Cincinnati Reds closer Raisel Iglesias has already lost five games this season, a figure he puts down to excessive usage in tie games.
Iglesias said Monday that he felt the Reds were using him “horribly wrong” by relying on him in non-save situations, such as tie games.
“You can see the other closers, they don’t pitch in tie games,” Iglesias told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “I’m the only one who comes in tie games and I’ve given up homers and I’m losing some games. I feel really bad.
“I already have five losses, something that hasn’t happened (to anyone else) in the big leagues. Five losses in the first month of ball. That shouldn’t be like that.”
Iglesias may be misreading the league. It’s almost universal for managers to use closers in tie games at home to try to preserve the tie and give their offense a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth. Iglesias has significantly worse numbers in non-save situations — a 6.14 ERA in them compared to a 3.86 ERA in save situations — but that’s also rather common among closers. Relievers like Iglesias usually bring a different mentality into tie games than save situations, so that’s not unusual, but Iglesias’ usage isn’t, either.
