Johnson struck out two in a perfect seventh inning Thursday to record his 10th hold of the season in a win over the Cardinals.
The former Rockies closer has been very effective in a setup role for Atlanta, posting a 2.12 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 23:4 K:BB through 17 innings with a win and six holds in 18 appearances. The NL East leaders have a deep bullpen, and Johnson would likely be behind A.J. Minter, Kirby Yates and others in the pecking order for saves should anything happen to Raisel Iglesias, but he's still producing deep-league fantasy value in his current role.
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Braves' Pierce Johnson: Traded to Atlanta
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Atlanta acquired Johnson from the Rockies on Monday in exchange for Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
Johnson has offered a mixed bag for the Rockies this season, posting a 6.00 ERA and 1.85 WHIP but also striking out 58 batters across 39 relief innings. The 32-year-old boasts an 11.3 K/9 rate for his career, and clearly Atlanta wanted some of that swing-and-miss ability for their bullpen. Johnson should operate as part of the bridge to closer Raisel Iglesias.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Surrenders game-deciding homer
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Johnson (1-4) allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits to take the loss Saturday against the Tigers.
Johnson entered the game in the 10th inning with the score tied at 2-2. However, he served up a single and home run to the first two batters he faced. That snapped a five-appearance scoreless streak for Johnson, during which he maintained an impressive 9:2 K:BB across five frames. Justin Lawrence is seemingly the team's primary closer, though Johnson tallied a save Friday against the Tigers and could continue to see chances moving forward.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Picks up save
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Johnson allowed a hit and struck out one without walking a batter in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Friday's 8-5 win over the Tigers.
Johnson had yielded the bulk of recent save opportunities to Justin Lawrence, but the latter hasn't pitched since Wednesday. This was Johnson's fifth consecutive scoreless outing, and it earned him his first save since June 13. The right-hander has a 6.00 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 49:20 K:BB with 13 saves and two holds through 33 innings this season, but Johnson will likely remain in the late-inning mix despite his shaky numbers after being the closer for the first two months of the season.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Nabs extra-inning save
Rotowire
Johnson struck out one while recording the final two outs of the 10th inning Tuesday to pick up his 12th save of the season in a 7-6 win over the Red Sox.
The right-hander was removed from the closer role last week after posting a brutal 18.00 ERA over six appearances in late May and early June, but with Jake Bird, Justin Lawrence and even Daniel Bard all having gotten the call in the first nine innings Tuesday, Johnson was the last man standing in the bullpen in the 10th and got the job done. None of the Rockies' other options for saves have been pitching particularly well lately -- Bird has a 7.20 ERA over his last eight appearances, while Lawrence has a 5.59 mark during his last eight -- so if Johnson can string together a few more effective performances, he could reclaim the job.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Loses closer role
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Rockies manager Bud Black announced Friday that Johnson has been removed from the closer role, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.
Johnson officially lost the job after blowing another save in brutal fashion Thursday afternoon against the Giants. He owns a wretched 7.50 ERA in 26 appearances (24 innings) this season, although most of that damage has come at Coors Field -- his road ERA is 2.89. Black named Justin Lawrence and Jake Bird as possible candidates to replace Johnson in the ninth-inning gig.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Closer role to be addressed
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Rockies manager Bud Black said after Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Giants that Johnson's status as the primary closer will be "addressed," Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.
Johnson was called into Thursday's game with the Rockies leading 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning and promptly gave up three earned runs on two hits and two walks while recording only two outs. He's blown two saves in the last week and his season ERA has risen to 7.50. Justin Lawrence, Jake Bird, Brent Suter and Brad Hand are among the other options at closer for Colorado. Daniel Bard could maybe even get another shot.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Clean inning for save
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Johnson pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 10-7 win over the Mets.
Johnson melted down in a non-save situation in his last outing Thursday, but he responded well. He needed just six pitches (five strikes) to set down the Mets' 3-4-5 hitters. While pitching at Coors Field can lead to the occasional blow-up, Johnson has converted all 11 of his save chances this season. He's at a 6.23 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 29:13 K:BB through 21.2 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Blows four-run lead
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Johnson allowed four earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two across 0.2 innings Thursday against the Marlins.
Johnson entered the game in the top of the ninth inning with a four-run lead and served up a pair of two-run homers to blow the lead. He was ultimately bailed out by his offense in the bottom of the same frame, though the performance continued a shaky stretch for Johnson. Across his last 12 appearances, he's allowed at least one earned run on six occasions. On the other hand, he has tallied seven saves in that span and there is no sign that the Rockies are looking to move away from him as the closer at this point.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Allows run but secures save
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Johnson gave up a run on two hits and struck out one over one inning to earn the save in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Marlins.
