First, it was a blown save in a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on August 2nd in which he allowed two earned runs in the span of an inning to cough up a potential sweep, his third blown save of 2015 at that point.
Then, after Boston Red Sox closer Koji Uehara suffered a season-ending wrist injury on August 7th, the blown saves only cascaded from there for reliever Junichi Tazawa, who was demoted to the role of setup man in favor of now-closer Jean Machi on Sunday as announced by interim Manager Torey Lovullo.
After Uehara went on the disabled list, Tazawa proceeded to blow his first save opportunity as the permanent closer the very next night, yielding a go-ahead two-run home run to Detroit Tigers designated hitter Victor Martinez.
The troubles continued as the Red Sox traveled to Miami for a two-game set with the Marlins, as Tazawa relinquished a 4-3 Boston advantage in the bottom of the ninth inning for his fifth blown save of the season.
With Boston nursing a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth inning with the chance to take three out of four games from the American League-leading Kansas City Royals on August 23rd, Tazawa worked his magic once again, yielding four earned runs on six hits in the ninth inning alone as the Royals escaped with a series-tying win, the icing on the cake for Lovullo.
According to pitching coach Carl Willis, Tazawa's issue (he is 3-for-9 in save situations) is not with his pitch arsenal, rather it is with his mental toughness.
He told the Boston Herald, “The mental part of it is really difficult — that's not to say that anybody that can't do it isn't mentally strong, but it takes a certain mindset to be able to do it. As far as Tazawa's concerned, stuff's not an issue, it's just a matter of controlling emotions. We feel very good about him obviously in the eighth inning, he's one of the best in the league and I think we'll see that the remainder of the season.”
Tazawa's ERA after July 31st stood at 2.60, having ballooned to 3.79 in the month of August. His ERA in the past 30 days is a whopping 9.31, and his win-loss total has worsened from 2-3 to 2-6 in the span of the past month.
On the other hand, while Machi's track record since being picked up off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on July 28th has not been spotless, he has earned the respect of Lovullo and Willis for his ability to eat innings and utilize his combination of 92-93 MPH velocity and off-speed pitches to his advantage.
In 11.2 innings with Boston in 2015, Machi has yielded eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits and four walks, good for an ERA of 5.40. His WHIP sits at 1.11, an improvement from the 1.40 rate he garnered in 33 appearances with the Giants this season before being placed on the waiver wire on July 20th.
With eight strikeouts, Machi has showcased the ability to set batters down on strikes, and the perfect ninth inning he pitched for his third save as a Red Sox in Boston's 3-1 win over the New York Mets on Saturday displayed to Lovullo that he is capable of taking over closing duties.