13 Will Smith RP

Smith tossed a perfect inning Monday against San Diego en route to his 13th save of the season.

The Giants' 11-game losing streak to begin September caused Smith to endure a drought of save opportunities. The club has since reversed its fortunes, allowing the southpaw to pick up two saves over the last three days. Smith, who sports a fine 1.80 ERA, will continue to operate as the primary closing option in San Francisco to close out the season.

Smith allowed one hit but threw a scoreless ninth inning to record the save Saturday against the Rockies.

Smith labored a bit -- he needed 18 pitches to get the final three outs -- but ultimately managed to record his 12th save of the season without any major difficulty. It was his first save in nearly three weeks, largely due to the fact that the Giants have won only seven games since Aug. 23. Smith appears to still have a handle on the team's closer role, though it isn't likely he'll draw a multitude of opportunities prior to season's end.

Smith wasn't available to close Sunday or Monday's wins due to a scheduled rest period, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Manager Bruce Bochy elected to keep his closer on the bench for two games after pitching in three consecutive contests. Smith is coming off of Tommy John surgery, so the cautious approach makes sense considering the Giants' bleak postseason hopes. Mark Melancon and Hunter Strickland picked up saves in his absence, but Smith should still be considered the top option for saves moving forward after posting a 1.84 ERA with 61 strikeouts over 44 innings.

Smith did not get the call in the ninth inning of Sunday's 3-1 win over Texas.

Smith had pitched in each of the last three days, so it may have just been a routine day of rest. However, he blew a save Friday and had to be relieved by Mark Melancon on Saturday. Melancon recorded a shutout inning and closed the game out Sunday as well. Smith looks to still be the top closing option for the Giants, but Melancon may be carving out some of the action.

Smith was charged with a blown save after giving up two runs (none earned) over an inning in Friday's extra-inning loss to Texas.

Smith was tasked with protecting a two-run lead in the ninth inning, but second baseman Joe Panik booted a routine grounder, opening the door for Rougned Odor to tie the game with a two-run homer. The silver lining for the closer's fantasy owners was that the two runs were not charged to his ledger. The rare misstep will not affect Smith's status as the Giants' top closing option, and he now owns a 1.87 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 12.3 K/9 with 11 saves in 14 chances.