5/11 Dolis the designated closer

This weekend, Rafael Dolis is the designated closer. Dale Sveum will try to give Dolis or James Russell a heads up during batting practice as to who will handle the ninth. Sveum has shown a lot of faith in the youngsters who have taken over for Carlos Marmol.

“You’re open minded to everything for the most part but the bottom line is performance,” Sveum said. “We talked about it in Spring Training — was Dolis going to be able to handle the seventh, eighth, ninth inning with the lead, and he has. He’s thrown strikes and been able to get back in counts with strikes after he’s thrown a couple balls. He’s proven he can do it. When guys prove they can do it, you have to use them and give them that confidence, too.”

He said it’s difficult to determine if a player has the right mentality for the job until their in those situations.

– Carrie Muskat