Hurdle noncommittal on Watson as closer after fifth blown save

Clint Hurdle gave Tony Watson a vote of confidence before Wednesday night's series finale against the Orioles at Camden Yards.

That confidence, though, seems to have wavered after Watson allowed two runs in the ninth inning of the Pirates' loss to the Orioles just hours later, blowing his second save in as many nights and his fifth since May 23.

His role as the Pirates' closer is now in question.



"I believe in Tony’s strength; I believe he’ll survive; I believe he’ll push through it," Hurdle told reporters Thursday before a 7:05 p.m. game against the Marlins at PNC Park. "We do believe we have something factual, something that we can work with and work on. However, that role might not be indicative of just working on it any longer. We have to look at how we best serve the player and the team."

An answer likely won't be revealed Thursday night. Hurdle said Watson, Felipe Rivero and Wade Leblanc are unlikely to be available after pitching Tuesday and Wednesday against the Orioles.

That would make Juan Nicasio the closer if one is needed in the opener of the four-game series against the Marlins. Hurdle had yet to speak to Watson when he met with reporters more than three hours before first pitch.

The left-hander hasn't converted a save since May 21 and his ERA has ballooned to 4.44 after it was 0.96 at the end of April. His latest blown save was the fifth time in 10 outings that he has allowed multiple runs.

He has allowed six home runs this season, and the two-run homer he allowed to the Orioles' Trey Mancini weighed heavy in the Pirates' extra-inning loss Wednesday.

“Being the closer, you’re supposed to close out games,” Watson told reporters after the loss. “No excuses. It’s just not happening. It’s inexcusable. We’ve got a lead there late. Guys put up runs. You gotta get the job done.”

It dropped the Pirates' record to seven games below .500, and they were 5 1/2 games behind the first place Brewers entering Thursday.

The problem in the back end of the bullpen has weighed heavily on Hurdle. He blamed himself Wednesday night for turning to Watson one day after he blew a save, but that does not mean he's willing to simply make Rivero the closer and return Watson back to an eighth-inning role.

"I have a lot of people who think you just flip Rivero and flip Watson," Hurdle said. "That’s great when you can get to Rivero. I’ve done this in the past; I’ve made the flip and I haven’t gotten to the closer in nine days. That’s just the reality of it. Felipe has pitched the most leverage innings out of anybody in the bullpen at this point in the season, so that's something you have to consider."

Hurdle named Nicasio as a possible long-term option at closer. The right-hander has a 1.35 ERA with 25 strikeouts and only eight walks in 26 2/3 innings this season. One option Hurdle ruled out was a closer-by-committee.

He has not deployed multiple pitchers in that role during his managerial career and does not plan to do so, saying that situation is reserved for when a team does not have one pitcher who is able to close. Though he was unsure of what Watson's role will be, Hurdle is confident the 32-year-old will return to form.

"I do know he’s completely understanding of everything we talked about," Hurdle said. "We’ll have another conversation [today], but yesterday we had a very good conversation and then we didn’t get the result we wanted."