Raisel Iglesias collected his 22nd save of the season on Wednesday vs Pittsburgh. The hard-throwing righty has settled into his role as closer after a bumpy start to the season. He has also lowered his ERA to a respectable 3.28 with 46 strikeouts in 35 & 2/3 innings pitched. Dukes & Bell say despite his shaky start, Iglesias has become the pitcher the Braves needed and his numbers back it up.
“How nervous were you with Iglesias last night?” Carl Dukes asked of Mike Bell.
“Look, I’m always nervous, but the guy has only blown two saves. We’ve been bellyaching about this for three years now with Will Smith, Kenley Jansen and now Iglesias,” Mike Bell explained.
Newly acquired lefty reliever Brad Hand joins A.J.
Minter and Iglesias to form a potent back-end of the bullpen.