Johnson gave up an RBI double to Jorge Soler, but he was able to protect the lead from there. While he doesn't have a dominant reputation, Johnson has converted all 10 of his save chances this season, including seven in his last nine appearances. He owns a 4.95 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 27:12 K:BB through 20 innings this season.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Converts ninth save
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Johnson allowed a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in Monday's 5-3 win over the Marlins.
Johnson has converted six of his nine saves during May, though he's also allowed five runs over 8.2 innings this month. Monday marked his third straight scoreless outing. He has a 4.74 ERA, 1.68 WHIP and 26:12 K:BB over 19 innings this season while working as the Rockies' primary closer.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Locks down eighth save
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Johnson picked up the save Wednesday against the Reds, striking out one over two-thirds of an inning.
Johnson relieved Riley Pint in the ninth inning, inheriting runners on second and third, coaxing a pop-out from Wil Myers before striking out Jose Barrero to end the game. Johnson is now 8-for-11 in save opportunities. He's managed to stave off Daniel Bard for the ninth-inning job despite a 5.29 ERA and 1.82 WHIP through 17 innings this season.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Escapes with save
Rotowire
Johnson allowed one run on two hits and a walk in one inning of work against the Reds on Monday. He earned a save but did not record a strikeout.
Johnson entered a 9-7 game in the ninth inning and flirted with danger. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Nick Senzel before closing out the one-run game with a pair of runners on base. Johnson has now converted all seven of his save opportunities despite a 5.51 ERA through 16.1 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches sixth save
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Johnson picked up the save in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Pirates. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out two over one inning scoreless inning.
Johnson worked around a walk and a two-out double to close out a one-run victory and earn his sixth save this season. The 32-year-old Johnson is now a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities despite a subpar 4.40 ERA and 1.74 WHIP. Johnson has been the Rockies' primary closer, while Daniel Bard works lower-leverage situations. Even if Johnson can hold off Bard in the ninth inning, it's hard to put extra faith in a reliever pitching in Coors Field for a last-place Rockies squad.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches fifth save
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Johnson gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his fifth save of the season in a 5-2 win over the Mets.
Daniel Bard is being eased back into action after returning to the bullpen Wednesday, allowing Johnson to continue serving as the Rockies' closer for the time being. The 31-year-old righty has an 8.10 ERA at home but a 1.35 mark on the road after Saturday's appearance, and he's a perfect 5-for-5 on save chances with a 20:8 K:BB through 13.1 innings. Even if Bard does take back ninth-inning duties in the near future, Johnson should remain in a high-leverage role for Colorado.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Takes loss Tuesday
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Johnson (0-1) was charged with the loss Tuesday against the Cardinals after he allowed three runs on three hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning.
Johnson entered for the ninth inning with the game tied 6-6, only to surrender a home run to Nolan Gorman on his first pitch, and St. Louis then struck for two more runs. The right-hander has served as Colorado's closer to begin the season with Daniel Bard on the injured list due to anxiety, and he has three saves with four runs allowed and a 7:4 K:BB across 4.2 innings.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Secures save
Rotowire
Johnson issued a walk in a scoreless inning and earned a save over the Nationals on Sunday.
Johnson worked around a leadoff walk to finish off the 7-6 victory. He's seemingly locked into Colorado's closer role at the moment, converting on all three of his attempts in four total appearances. During that stretch, he's allowed one run with a 7:2 K:BB.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Notches second save
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Johnson picked up a save against the Nationals on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
Johnson was called upon in the ninth inning to close out a rare 1-0 Coors Field game, and he succeeded with ease, needing just nine pitches -- eight of which were strikes -- to retire the side in order. The right-hander struck out two in the frame, giving him seven punchouts over three innings so far this season. Daniel Bard was expected to open the season as the Rockies' closer, but he's currently on the injured list while he deals with anxiety. Johnson has stepped in to notch both of Colorado's saves thus far, and he has an opportunity to dig his heels into the closer role with Bard's timeline for a return uncertain.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Possible waiver wire pickups
Rotowire
Daniel Bard is on the IL with anxiety. The team seems hopeful of a minimal stay, but realistically, nobody knows. Maybe he comes back with no idea where the ball is going still. Maybe he doesn't come back at all. The point is Pierce Johnson has a chance to gain a real foothold here. He converted his first save chance Friday, and the way manager Bud Black used Dinelson Lamet and Brad Hand over the weekend would suggest they're not a part of the saves mix. It seems like all Johnson right now, and he was a good bat-misser in San Diego. We'll see if his stuff plays well enough in the thin air of Coors Field.
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Rockies' Pierce Johnson: Earns Colorado's first save
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Johnson allowed one hit in a scoreless inning against the Padres on Friday. He struck out two and earned the save.
Johnson worked around a leadoff single and made quick work of the Padres to close out the 4-1 win. He fired 14 of 19 pitches for strikes, including three whiffs, all coming on his curveball. With Daniel Bard (not injury related) unavailable, Johnson got the first save opportunity while Brent Suter and Brad Hand pitched the seventh and eight frames.
