batters he faced and allowing three unearned runs on three hits.
Vest entered the game in a high-leverage spot in the top of the eighth, taking over with a runner on second base and no outs while the Tigers held a 4-2 lead. After allowing back-to-back base hits, Vest struck out Tyler Stephenson, then loaded the bases after Detroit was unable to record an out on a fielder's choice. Vest then allowed a game-tying sacrifice fly before Gavin Lux's single scratched through the go-ahead run. Vest remained in the game after Lux's base hit, but he uncorked a wild pitch that scored another run. The right-hander seemed to be in discomfort after the pitch and was lifted from the contest, though the Tigers didn't provide an immediate explanation for his removal. Manager A.J. Hinch will likely shed more light on Vest's situation after the game or when he meets with the media prior to Tuesday's series opener versus the Pirates.
... See More... See Less
Tigers' Will Vest: Collects 12th save
Rotowire
Vest tossed a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts to earn the save in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Orioles.
Vest recorded his second save in the series against Baltimore and his 12th of the season as he keeps performing at a high level for the Tigers. The veteran righty lowered his ERA to 1.83, and he's struck out 36 batters in 34.1 innings. Vest has also easily set a new career high in saves, as he came into the year with only five saves at the MLB level across four seasons. Tommy Kahnle has been a reliable high-leverage arm out of the Detroit bullpen as well and has eight saves himself, but Vest has established himself as the top closing option due to his dominant work on the mound.
