Dateline: Cincinnati
Emilio Pagan winced as he threw the final pitch of the game that retired Daniel Susec on Tuesday.
The camera caught him and he was examined post game as his left hamstring tightened.
Pagan tested it on Wednesday afternoon after which the Reds staff debated whether it was safe for him to pitch the night game. And if not who would assume the closer's role if they ruled that he would not be available.
"I think the worry was he would be sore. He went out and threw from flat ground," Francona. "That was pretty encouraging. It depends on how we get to the ninth. It could depend on where we are in the order, how much guys have pitched. There are a lot of factors."
He felt the hamstring tug at him the batter before but wasn't worried about it.
"During the Ramos at bat. It felt a little tight," said Pagan, who struck out Heliot Ramos for the second out of the ninth. "I threw the first pitch to Susec and it felt pretty good. On the last pitch, I felt it in my left leg. It didn't feel good. It didn't pop or anything. I think the camera caught me wince a little bit. I saw doc, there was no bruising or anything. I came in this morning and there was no bruising, making sure it didn't get any worse. There is not any pain but it is very tight. I did some treatment already this morning and played some catch. It went fine, so it's looking like we kind of dodged the bullet."
"They are going to meet to see if I'm available or not. I want to pitch. I always want to pitch. But I understand, we don't want to turn a couple day thing into a couple weeks. If they want me to throw on the side first, I'll probably do that tomorrow. I threw catch more aggressively than I normally do, to see where we're at. I wouldn't put this in an injury category. There is a difference between an injury and hurt. It hurt a little bit but I wouldn't say that I was injured. My whole career, I've been considered durable."
Pagan earned his fifth save second in the Major Leagues to Arizona's Paul Seward's six. He gave up four runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 1 but since has turned in six straight scoreless outings. He retired the Giants last night on seven pitches.
"That's probably the best I've pitched all year. The most strikes I've thrown to the areas that I wanted to. The slider I missed was a good miss. That might have been why my hamstring got tight because I was activated more than I have been," Pagan said.
The Reds have two other pitches with saves, Connor Phillips and Brock Burke both of whom earned the first save of their career. Tony Santillan, who has eight scoreless appearances, this season could be an option to fill in. Graham Ashcraft has allowed two earned runs in nine appearances also has the stuff to close out games.
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