52 Ryan Tepera RP

Tepera gave up two hits and struck out one over two-thirds of an inning to collect his fifth save of the season in a 5-4 win over the Braves on Wednesday.

It wasn't the cleanest appearance, as Tepera allowed two inherited runners to score before finally slamming the door on Atlanta, but the right-hander is still 5-for-5 in save chances since moving into the closer role for Toronto. With Roberto Osuna (administrative leave) not close to resolving his off-field legal issues, Tepera should remain the top choice in the ninth inning for manager John Gibbons.

Tepera gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his fourth save of the season in a 6-5 win over the Nationals.

He's now converted four straight save chances since being given his opportunity at the closer role in late May, posting a 2.53 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 10:4 K:BB in 10.2 innings over eight appearances during that stretch. Tepera isn't going to evolve into a dominant ninth-inning option, but as long as he's getting the job done, the Jays aren't likely to make another change.

Tepera (3-2) took the loss Wednesday against the Rays, allowing one run on two hits and one walk across 1.2 innings. He struck out two.

Tepera entered the game in the eighth inning with a runner on first base and the game knotted at 1-1 and he proceeded to escape the inning unscathed thanks to a pair of groundouts and a strikeout. The ninth inning didn't go quite as smooth, however, as a double from Mallex Smith followed by a walkoff single from Matt Duffy accounted for the only run of the game and handed the Blue Jays a series sweep. Tepera still owns a respectable 2.94 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 35:11 K:BB through 33.2 innings this season and should continue to see the bulk of save chances in the continued absence of Roberto Osuna.

Tepera gave up a hit in 1.1 scoreless innings to record his third save of the season in Friday's 5-1 win over the Orioles.

Entering the game in the eighth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, Tepera got Manny Machado to ground out before taking case of business in the ninth. The 30-year-old hasn't exactly been dominant since getting his shot at closing, posting a 2.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 7:3 K:BB in eight innings, but he's converted all three of his save chances and Tepera should remain in the role unless he falters.

Tepera worked around a walk in a scoreless inning of work to record his second save of the season Sunday against the Phillies.

Staked to a two-run lead, Tepera walked the first man he faced but was able to retire the next three to close out the game. After failing to record a save prior to Friday, Tepera has now done so in back-to-back appearances, albeit in less convincing fashion in his previous outing. Still, he looks to have climbed the pecking order for save opportunities in the continued absence of Roberto Osuna.